Session Handoff Skill for Claude

Session Handoff

Two modes sharing one state contract. HANDOFF packages current work so the next agent (or future session) resumes without re-discovery. PICKUP rehydrates from that package at session start. Pick the mode from intent: ending or pausing work = HANDOFF; starting on existing work = PICKUP.

Mode: HANDOFF

Produce a concise bullet package with these sections, in order. Every claim comes from a command you ran this session — re-run when stale, because a wrong handoff costs more than no handoff.

• Scope/status — the task in one line, finished vs. remaining work, blockers.
• Working tree — git status -sb summary; note local commits not yet pushed and whether you are in a worktree (pwd contains .claude/worktrees/).
• Branch/PR — current branch, PR number/URL, CI status (gh pr checks <num> when a PR exists).
• Live processes — long-running jobs the next agent must know about: summarize ps auxww | grep -E '<your-process>', plus a copy-paste attach or log-tail command (tail -f <logfile>, jobs -l). Redact secrets in command lines.
• Tests/checks — which commands ran, results, what still needs to run.
• Next steps — remaining actions in execution order, most urgent first.
• Risks/gotchas — flaky tests, feature flags, brittle areas, approvals still needed.

Gate: every live process has a copy-paste command; every pending step is ordered. Output format: bullet list, Dense-Complete — short enough to paste into a PR comment or session note.

Mode: PICKUP

Rehydrate in this order, then act.

• Read the handoff — the prior package, plus repo CLAUDE.md and any docs it names.
• Repo state — git status -sb; confirm branch, local commits, worktree path.
• CI/PR — gh pr view <num> --comments (derive the PR from the branch when unnumbered); note failing checks.
• Processes — check for live jobs named in the handoff; attach or tail logs using its commands.
• Tests/checks — note what last ran; decide what you will run first.
• Plan — write the next 2–3 actions as bullets, then execute them.

Gate: branch, PR state, and first action are confirmed before any edit. Report discrepancies between the handoff and observed state; observed state wins.

Constraints

• State only what you verified; mark inherited claims as "per handoff, unverified."
• In worktrees, follow worktree rules (skills/meta/do/references/worktree-rules.md): verify CWD, feature branch first.
• Keep secrets out of the package: redact tokens and credential paths as <redacted>.

Error handling

Handoff references a process that is gone

Cause: job exited between sessions.

Solution: check its log file for exit status, record the finding, drop the attach step.

Branch in handoff differs from checked-out branch

Cause: another agent or the user moved the worktree.

Solution: report the difference and proceed from observed state.