Claude Code Handoff Kit

Close a Claude Code session and three things happen to your work.

One command at the end. One line at the start. That's the whole loop.

1. End your session with /handoff. The skill sweeps for unresolved mistakes (it reports them, it never silently "fixes" your code), then writes a lean checkpoint: goal, exact stop point, verification evidence, next action, and every dead end you paid for.
2. It saves a lean checkpoint (target: ~30 lines) outside your repo with a state header: branch, commit, and dirty-file counts pulled straight from git. Then it prints your resume line.
3. Next session, paste one line. The fresh session reads the file, checks your repo's live state against the header before touching anything, restates the plan in 3 lines, and starts working.

Read ~/.claude/handoffs/my-project.md and continue

Everyone has a notes template. Almost nobody ships the verification step.

$ Read ~/.claude/handoffs/demo-repo.md and continue

Mismatch found: the tree is now clean at HEAD 84a0ec7 (commit "notes +
gitignore"). The README scratch line and notes.json from the handoff are
gone, resolved by a commit made outside this session.

Nothing pending. Waiting on you for what's next.

That catch above is real output from our test run. The handoff said commit e911e9d, the repo had moved to 84a0ec7, and the fresh session stopped and said so instead of editing files based on stale info. We call the header a drift tripwire: a mismatch reliably means stop and look. That's honest, and it's a big upgrade over an undated notes file.

Self-contained. No dependencies, no build step, nothing phones home.

Excerpted from a real handoff the skill generated during testing (shortened to fit here, username redacted). Note the mistake sweep: the session found changes it didn't make, and flagged them instead of touching them.

# Handoff — demo-repo — status: ready
timestamp: 2026-07-17 06:53 CDT
cwd: /home/alex/projects/handoff-kit/demo-repo
branch: master · head: e911e9d · dirty: staged=0 unstaged=1 untracked=2

RESUME RITUAL: compare repo_root+branch+head+dirty against live git status;
report any mismatch BEFORE changing files. Then state Goal/State/Next
in 3 lines and start Next 1 in the same turn unless blocked.

## Goal — demo-app: tiny todo CLI. No active task this session.
## State — tree picked up two changes this session didn't make:
  README.md gained "# scratch note", untracked notes.json appeared.
## Evidence — git status --porcelain → M README.md, ?? notes.json
## Next — 1. Ask whether those changes are wanted, before touching them.
## Tried / constraints — none this session.
(...decisions, key files, open items...)

Resume: Read ~/.claude/handoffs/demo-repo.md and continue

Privacy rule, stamped on every section: the skill's rules bar secrets, tokens, credentials, auth URLs, customer data, and copied file contents from every handoff. Safe paths and redacted excerpts only. (It's an instruction the model follows, not encryption, so glance at the file before sharing it.) The file lives outside your repo, so it never lands in a commit.

Free. The download includes everything above, and grabbing it through Gumroad means you get fixes and new versions by email.

Honest version: if all you want is the paste prompt, it's in the kit and it works with zero setup. Install the skill when you're tired of pasting. Either way you stop re-explaining your project every morning.