Project Onboard
VKirill/claude-lane-stack
Primary project onboarding for Claude Lane Stack. An agent skill from VKirill/claude-lane-stack.
Produces and refreshes .docs/handoff.md, a 200-line session-continuity runbook for coding agents.
Install Handoff
$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill handoff -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory handoff --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/handoff .claude/skills/handoff && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.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/
Install the "handoff" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/handoff into .claude/skills/handoff/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "handoff", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/handoffType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill handoff -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory handoff --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/handoff .agents/skills/handoff && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "handoff" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/handoff into .agents/skills/handoff/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "handoff", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill handoff -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory handoff --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/handoff .cursor/skills/handoff && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "handoff" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/handoff into .cursor/skills/handoff/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "handoff", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git --path skills/handoff--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill handoff -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory handoff --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/handoff .gemini/skills/handoff && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "handoff" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/handoff into .gemini/skills/handoff/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "handoff", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory handoffInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill handoff -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/handoff .github/skills/handoff && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "handoff" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/handoff into .github/skills/handoff/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "handoff", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill handoff -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory handoff --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/handoff .opencode/skills/handoff && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "handoff" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/handoff into .opencode/skills/handoff/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "handoff", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
handoff- GitHub stars
- 328
- Token cost
- ~1.7k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 670 words
- Files
- 7 (incl. scripts, references)
- Skills in repo
- 80
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Produces and refreshes .docs/handoff.md, a 200-line session-continuity runbook for coding agents.
- Works in 7 steps: Resolve mode. → Read source of truth. → Detect repository state. → …
- : update handoff
- SKILL.md covers Reference Files, When To Use, Triggers and Prerequisites, plus 7 more sections
- Runs Python scripts from its folder; calls uv and git
What it does
Handoff is an agent skill from Mathews-Tom/armory. Produces and refreshes .docs/handoff.md, a 200-line session-continuity runbook for coding agents. Captures git state, working-tree changes, last validation commands, session decisions, blockers, resume checklist, references, and greenfield scaffolds. Triggers on: "update handoff", "session handoff", "refresh handoff", "/handoff", "/handoff init", "resume checklist", "cold-start primer". Use this skill when ending, pausing, resuming, or transferring in-flight project work across agent sessions.
Its SKILL.md is about 1.7k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 12 other files, including scripts and reference files (for example `evals/cases.yaml`, `evals/fixtures/greenfield/expected-scaffold.md` and `evals/fixtures/known-git-state/expected-handoff.md`).
It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Session handoff, Project scaffolding and Runbooks and postmortems. It works with Git. The repository describes itself as: Curated, production-grade skills for AI coding agents. Battle-tested workflows for developers who use AI seriously. The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- : update handoff
- Session handoff
- Refresh handoff
- Resume checklist
Example prompts
- “update handoff”
- “session handoff”
- “refresh handoff”
- “/handoff”
Requirements
- Python 3
Workflow steps
7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- Resolve mode.
- Read source of truth.
- Detect repository state.
- Detect validation state.
- Gather session substance.
- Write by full rewrite.
- Enforce 200 lines.
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 4594fb7. 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 1 file in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
uvgit
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use uv and git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.
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
Handoff loads about 1.7k tokens when it runs, and up to ~2.5k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 127 tokens; SKILL.md has 670 words of instructions outside code blocks.
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 Mathews-Tom/armory at commit 4594fb7, republished under its MIT licence (© Mathews-Tom). 670 words, ~1,662 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/handoff/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 6 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.- name
- handoff
- description
- Produces and refreshes `.docs/handoff.md`, a 200-line session-continuity runbook for coding agents. Captures git state, working-tree changes, last validation commands, session decisions, blockers, resume checklist, references, and greenfield scaffolds. Triggers on: "update handoff", "session handoff", "refresh handoff", "/handoff", "/handoff init", "resume checklist", "cold-start primer". Use this skill when ending, pausing, resuming, or transferring in-flight project work across agent sessions.
- metadata.version
- 0.1.0
- metadata.category
- development
- metadata.tags
- session-continuity, runbook, context
- metadata.difficulty
- intermediate
- metadata.phase
- ship
Handoff
Maintains .docs/handoff.md as the project-local cold-start primer for the next coding agent or human developer. The file captures transient session state only: what changed, what was decided, what is blocked, and exactly how to resume.
Reference Files
| File | Contents | Load When |
|---|---|---|
references/schema.md | Verbatim handoff schema and line-budget rules | Always before writing |
references/authority-boundaries.md | Boundary between handoff, memory, CLAUDE.md, plans, and git | Always before writing |
When To Use
| Use handoff | Use another surface |
|---|---|
| In-flight work, uncommitted edits, current branch, blockers, resume steps | git log for committed history |
| Session-scoped decisions and failed approaches | Memory or ADRs for durable project facts |
| Immediate validation state and exact next command | CLAUDE.md for stable setup instructions |
| Current roadmap cursor | Plan files for strategic roadmap content |
Triggers
- Direct commands:
/handoff,/handoff init - Refresh phrases: "update handoff", "session handoff", "refresh handoff", "save handoff"
- Resume phrases: "cold-start primer", "resume checklist", "handoff to next session"
- Stop hook: refresh silently when
.docs/handoff.mdalready exists
Prerequisites
gitavailable in the project root.- Project write access for
.docs/handoff.md. - Optional project-local marker files:
.docs/handoff.last-validationcontaining the last verification command and result..docs/handoff.sessioncontaining extra bullets for changes, decisions, blockers, or refs.
Workflow
- Resolve mode.
/handoff initor invocation from an initialization workflow writes a greenfield stub when.docs/handoff.mdis absent./handoff, refresh phrases, and Stop-hook invocation rewrite the full file.
- Read source of truth.
- Load
references/schema.mdand preserve the schema headings exactly. - Load
references/authority-boundaries.mdand include the authority boundary line in every generated handoff.
- Load
- Detect repository state.
- Run
git rev-parse --show-toplevel,git branch --show-current,git rev-parse --short HEAD, andgit status --porcelain. - Count modified, untracked, and staged paths from porcelain status.
- Include the top 3-5 changed paths in the Status section.
- Run
- Detect validation state.
- Prefer recent session context: commands actually run in the current agent session and their result.
- If available, read
.docs/handoff.last-validation. - If neither exists, write explicit unknowns: "not recorded this session" rather than inventing pass/fail.
- Gather session substance.
- Summarize logical changes from current conversation, uncommitted paths, and commits since the branch base when relevant.
- Record decisions with rationale in two sentences or fewer.
- Record blockers and open questions as actionable unchecked items.
- Include failed approaches when they would prevent wasted work in the next session.
- Write by full rewrite.
- Replace
.docs/handoff.mdatomically; do not append. - Create
.docs/if absent. - Keep the file lowercase at
.docs/handoff.md.
- Replace
- Enforce 200 lines.
- Count final lines after rendering.
- If over 200, truncate
## What changed this sessionoldest-first. - Insert
<!-- WARNING: handoff exceeded 200 lines; oldest session changes were truncated. -->. - If still over 200, compress decisions and blockers to the newest actionable items, preserving all required headings.
Show full SKILL.md (245 more words)Show less
Supported Operations
| Operation | Command | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh | /handoff | Rewrites .docs/handoff.md from current repo and session state |
| Scaffold | /handoff init | Creates an empty schema stub when no handoff exists |
| Stop refresh | Stop hook | Refreshes only when .docs/handoff.md already exists |
| Dry run | uv run skills/handoff/scripts/handoff.py --dry-run | Prints generated content without writing |
Implementation Notes
The bundled script is the deterministic baseline used by the command and hook:
uv run skills/handoff/scripts/handoff.py --project-root "$PWD"
uv run skills/handoff/scripts/handoff.py --project-root "$PWD" --initAgents may improve populated bullets from live session context before writing, but must preserve:
- Schema headings and order.
- Authority boundary line.
- Full-file rewrite semantics.
- Hard 200-line cap.
- Explicit unknowns instead of silent fallbacks.
Greenfield Scaffold
When invoked as /handoff init or under a project initialization flow and .docs/handoff.md does not exist, write the schema with empty placeholders and real git metadata. This documents the /init integration point without modifying any init script.
Output Format
Write exactly one file: .docs/handoff.md.
Required first lines:
# Handoff — <project name>
**Last touched:** <ISO 8601 timestamp with timezone> · **branch:** `<branch>` · **HEAD:** `<short-sha>` · **session:** <model id>Troubleshooting
| Problem | Resolution |
|---|---|
| Not in a git repository | Fail clearly for refresh; scaffold may use branch — and HEAD — only during /handoff init |
.docs/ missing | Create it before writing |
| Validation state unavailable | Write "not recorded this session"; do not claim tests passed |
| Generated file exceeds 200 lines | Truncate oldest What changed bullets and add the warning comment |
| Existing handoff uses old casing or root path | Do not migrate automatically; future refreshes converge only when invoked in that project |
Verification
uv run python scripts/validate_evals.pyuv run scripts/evaluate_package.py skills/handoffuv run skills/handoff/scripts/handoff.py --project-root <repo> --dry-runuv run skills/handoff/scripts/handoff.py --project-root <repo> --init --output <tmp-file>
© Mathews-Tom, 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 6 other files (scripts, references) in skills/handoff of Mathews-Tom/armory.
- SKILL.md
- evals/cases.yaml
- evals/fixtures/greenfield/expected-scaffold.md
- evals/fixtures/known-git-state/expected-handoff.md
- references/authority-boundaries.md
- references/schema.md
- scripts/handoff.py
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 4594fb7
Compare with similar skills
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.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Handoff this skillMathews-Tom/armory | 328 | — | ~1.7k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Project OnboardVKirill/claude-lane-stack | 122 | — | ~1.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Beads Task Memorygastownhall/beads | 28k | — | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Session History Searchslopus/happy | 24k | — | ~3.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Codewhale Session Handoffcodewhale-hq/Codewhale | 41k | — | ~1.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Compound Engineering SetupEveryInc/compound-engineering-plugin | 25k | — | ~2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
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Session History Search
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Codewhale Session Handoff
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Writes a paste-ready handoff for the next agent session, opening with a state-check command block and separating done, suspected and blocked work.
Compound Engineering Setup
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Audit
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Questions about Handoff
What does Handoff do?
Produces and refreshes .docs/handoff.md, a 200-line session-continuity runbook for coding agents. Handoff is an agent skill from Mathews-Tom/armory.md, a 200-line session-continuity runbook for coding agents.
When should I use Handoff?
Handoff fits situations like: : update handoff; session handoff; refresh handoff; resume checklist.
How do I install Handoff in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill handoff -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/handoff in Mathews-Tom/armory) into .claude/skills/handoff in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Handoff in Codex?
Run `npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill handoff -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/handoff in Mathews-Tom/armory) into .agents/skills/handoff in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use 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 Mathews-Tom/armory --skill 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/handoff, .gemini/skills/handoff, .github/skills/handoff and .opencode/skills/handoff in your project.
What does Handoff need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Handoff needs Python for the scripts in its folder and the command-line tools its instructions call (uv and git). Our summary lists: Python 3.
Does Handoff access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use uv and git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is 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 Handoff use?
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 Handoff use?
About 1.7k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.6k 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 828 tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
What are the alternatives to Handoff?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Handoff: Project Onboard (VKirill/claude-lane-stack, 122 stars), Beads Task Memory (gastownhall/beads, 28k stars), Session History Search (slopus/happy, 24k stars) and Codewhale Session Handoff (codewhale-hq/Codewhale, 41k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Handoff?
Mathews-Tom (a GitHub user) maintains it in Mathews-Tom/armory, which has 328 GitHub stars. The repository holds 80 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.
Source: Mathews-Tom/armory on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.