Session Handoff

Session Handoff

Purpose

Use this skill to offload the current session into a continuation pack before opening a new window for the same unfinished task. The primary output is one Markdown handoff file under docs/session-handoff/ that helps the next window quickly recover task state, blockers, next action, and relevant lessons without manually rebuilding context.

Activation Cues

Activate when any condition is true:

• User explicitly asks to整理当前 session, 做 handoff, 做 context offload, or prepare a new window to continue the same task.
• The current task is unfinished and the user wants a session-level summary for next-window continuation.
• User asks to summarize what this window has done, what remains, and what the next window should read first.

Do not activate when any condition is true:

• The request is only to create reusable lessons or an experience card.
• The request is only to update plan status or lifecycle governance.
• The request is only to preserve long-term project memory without a window handoff need.
• The request is full transcript archival or raw chat export.

Scope Limit

This skill manages session-level continuation packs. This skill does:

• summarize current-session progress for next-window continuation
• aggregate high-signal refs from plans, memory, experience, and process docs
• preserve blockers, next actions, and avoid-repeat guidance
• point the next window to the right execution entrypoint before coding when direct coding would be unsafe

This skill does not:

• own plan lifecycle status
• own reusable experience-card persistence
• own project memory truth
• archive full chat transcripts
• auto-write back to plan, memory, or experience docs in MVP
• author or refresh implementation plans itself

Ownership Boundary

• sdd-plan-maintainer owns plan lifecycle and plan status truth under docs/plans/.
• layered-project-memory owns continuity facts under docs/memory/.
• experience-capture owns reusable cross-task experience under docs/experience/.
• session-handoff owns session-level aggregation for next-window continuation.

Boundary rule:

• Read canonical artifact surfaces under docs/ rather than depending on a specific skill name or output.
• Treat plan, memory, and experience docs as source of truth; the handoff pack is only a pointer-first aggregation layer.
• If a next-window plan review or plan creation should happen before coding, point to the right owner and current entrypoint, but do not write the plan content here.

Script Decision

Use the skill-bundled scripts/smoke.sh for structure and contract checks only. No business runtime script is required in MVP.

Workflow Contract

1. Confirm the request is a current-window offload for same-task continuation.
2. Collect related plan, memory, experience, and process refs from docs/ and other referenced evidence files.
3. Write one handoff pack to docs/session-handoff/SHO-YYYYMMDD-NNNN.md.
4. Keep the pack pointer-first and scoped to the current session, even when the session spans multiple subtasks.
5. Ensure the pack includes fixed sections:

• Session ID
• Generated At
• Offload Reason
• Session Goal
• Overview
• Related Refs
• Subtask Snapshots
• Avoid Repeat
• Next Window Boot
• Source of Truth

1. Limit Avoid Repeat to 1-3 high-signal items.
2. New-window consumption order must be stated clearly:

• read Offload Reason and Overview
• read Subtask Snapshots
• read related plan refs
• read related memory refs
• read related experience refs and Avoid Repeat
• then start new planning

1. When direct coding would be unsafe, add one concise Before coding hint inside Next Window Boot that points to the current execution entrypoint or the next planning owner.

Keep it pointer-first; do not turn the handoff into a plan or execution contract.

Hard Rules

• MVP is explicit-trigger only; no suggest-once.
• Output exactly one Markdown continuation pack per trigger.
• Do not create .json sidecars or SESSION_INDEX.json in MVP.
• Do not auto-refresh or mutate plan, memory, experience, or process docs in MVP.
• Keep references repo-relative whenever possible.
• Do not copy large logs or long document excerpts; summarize and point.
• If the current session invalidates an older plan, mark that plan as historical or reference-only in the pack and point to the new diagnostic entry, but do not mutate plan lifecycle state in this skill.
• Do not author plan steps, acceptance criteria, or execution contracts inside the handoff pack; only point to the next planning owner when needed.

Resource Map

• Read references/positioning-boundary.md for scope and layer split.
• Read references/trigger-rules.md for trigger and non-trigger rules.
• Read references/canonical-surfaces.md for artifact-surface reading rules.
• Read references/process-protocol.md for execution flow and handoff order.
• Read references/output-contract.md for Markdown section contract.
• Read references/resume-entrypoint-guidance.md when the next window may need a plan review or a plan refresh before coding.
• Read references/regression-cases.md for trigger-boundary regression checks.
• Read references/examples/README.md for examples and non-examples.
• Use the skill-bundled scripts/smoke.sh for deterministic smoke checks.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: ChristopheZhao
• Source: ChristopheZhao/vibe-coding-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.