Session Handoff

VerifiedSafe

Hand off the current Claude session to a fresh instance while preserving work context. Use it when the conversation context is full, after completing a logical chunk of work, or to get a fresh perspective. Work continues seamlessly from the hook.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
ProductivityIntermediate
6/2/2026
Claude Code
#handoff#session-management#context-preservation#workflow-continuity

Recommended for

Automated summary

Hands off the current Claude session to a fresh instance while preserving work context via a special mail system.

Strengths

  • Preserves hook and beads state (issues, dependencies, progress)
  • Enables session continuity without losing progress
  • Automatically collects context with the -c flag
  • Allows manual messages for handoff notes

Limitations

  • Requires Gas Town toolkit (gt commands)
  • Only works within Gas Town environment
  • In-memory state (TodoWrite, uncommitted analysis) is reset
When to use it

Use when context is filling up or after completing a logical work chunk to start fresh without losing progress.

When not to use it

Do not use when you want to keep conversation history or when you are in the middle of an atomic task that requires full context.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score85/100

The skill only executes the 'gt handoff' tool with safe flags (-m or -c) to facilitate session cycling. It does not involve any destructive commands, external network calls, or exfiltration. The allowed tools are limited to Bash(gt handoff:*) and Bash(gt mail send:*), which are internal agent utilities.

No concerns found

How this analysis is made

Examples

Simple handoff
/handoff
Handoff with context notes
/handoff "Found the bug in token refresh - check line 145 in auth.go first"

name: handoff description: > Hand off to a fresh Claude session. Use when context is full, you've finished a logical chunk of work, or need a fresh perspective. Work continues from hook. allowed-tools: "Bash(gt handoff:),Bash(gt mail send:)" version: "1.0.0" author: "Gas Town"

Handoff - Session Cycling for Gas Town Agents

Hand off your current session to a fresh Claude instance while preserving work context.

When to Use

  • Context getting full (approaching token limit)
  • Finished a logical chunk of work
  • Need a fresh perspective on a problem
  • Human requests session cycling

Usage

/handoff [optional message]

How It Works

  1. State is collected (your message, or auto-collected inbox/beads/hook status)
  2. Handoff mail is sent to yourself with context
  3. gt handoff respawns your session with a fresh Claude
  4. New session auto-primes via SessionStart hook
  5. Work continues from your hook (pinned molecule persists)

Examples

# Simple handoff - auto-collects state (inbox, ready beads, hooked work)
/handoff

# Handoff with context notes
/handoff "Found the bug in token refresh - check line 145 in auth.go first"

What Persists

  • Hooked molecule: Your work assignment stays on your hook
  • Beads state: All issues, dependencies, progress
  • Git state: Commits, branches, staged changes

What Resets

  • Conversation context: Fresh Claude instance
  • TodoWrite items: Ephemeral, session-scoped
  • In-memory state: Any uncommitted analysis

Implementation

When invoked, execute:

  1. If user provided a message:

    gt handoff -m "<message>"
    
  2. If NO message provided, use -c to auto-collect state:

    gt handoff -c
    

IMPORTANT: Never run bare gt handoff - it sends no mail and the next session loses context. Always use -c or -m.

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/session-handoff-mm8o523j/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/session-handoff-mm8o523j' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/session-handoff-mm8o523j/download' --output '.skill-downloads/session-handoff-mm8o523j/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/session-handoff-mm8o523j/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/session-handoff-mm8o523j/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

Tools declared by the author (check availability in your agent): Bash(gt handoff:*),Bash(gt mail send:*)

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/session-handoff-mm8o523j/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/session-handoff-mm8o523j/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/handoff' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/session-handoff-mm8o523j' '.claude/skills/handoff'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation
openskills install './.skill-downloads/session-handoff-mm8o523j'

openskills read 'session-handoff-mm8o523j'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/session-handoff-mm8o523j/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

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