> **claude-handoff** — chapter 19 of 35 in [mattpocock/skills](https://skillsdocs.com/mattpocock/skills).
>
> Book (all chapters, one file): https://skillsdocs.com/mattpocock/skills.md
> Machine manifest: https://skillsdocs.com/mattpocock/skills/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json
> Install the book: `npx skills add mattpocock/skills`
> Upstream: https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/blob/main/skills/in-progress/claude-handoff/SKILL.md @ `main`
> Raw bytes, no header: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattpocock/skills/main/skills/in-progress/claude-handoff/SKILL.md
> Base for relative paths: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattpocock/skills/main/skills/in-progress/claude-handoff/
> Licence: MIT — https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html
>
> Bundled files (1), referenced from this skill's directory:
>   - `agents/openai.yaml` — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattpocock/skills/main/skills/in-progress/claude-handoff/agents/openai.yaml
>
> Content © its authors, served unmodified. Takedown: https://github.com/DreambaseAI/skillsdocs/issues/new?labels=takedown&title=Takedown+request

<!-- Verbatim upstream SKILL.md follows, YAML frontmatter included. -->

---
name: claude-handoff
description: Hand the current conversation off to a fresh background agent that picks up the work immediately.
argument-hint: "What will the next session be used for?"
disable-model-invocation: true
---

Write a handoff summary of the current conversation so a fresh agent can continue the work. Instead of saving it, launch a background agent seeded with the summary as its prompt: `claude --bg --name "<descriptive name>" "<handoff summary>"`. It starts in the current working directory and returns immediately; the user manages it with `claude agents`.

Always pass `-n`/`--name` with a descriptive name (e.g. `--name "Fix login bug"`) — it sets the display name shown in the job list, session picker, and terminal title.

Include a "suggested skills" section in the summary, which suggests skills that the agent should invoke.

Do not duplicate content already captured in other artifacts (specs, plans, ADRs, issues, commits, diffs). Reference them by path or URL instead.

Redact any sensitive information, such as API keys, passwords, or personally identifiable information — the summary becomes the agent's prompt.

If the user passed arguments, treat them as a description of what the next session will focus on and tailor the summary accordingly.