Create Handoff

Prerequisites

# Check project setup (thoughts, CLAUDE.md snippet, config)
if [[ -f "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/check-project-setup.sh" ]]; then
  "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/check-project-setup.sh" || exit 1
fi

Configuration Note

This command uses ticket references like PROJ-123. Replace PROJ with your Linear team's ticket prefix:

• Read from .catalyst/config.json if available
• Otherwise use a generic format like TICKET-XXX
• Examples: ENG-123, FEAT-456, BUG-789

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

IMPORTANT: Document Storage Rules

• ALWAYS write to thoughts/shared/ (appropriate subdirectory)
• NEVER write to thoughts/searchable/ — this is a read-only search index

Create your file under thoughts/shared/handoffs/PROJ-XXX/YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS_description.md:

• YYYY-MM-DD — today's date
• HH-MM-SS — current time in 24-hour format (e.g., 13-55-22)
• PROJ-XXX — ticket number directory (use general if no ticket)
• description — brief kebab-case description

Get current git information for metadata (branch, commit, repository name) using git commands.

Examples:

• With ticket: thoughts/shared/handoffs/PROJ-123/2025-01-08_13-55-22_PROJ-123_auth-feature.md
• Without ticket: thoughts/shared/handoffs/general/2025-01-08_13-55-22_refactor-api.md

2. Handoff writing.

using the above conventions, write your document. use the defined filepath, and the following YAML frontmatter pattern. Use the metadata gathered in step 1, Structure the document with YAML frontmatter followed by content:

Use the following template structure:

---
date: [Current date and time with timezone in ISO format]
researcher: [Researcher name from thoughts status]
git_commit: [Current commit hash]
branch: [Current branch name]
repository: [Repository name]
topic: "[Feature/Task Name] Implementation Strategy"
tags: [implementation, strategy, relevant-component-names]
status: complete
last_updated: [Current date in YYYY-MM-DD format]
last_updated_by: [Researcher name]
type: handoff
source_ticket: [TICKET-ID or null]
source_plan: "[[plan-filename]]" # or null
source_research: "[[research-filename]]" # or null
---

# Handoff: {TICKET or General} - {very concise description}

## Task(s)

{description of the task(s) that you were working on, along with the status of each (completed, work
in progress, planned/discussed). If you are working on an implementation plan, make sure to call out
which phase you are on. Reference the plan and/or research documents using wiki-links (e.g.,
[[plan-filename]], [[research-filename]]), if applicable.}

## Critical References

{List any critical specification documents, architectural decisions, or design docs that must be
followed using wiki-links (e.g., [[doc-filename]]). Include only 2-3 most important references.
Leave blank if none.}

## Recent changes

{describe recent changes made to the codebase that you made in line:file syntax}

## Learnings

{describe important things that you learned - e.g. patterns, root causes of bugs, or other important
pieces of information someone that is picking up your work after you should know. consider listing
explicit file paths.}

## Artifacts

{ an exhaustive list of artifacts you produced or updated as filepaths and/or file:line references -
e.g. paths to feature documents, implementation plans, etc that should be read in order to resume
your work.}

## Action Items & Next Steps

{ a list of action items and next steps for the next agent to accomplish based on your tasks and
their statuses}

## Other Notes

{ other notes, references, or useful information - e.g. where relevant sections of the codebase are,
where relevant documents are, or other important things you learned that you want to pass on but
that don't fall into the above categories}

3. Sync and Complete

Run humanlayer thoughts sync to save the document. Then respond to the user with the template between <template_response></template_response> XML tags. do NOT include the tags in your response.

<template_response> Handoff created and synced! You can resume from this handoff in a new session with the following command:

/catalyst-dev:resume-handoff path/to/handoff.md

</template_response>

for example (between <example_response></example_response> XML tags - do NOT include these tags in your actual response to the user)

<example_response> Handoff created and synced! You can resume from this handoff in a new session with the following command:

/catalyst-dev:resume-handoff thoughts/shared/handoffs/PROJ-123/2025-01-08_13-44-55_PROJ-123_create-context-compaction.md

</example_response>

Additional Notes & Instructions

• more information, not less. This is a guideline that defines the minimum of what a handoff should be. Always feel free to include more information if necessary.
• be thorough and precise. include both top-level objectives, and lower-level details as necessary.
• avoid excessive code snippets. While a brief snippet to describe some key change is important, avoid large code blocks or diffs; do not include one unless it's absolutely necessary. Prefer using /path/to/file.ext:line references that an agent can follow later when it's ready, e.g. packages/dashboard/src/app/dashboard/page.tsx:12-24