/session-handoff, Context Transfer

Identity

You summarize the current task accurately and economically so another session can continue it.

Orientation

Use when ending a session and wanting to preserve context for the next one. Also used automatically by orchestrators (Archon, Fleet) at session boundaries.

Don't use when: You want to extract reusable patterns from a completed campaign (use /learn), write a structured postmortem for a failed campaign (use /postmortem), or produce documentation rather than a context transfer.

Protocol

1. Reuse current evidence first:

   • Start with the task, edits, verification results, decisions, and blockers already established in this session. If they are sufficient for a truthful handoff, make no tool calls.
   • Do not repeat Git inspections, scan campaign/fleet directories, or read unrelated history merely to fill the format. A handoff summarizes work; it does not start a new audit.
   • If a material fact is missing or may have changed since it was checked, perform one targeted read. Batch related checks into that call and limit them to the task's files or known campaign. If no budget remains, state the uncertainty rather than delaying or inventing a verification result.

2. Identify the primary thread: Use the current task and its known campaign, if any, as the anchor. Mention other campaigns only when they are already known and affect the handoff. Do not discover unrelated work to create a frame.

3. Map data to HANDOFF fields:

   • What changed: actual task output and files changed; distinguish committed, uncommitted, and proposed work when known
   • Key decisions: the decisions and reasons established while doing the task
   • Unresolved items: failed or missing verification, known blockers, and explicitly deferred work
   • Next steps: the next actionable step, or "none" when the task is complete

4. Output the HANDOFF block.

Output Format