§ reference · skill
create-handoff
Compresses the current session's task, decisions, in-flight changes, and open questions into a single handoff document that a fresh session can pick up cold.
§ 01 · purpose
Purpose
Captures in-flight state when stopping mid-feature. The handoff is dense enough that the next session re-enters the work without re-deriving it from scratch — task status, critical references, recent file:line changes, learnings, artifacts, and action items.
§ 02 · when to use
When to use it
- Context is filling up and you need to start a fresh session.
- You're wrapping for the day mid-feature.
- Work needs to hand off to another agent or person.
§ 03 · inputs
Inputs
| Name | Required | Source |
|---|---|---|
description | no | Short free-text description of the work to capture |
§ 04 · outputs
Outputs
| Artifact | Path | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Handoff document | .rpiv/artifacts/handoffs/YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS_description.md | markdown with structured frontmatter (date, author, commit, branch, topic, tags, status) |
§ 05 · key steps
Key steps
- Collect filepath + git/author metadata Why: Repository, branch, commit hash, and author go into frontmatter so the resume agent can verify it's loading the right snapshot before doing anything.
- Write structured sections — Task(s) · Critical References · Recent changes · Learnings · Artifacts · Next Steps Why: A consistent skeleton means resume agents (and humans) know where to look. Each section has a single job, none of them is "freeform dump".
- Prefer
file:linereferences over code blocks Why: Handoffs aren't archives — they're indexes. Pointing at code by path:line keeps the document small and forces resume agents to re-read live source instead of stale snippets. - Save and emit the resume template Why: Returns the exact path to pass to
resume-handoff, ready to copy into a new session. Makes the chain frictionless.
§ 06 · related skills
Related skills
downstream resume-handoff