handoff: Move Context Between Agent Sessions

Install this skill:

npx skills add mattpocock/skills skill=handoff -y -g

Source: mattpocock/skills/handoff

What it does

/handoff turns the current conversation into a compact document that another agent, or another session, can pick up.

It preserves the useful context without dragging the entire chat history along.

When to use it

Use /handoff when you are about to switch context.

Good moments:

• you finished grilling a plan and want a fresh implementation session
• you need to move one question into a prototype session
• you want another agent to continue without rereading everything
• you are ending a session but want the next one to start cleanly

The skill writes a handoff file and points to existing artifacts instead of copying everything again.

What a good handoff contains

A good handoff captures:

• what was decided
• what is still open
• which files, issues, PRDs, or ADRs matter
• which skills the next session should use
• what the next session is supposed to do

It should not duplicate content that already lives in a PRD, issue, ADR, plan, commit, or diff.

How it fits the workflow

/grill-with-docs -> /handoff to /prototype -> /prototype -> /handoff back

/handoff is what lets you keep the main planning thread clean.

When a question needs a prototype, hand off just that question. After the prototype answers it, hand the answer back to the original thread.

Pairs well with

• /prototype, to explore one question in a separate context
• /to-prd, to turn resolved context into a durable plan
• /to-issues, to split the resolved plan into agent-ready work