Claude Handoff — Experimental

What it does

This experimental skill is a concrete Claude CLI handoff mechanism, distinct from a generic project summary. It writes a brief to an operating-system temporary file, then starts a named background session with the file as the entry point. Existing artifacts are referenced rather than copied wholesale. The brief carries the task, relevant context and recommended skills while removing secrets. The new session is intended to receive enough information to continue without inheriting the entire conversation. Although catalogued as an instruction source for skills-compatible agents, the actual launch depends on Claude CLI background-session support.

When to use it

• Move a well-defined repository investigation out of a crowded conversation.
• Give a background worker a focused continuation brief while preserving existing evidence files.
• Transfer a documentation task with exact paths, unresolved questions and a clear stopping condition.

Step-by-step workflow

1. Select the precise continuation goal and identify what the receiving session must deliver.
2. Collect existing artifact paths, decisions, constraints and unresolved questions; omit irrelevant conversational history.
3. Write a redacted handoff in an operating-system temporary location, referring to substantial existing documents by path.
4. Check the local Claude CLI supports the named background invocation before launching the new session.
5. Return the session identity and retain enough evidence to distinguish a successful launch from completed task execution.

Example request

Prepare a claude-handoff for the broken-link investigation only. Reference reports/link-check.md and the affected source paths. Include the exact reproduction command, known exclusions and expected report. Remove credentials and customer data. If the installed CLI does not support background sessions, stop after preparing the brief and explain that limitation. A launch is not proof that the investigation finished.

Worked example

An overflowing session already produced a link-check report and a list of affected pages. Copying those files into a second long prompt would create another stale version. Instead, the handoff names the authoritative files, describes the unresolved redirect behavior and defines an output report. Before a launch, the operator checks that these paths are accessible to the receiving process. The background session may start successfully yet later fail to read a file; that is a continuation failure, which must not be reported as completed work.

What you get

A redacted continuation brief and, where supported, a named background Claude session seeded from that file.

How to evaluate the result

• The brief excludes credentials and includes exact artifact locations.
• The target runtime supports the requested launch mechanism.
• Session creation and actual task completion are reported separately.

What you need

A local Claude CLI with the relevant background option, permission to start a session and shared access to referenced artifacts. Temporary-file handling must suit the operating system.

Setup and activation

Experimental source: this folder is under skills/in-progress and is not a stable-release recommendation. Its frontmatter disables automatic model invocation, so explicitly select it in a host that supports that behavior. This directory reviewed source only; it did not install or execute the skill. Before adopting it, scan the exact version, inspect requested tools and permissions, and test on disposable non-sensitive inputs. A compatible instruction format does not establish identical host capabilities.

Limits and considerations

An in-progress source, not universal cross-agent handoff support. Temporary files and references can expire or expose data if handled carelessly. Starting an agent can incur provider usage; source review itself starts nothing.

Related workflows

• Use the generic handoff guide when no Claude background launch is needed.
• Use task-specific verification to check the receiving session’s eventual result.

License and reuse

MIT at repository level. Preserve copyright and license notices; check companion files and external dependencies for their own terms.

Further reading

• Publisher setup and compatibility instructions
• Reviewed source at immutable commit