Write Handoff
Give the next worker enough stable context to complete one bounded job without recreating the owning Plan or docs.
Use workflow-language.md, review-language.md for review work, and handoff-template.md.
Choose intent and lifecycle
Common types are implementation/continuation, research, refactor/bugfix, review, review-continuation, and review-fix. Use the smallest type that describes the next job.
Choose lifecycle from expected use:
- Immediate: next known worker or near-term continuation; current paths and volatile status may help.
- Durable: later or unknown worker, or reusable work across tools; emphasize stable behavior, acceptance criteria, and scope boundaries.
Default to Immediate unless the expected lifecycle clearly requires Durable. A handoff in chat or a file can be either; file storage does not imply durability.
Build the handoff
- Read the owning Plan, docs, Review Ledger, current diff, or source only as needed for this task.
- State the exact task, current state, scope, constraints, completion conditions, and verification.
- Link only authoritative files the next worker actually needs. Do not copy whole Plans/docs or generate a replacement Plan.
- Include volatile implementation notes only when they are not discoverable and materially reduce rework.
- Keep adjacent ideas out of scope or in the owning Plan's follow-ups.
Create a file only when the user asks for one or the authorized workflow clearly needs a stored artifact. Use the repository's established handoff location when present; otherwise ask or return copyable text.
Review handoffs
- For a continuation/delta round, carry accepted findings, patch notes, changed surface, settled items, Review Signal, unresolved risks, and intended next scope.
- For explicit independent cross-validation, say that overlap is possible and avoid anchoring the reviewer to desired findings.
- If could materially mean continuation or independent cross-validation, consolidate that choice with any other owner questions rather than silently choosing.
- If prior Review Signal was Low, note the likely low return without refusing an explicitly requested round.
Owning artifact updates
Do not add bookkeeping just because a handoff exists. Update a Plan only when verified Task state, required work, or follow-ups changed. Add a sparse pointer to a handoff file only when it prevents the artifact from being lost.
Use handoff-template.md, omit unused sections, and keep the result self-contained and concise.