Agent skill · writing content · parcadei
create-handoff
Create handoff document for transferring work to another session
Why this skill is useful
Adds a structured YAML template for handoff documentation that standardizes the process and ensures critical information is captured correctly.
What it needs
About 3k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-01-26. 3,881 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Create Handoff You are tasked with writing a handoff document to hand off your work to another agent in a new session. You will create a handoff document that is thorough, but also concise. The goal is to compact and summarize your context without losing any of the key details of what you're working on. Process 1. Filepath & Metadata Use the following information to understand how to create your document: First, determine the session name from existing handoffs: This returns the most recently modified handoff folder name (e.g., open-source-release). Use this as the handoff folder name. If no handoffs exist, use general as the folder name. Create your file under: thoughts/shared/handoffs/{session-name}/YYYY-MM-DDHH-MMdescription.yaml, where: {session-name} is from existing handoffs (e.g., open-source-release) or general if none exist YYYY-MM-DD is today's date HH-MM is the current time in 24-hour format (no seconds needed) description is a brief kebab-case description Examples: thoughts/shared/handoffs/open-source-release/2026-01-0816-30memory-system-fix.yaml thoughts/shared/handoffs/general/2026-01-0816-30bug-investigation.yaml 2. Write YAML handoff (~400 tokens vs ~2000 for markdown) CRITICAL: Use EXACTLY this YAML format. Do NOT deviate or use alternative field names. The goal: and now: fields are shown in the statusline - they MUST be named exactly this. Field guide: goal: + now: - REQUIRED, shown in statusline donethissession: - What was accomplished with file references decisions: - Important choices and rationale findings: - Key learnings worked: / failed: - What to repeat vs avoid next: - Action items for next session DO NOT use alternative field names like sessiongoal, objective, focus, current, etc. The statusline parser looks for EXACTLY goal: and now: - nothing else works. --- 3. Mark Session Outcome (REQUIRED) IMPORTANT: Before responding to the user, you MUST ask about the session outcome. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills parcadei/create_handoff