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Agent skill

Session Handoff

by davila7 in davila7/claude-code-templates

Creates comprehensive handoff documents for seamless AI agent session transfers.

MITAuto-check passedAgent Workflows

Install Session Handoff

skills CLI
$ npx skills add davila7/claude-code-templates --skill session-handoff -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install davila7/claude-code-templates session-handoff --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/davila7/claude-code-templates.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/cli-tool/components/skills/enterprise-communication/session-handoff .claude/skills/session-handoff && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
session-handoff
GitHub stars
32k
Used in
2 other repos
Token cost
~1.6k tokens
SKILL.md length
647 words
Files
12 (incl. scripts, references)
Skills in repo
477
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Creates comprehensive handoff documents for seamless AI agent session transfers.

  • Works in 10 steps: Generate Scaffold → Complete the Handoff Document → Validate the Handoff → …
  • Tasks that involve Session handoff
  • SKILL.md covers Mode Selection, CREATE Workflow, RESUME Workflow and Handoff Chaining, plus 2 more sections
  • Runs Python scripts from its folder; calls python

What it does

Session Handoff is an agent skill from davila7/claude-code-templates. Creates comprehensive handoff documents for seamless AI agent session transfers. Triggered when: (1) user requests handoff/memory/context save, (2) context window approaches capacity, (3) major task milestone completed, (4) work session ending, (5) user says 'save state', 'create handoff', 'I need to pause', 'context is getting full', (6) resuming work with 'load handoff', 'resume from', 'continue where we left off'. Proactively suggests handoffs after substantial work (multiple file edits, complex debugging…

Its SKILL.md is about 1.6k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 14 other files, including scripts and reference files (for example `README.md`, `evals/model-expectations.md` and `evals/results-opus-baseline.md`).

It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Session handoff, Autonomous loops and Context engineering. The repository describes itself as: CLI tool for configuring and monitoring Claude Code. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Session handoff
  • Tasks that involve Autonomous loops
  • Tasks that involve Context engineering

Example prompts

  • “save state”
  • “create handoff”
  • “I need to pause”
  • “/session-handoff”

Requirements

  • Python 3

Workflow steps

10 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Generate Scaffold
  2. Complete the Handoff Document
  3. Validate the Handoff
  4. Confirm Handoff
  5. Find Available Handoffs
  6. Check Staleness
  7. Load the Handoff
  8. Verify Context
  9. Begin Work
  10. Update or Chain Handoffs

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 4c82aba. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 4 files in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • python

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Session Handoff loads about 1.6k tokens when it runs, and up to ~3.3k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 165 tokens; SKILL.md has 647 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~165
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.6k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~3.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from davila7/claude-code-templates at commit 4c82aba, republished under its MIT licence (© davila7). 647 words, ~1,576 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/session-handoff/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 11 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
session-handoff
description
Creates comprehensive handoff documents for seamless AI agent session transfers. Triggered when: (1) user requests handoff/memory/context save, (2) context window approaches capacity, (3) major task milestone completed, (4) work session ending, (5) user says 'save state', 'create handoff', 'I need to pause', 'context is getting full', (6) resuming work with 'load handoff', 'resume from', 'continue where we left off'. Proactively suggests handoffs after substantial work (multiple file edits, complex debugging, architecture decisions). Solves long-running agent context exhaustion by enabling fresh agents to continue with zero ambiguity.

Handoff

Creates comprehensive handoff documents that enable fresh AI agents to seamlessly continue work with zero ambiguity. Solves the long-running agent context exhaustion problem.

Mode Selection

Determine which mode applies:

Creating a handoff? User wants to save current state, pause work, or context is getting full.

  • Follow: CREATE Workflow below

Resuming from a handoff? User wants to continue previous work, load context, or mentions an existing handoff.

  • Follow: RESUME Workflow below

Proactive suggestion? After substantial work (5+ file edits, complex debugging, major decisions), suggest:

"We've made significant progress. Consider creating a handoff document to preserve this context for future sessions. Say 'create handoff' when ready."

CREATE Workflow

Step 1: Generate Scaffold

Run the smart scaffold script to create a pre-filled handoff document:

bash
python scripts/create_handoff.py [task-slug]

Example: python scripts/create_handoff.py implementing-user-auth

For continuation handoffs (linking to previous work):

bash
python scripts/create_handoff.py "auth-part-2" --continues-from 2024-01-15-auth.md

The script will:

  • Create .claude/handoffs/ directory if needed
  • Generate timestamped filename
  • Pre-fill: timestamp, project path, git branch, recent commits, modified files
  • Add handoff chain links if continuing from previous
  • Output file path for editing
Step 2: Complete the Handoff Document

Open the generated file and fill in all [TODO: ...] sections. Prioritize these sections:

  1. Current State Summary - What's happening right now
  2. Important Context - Critical info the next agent MUST know
  3. Immediate Next Steps - Clear, actionable first steps
  4. Decisions Made - Choices with rationale (not just outcomes)

Use the template structure in references/handoff-template.md for guidance.

Step 3: Validate the Handoff

Run the validation script to check completeness and security:

bash
python scripts/validate_handoff.py <handoff-file>

The validator checks:

  • No [TODO: ...] placeholders remaining
  • Required sections present and populated
  • No potential secrets detected (API keys, passwords, tokens)
  • Referenced files exist
  • Quality score (0-100)

Do not finalize a handoff with secrets detected or score below 70.

Step 4: Confirm Handoff

Report to user:

  • Handoff file location
  • Validation score and any warnings
  • Summary of captured context
  • First action item for next session

RESUME Workflow

Step 1: Find Available Handoffs

List handoffs in the current project:

bash
python scripts/list_handoffs.py

This shows all handoffs with dates, titles, and completion status.

Step 2: Check Staleness

Before loading, check how current the handoff is:

bash
python scripts/check_staleness.py <handoff-file>

Staleness levels:

  • FRESH: Safe to resume - minimal changes since handoff
  • SLIGHTLY_STALE: Review changes, then resume
  • STALE: Verify context carefully before resuming
  • VERY_STALE: Consider creating a fresh handoff

The script checks:

  • Time since handoff was created
  • Git commits since handoff
  • Files changed since handoff
  • Branch divergence
  • Missing referenced files
Show full SKILL.md (258 more words)Show less
Step 3: Load the Handoff

Read the relevant handoff document completely before taking any action.

If handoff is part of a chain (has "Continues from" link), also read the linked previous handoff for full context.

Step 4: Verify Context

Follow the checklist in references/resume-checklist.md:

  1. Verify project directory and git branch match
  2. Check if blockers have been resolved
  3. Validate assumptions still hold
  4. Review modified files for conflicts
  5. Check environment state
Step 5: Begin Work

Start with "Immediate Next Steps" item #1 from the handoff document.

Reference these sections as you work:

  • "Critical Files" for important locations
  • "Key Patterns Discovered" for conventions to follow
  • "Potential Gotchas" to avoid known issues
Step 6: Update or Chain Handoffs

As you work:

  • Mark completed items in "Pending Work"
  • Add new discoveries to relevant sections
  • For long sessions: create a new handoff with --continues-from to chain them

Handoff Chaining

For long-running projects, chain handoffs together to maintain context lineage:

handoff-1.md (initial work)
    ↓
handoff-2.md --continues-from handoff-1.md
    ↓
handoff-3.md --continues-from handoff-2.md

Each handoff in the chain:

  • Links to its predecessor
  • Can mark older handoffs as superseded
  • Provides context breadcrumbs for new agents

When resuming from a chain, read the most recent handoff first, then reference predecessors as needed.

Storage Location

Handoffs are stored in: .claude/handoffs/

Naming convention: YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS-[slug].md

Example: 2024-01-15-143022-implementing-auth.md

Resources

scripts/
ScriptPurpose
create_handoff.py [slug] [--continues-from <file>]Generate new handoff with smart scaffolding
list_handoffs.py [path]List available handoffs in a project
validate_handoff.py <file>Check completeness, quality, and security
check_staleness.py <file>Assess if handoff context is still current
references/

© davila7, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 11 other files (scripts, references) in cli-tool/components/skills/enterprise-communication/session-handoff of davila7/claude-code-templates.

  • SKILL.md
  • README.md
  • evals/model-expectations.md
  • evals/results-opus-baseline.md
  • evals/setup_test_env.py
  • evals/test-scenarios.md
  • references/handoff-template.md
  • references/resume-checklist.md
  • scripts/check_staleness.py
  • scripts/create_handoff.py
  • scripts/list_handoffs.py
  • scripts/validate_handoff.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 4c82aba

Used in 2 other repositories

We found 2 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 2 other GitHub owners. This page covers the copy in davila7/claude-code-templates, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Session Handoff next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Session Handoff compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Session Handoff this skilldavila7/claude-code-templates32k2 repos~1.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Harness Engineering10xChengTu/harness-engineering1021 repos~1kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Harness Engineeringmagnus919/agent-skills111—~3.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Memori Long-Term MemoryMemoriLabs/Memori17k—~2kAutomated safety check: NotesCustom licence
Planning with FilesOthmanAdi/planning-with-files27k—~2.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
User Thoughts Memorysickn33/agentic-awesome-skills47k1 repos~2.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Categories

Questions about Session Handoff

What does Session Handoff do?

Creates comprehensive handoff documents for seamless AI agent session transfers. Session Handoff is an agent skill from davila7/claude-code-templates. Creates comprehensive handoff documents for seamless AI agent session transfers.

When should I use Session Handoff?

Session Handoff fits situations like: tasks that involve Session handoff; tasks that involve Autonomous loops; tasks that involve Context engineering.

How do I install Session Handoff in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add davila7/claude-code-templates --skill session-handoff -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (cli-tool/components/skills/enterprise-communication/session-handoff in davila7/claude-code-templates) into .claude/skills/session-handoff in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Session Handoff in Codex?

Run `npx skills add davila7/claude-code-templates --skill session-handoff -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (cli-tool/components/skills/enterprise-communication/session-handoff in davila7/claude-code-templates) into .agents/skills/session-handoff in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Session Handoff in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add davila7/claude-code-templates --skill session-handoff -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/session-handoff, .gemini/skills/session-handoff, .github/skills/session-handoff and .opencode/skills/session-handoff in your project.

What does Session Handoff need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Session Handoff needs Python for the scripts in its folder and the command-line tools its instructions call (python). Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Session Handoff access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Session Handoff safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Session Handoff use?

Session Handoff is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Session Handoff use?

About 1.6k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.3k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 1.7k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Session Handoff?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Session Handoff: Harness Engineering (10xChengTu/harness-engineering, 102 stars), Harness Engineering (magnus919/agent-skills, 111 stars), Memori Long-Term Memory (MemoriLabs/Memori, 17k stars) and Planning with Files (OthmanAdi/planning-with-files, 27k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Session Handoff?

davila7 (a GitHub user) maintains it in davila7/claude-code-templates, which has 32,432 GitHub stars. The repository holds 477 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: davila7/claude-code-templates on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.