handoff

Compress the current task into a prompt the next agent can start from directly. Issues, context docs, PRs, commits, and diffs are the sources of truth; the handoff only provides entry points, current state, and the necessary not-yet-persisted delta.

The same compression works in three directions: transferring ownership to another agent or session; disciplining spawn contracts when a dispatcher delegates slices (see /fan-out); and restarting yourself — when the current context has degraded (noise from failed explorations polluting decisions), a handoff aimed at your own fresh session beats continuing in the noise. Compaction is just a handoff to your future self.

Language: mirror the user's language.

Core rules

• Reuse durable artifacts first; never copy an existing spec, issue, or checklist into a fourth source of truth.
• Return the handoff in the conversation by default; write a file only when the user asks.
• No fixed length. The standard is: the next agent can start working, and no fact is duplicated.
• Do not create or update issues, write to external systems, or send messages without explicit consent.
• A handoff request does not imply authorization to commit, push, open PRs, or change remote state.

Workflow