task-handover

A handover document preserves project state by capturing objectives, decisions, blockers, and next steps, writing them to a single `.claude/HANDOVER.md` file for cold-start resumption. It requires verified repository state, explicit decisions, and exact resume instructions.

Resuming a long debugging session requires a structured handover document that captures verified git status, known dead ends, and exact resume instructions. This enables a new agent to pick up immediately without rediscovery or relying on conversation history.

A session transfer document helps cold-start resumption by providing a self-contained record of objective, current state, decisions, and next steps. It survives session boundaries so the next engineer or agent can continue without prior conversation context.

Yes, checking git status and running test or lint results before writing a handover is required. This verified status snapshot reduces drift and stale assumptions, ensuring the handover document accurately reflects the true repository state.

A handover document applies to long-running engineering sessions with multiple subtasks, unfinished work, or context-window pressure. Short tasks with no unfinished work do not require the overhead of a structured session transfer file.

A project handover should include the objective, current verified state, explicit decisions, known dead ends, blockers, exact resume instructions pointing to specific files and lines, and next steps. This prevents context loss across session boundaries.