Session Handoff Skill
Captures the current session context to ensure continuity across sessions and after auto-compaction.
Instructions
When this skill is invoked, create a comprehensive session handoff document:
- •
Check for uncommitted changes:
- •Run
git statusto check for uncommitted changes - •If there are uncommitted changes, inform the user and ask if they want to:
- •Commit the changes now (offer to help create the commit)
- •Continue with handoff anyway (changes will be documented but not committed)
- •Cancel the handoff to commit manually first
- •If working tree is clean, proceed to step 2
- •Run
- •
Determine the date and time:
- •Use today's date in YYYY-MM-DD format
- •Use bash command
date '+%I:%M %p'to get the current time (e.g., "09:33 AM") - •Use bash command
date '+%A'to get the day of week if helpful for context
- •
Create the handoff file:
- •Location:
contexts/_LifeOS/handoff/session-handoff-YYYY-MM-DD.md - •If a file for today already exists, read it first and append with a new timestamp section
- •Format session header as:
## Session N (Day Period - HH:MM AM/PM)where Day Period is descriptive (e.g., "Morning", "Afternoon", "Evening", "Early Morning")
- •Location:
- •
Capture the following sections:
Session Summary
- •Brief overview of what was accomplished in this session
- •Main topics discussed or worked on
- •Time range if relevant
Key Decisions Made
- •Important choices and why they were made
- •Architectural decisions
- •Approach selections
- •What was chosen and what was rejected
Code Changes
- •List files modified with specific line numbers when relevant (use format
file.ts:123) - •Brief description of what changed and why
- •Any patterns or conventions established
- •New files created
Open Questions & Blockers
- •Unresolved questions
- •Things that need investigation
- •Blockers preventing progress
- •Edge cases to consider
Next Steps
- •Concrete action items as a checklist using
- [ ]format - •Priorities for next session
- •Follow-up tasks
Context for Next Session
- •Important background that would be lost in compaction
- •Links to relevant files or resources
- •Any special considerations
- •Current working directory or focus area
- •
Format guidelines:
- •Use clear markdown headings
- •Be specific with file references (include line numbers)
- •Keep it concise but complete
- •Use bullet points and checklists
- •Include timestamps for multiple sessions in one day
- •
Commit and push the handoff:
- •Add the handoff file to git staging
- •Commit with message format: "Add Session N handoff: [brief summary]"
- •Push to remote to ensure context is backed up
- •Confirm to the user what was committed and pushed
- •Show a brief summary of what was documented
Example Output Format
markdown
# Session Handoff - 2026-01-11 ## Session 1 (Morning - 9:00 AM) ### Session Summary Researched Claude Code session management strategies and created comprehensive documentation. Set up handoff infrastructure for future session continuity. ### Key Decisions Made - **Storage location**: Decided to store session context in `contexts/_LifeOS/handoff/` following existing PARA structure - **Skill creation**: Chose to create a reusable `/handoff` skill rather than manual process - **Naming convention**: Will use `session-handoff-YYYY-MM-DD.md` format ### Code Changes - Created `contexts/tech/3_resources/ai-learnings/Claude Code Session Management.md` - Comprehensive guide to session management - Community resources and best practices - References to GitHub repos and tools - Created `contexts/_LifeOS/handoff/README.md` - Explains purpose of handoff folder - Documents naming conventions - Links to related resources - Updated `CLAUDE.md:32` and `CLAUDE.md:56` - Added handoff folder documentation - Mentioned `/handoff` skill usage - Updated `contexts/tech/3_resources/ai-learnings/README.md:17-18` - Added new session management topic - Created `.claude/skills/handoff/SKILL.md` - Custom skill for session handoff automation - Follows PARA methodology ### Open Questions & Blockers None currently ### Next Steps - [ ] Test the `/handoff` skill in practice - [ ] Consider creating additional skills for common workflows (journal entry, learning log, etc.) - [ ] Explore community skill repositories for other useful tools - [ ] Review wshobson/commands and claude-code-showcase repos ### Context for Next Session This session focused on meta-work: improving the Claude Code workflow itself. The repository is a personal knowledge management system using PARA methodology, primarily for Obsidian notes. The handoff system is now in place to preserve context across sessions and auto-compaction events.
Implementation Notes
- •This skill follows the PARA methodology for personal knowledge management
- •Session handoff files are stored in
_LifeOS/handoff/as they're related to daily workflow - •The skill can be invoked simply by typing
/handoffin Claude Code - •Multiple sessions in one day append to the same file with new timestamp sections
- •The handoff is automatically committed and pushed to remote for backup
- •The handoff file serves as input for the next session to recover full context
- •Pushing ensures context is preserved even if local machine fails or user switches machines