Handoff - Session Context Transfer
Generates a structured handoff and writes it to the project's auto-memory so the next session picks it up automatically.
When to Use
- •User invokes
/handoff - •Before ending a long or complex session
- •When switching to a different project mid-conversation
Procedure
1. Review the Session
Look back through the conversation and identify:
- •What the user asked for (the goal)
- •What was actually accomplished
- •Key decisions made and their rationale
- •Anything still open, blocked, or partially done
- •Gotchas, temporary hacks, or important context that would be lost
2. Generate the Handoff
Output a structured summary using this format:
code
## Session Handoff **Goal**: [One sentence - what we set out to do] **Done**: - [Concrete accomplishment with file/location references] - [Another accomplishment] **Decisions**: - [Choice made] — [why] **Open**: - [What's still pending or incomplete] **Next**: 1. [First thing the next session should do] 2. [Second priority] **Context**: - [Gotchas, temp hacks, non-obvious things to know]
Guidelines:
- •Be specific — reference files, functions, error messages
- •"Done" means actually done, not "started working on"
- •"Next" should be actionable first steps, not a roadmap
- •"Context" is for things that would cause confusion without explanation
- •Skip any section that's empty — don't pad
3. Persist to Project Memory
Write the handoff to the project's auto-memory file using the Write tool:
code
~/.claude/projects/{project-path}/memory/HANDOFF.md
The project path mirrors the working directory with - replacing / (e.g. -home-beau-src-nixos). This file auto-loads into the system prompt on the next session.
If a previous handoff exists, replace it — only the latest handoff matters.
4. Confirm
Tell the user the handoff is stored in project memory. The next session (or claude --continue) will see it automatically.
Anti-Patterns
- •Don't pad — Empty sections should be omitted, not filled with "N/A"
- •Don't be vague — "worked on stuff" is useless; "added volume.nix keybinds for wpctl" is useful
- •Don't include the whole conversation — This is a summary, not a transcript
- •Don't speculate — Only include things that actually happened or were actually decided