diff --git a/skills/handoff/SKILL.md b/skills/handoff/SKILL.md
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+---
+name: handoff
+description: >-
+  Compact the current conversation into a handoff document so another agent can
+  continue the work. Use when the user asks for a handoff, a context dump, or a
+  summary to resume later, or when a session is ending mid-task.
+---
+
+# Handoff
+
+Write a document that lets another agent continue the work without reading this
+conversation. It needs current state, decisions, and the next action. It does
+not need a transcript.
+
+## Before writing
+
+- Check the real state of the tree: branch or bookmark, worktree path, and
+  uncommitted changes. Run the version control status command, do not recall it.
+- List the files this session touched. Mark each as done, partial, or untouched
+  but affected.
+- Find the command that proves the work still holds. Run it if it is cheap.
+  Record the result, including failures.
+- Ask where the file should go if it is not obvious. Default to `HANDOFF.md` in
+  the workspace root. Never overwrite an existing handoff without asking.
+
+## Write it
+
+Use [files/template.md](files/template.md). Fill every section. Delete a section
+only when it truly has nothing in it.
+
+Order matters. Put the next action first so a new agent can start without
+reading the rest, then the state, then the history.
+
+## Rules
+
+- Prefer facts over narrative. Exact paths, command lines, layer ids, versions.
+- Record approaches that failed and why. This saves the next agent the same
+  dead end.
+- Separate what is done from what is next. Do not blend them in one list.
+- Mark guesses as guesses. Never present an unrun check as passing.
+- Link to existing docs and issues instead of restating them.
+- Write for another person. Short sentences, plain words, no em dashes, no
+  semicolons, straight quotes.
+- Keep it near one page. Expand only when the task has real branching.
+- Leave out secrets, tokens, and private user data.
+
+## Finish
+
+- Tell the user the path you wrote and the single next action.
+- If files are mid-edit, say which ones and whether the tree currently builds or
+  runs.
+- Do not commit the handoff unless asked.
diff --git a/skills/handoff/files/template.md b/skills/handoff/files/template.md
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+# Handoff: <task>
+
+Written <date>. Continue from here.
+
+## Next action
+
+One concrete step. Name the file, command, or decision. Say why it is first.
+
+## Goal
+
+What the work is meant to achieve, in two or three sentences. Note anything the
+user explicitly ruled out.
+
+## Current state
+
+- Branch or bookmark:
+- Worktree:
+- Uncommitted changes:
+- Last known good state:
+- Blocked on:
+
+## What changed
+
+| Path | State | What changed |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `path/to/file` | done, partial, or unstarted | Short note |
+
+## Decisions
+
+- **<decision>**: why it was made, and what it rules out.
+- **Rejected**: <option> because <reason>.
+
+## Open problems
+
+Known failures, unclear behavior, or risks. Include the exact error text and the
+command that produced it.
+
+## Next steps
+
+1. <first step, matching the next action above>
+2. <second step>
+3. <later step>
+
+## How to verify
+
+Commands to run and what a passing result looks like. Include checks that
+already pass so the next agent knows the baseline.
+
+## Open questions
+
+Anything only the user can answer. Leave empty if there are none.