continuity-ledger

Note: This skill is now an alias for /create_handoff. Both output the same YAML format.

Create a YAML handoff document for state preservation across /clear. This is the same as /create_handoff.

Process

1. Filepath & Metadata

First, determine the session name from existing handoffs:

ls -td thoughts/shared/handoffs/*/ 2>/dev/null | head -1 | xargs basename

This returns the most recently modified handoff folder name (e.g., open-source-release). Use this as the handoff folder name.

If no handoffs exist, use general as the folder name.

Create your file under: thoughts/shared/handoffs/{session-name}/YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM_description.yaml, where:

• {session-name} is from existing handoffs (e.g., open-source-release) or general if none exist
• YYYY-MM-DD is today's date
• HH-MM is the current time in 24-hour format (no seconds needed)
• description is a brief kebab-case description

Examples:

• thoughts/shared/handoffs/open-source-release/2026-01-08_16-30_memory-system-fix.yaml
• thoughts/shared/handoffs/general/2026-01-08_16-30_bug-investigation.yaml

2. Write YAML handoff (~400 tokens)

CRITICAL: Use EXACTLY this YAML format. Do NOT deviate or use alternative field names.

The goal: and now: fields are shown in the statusline - they MUST be named exactly this.

---
session: {session-name from ledger}
date: YYYY-MM-DD
status: complete|partial|blocked
outcome: SUCCEEDED|PARTIAL_PLUS|PARTIAL_MINUS|FAILED
---

goal: {What this session accomplished - shown in statusline}
now: {What next session should do first - shown in statusline}
test: {Command to verify this work, e.g., pytest tests/test_foo.py}

done_this_session:
  - task: {First completed task}
    files: [{file1.py}, {file2.py}]
  - task: {Second completed task}
    files: [{file3.py}]

blockers: [{any blocking issues}]

questions: [{unresolved questions for next session}]

decisions:
  - {decision_name}: {rationale}

findings:
  - {key_finding}: {details}

worked: [{approaches that worked}]
failed: [{approaches that failed and why}]

next:
  - {First next step}
  - {Second next step}

files:
  created: [{new files}]
  modified: [{changed files}]

Field guide:

• goal: + now: - REQUIRED, shown in statusline
• done_this_session: - What was accomplished with file references
• decisions: - Important choices and rationale
• findings: - Key learnings
• worked: / failed: - What to repeat vs avoid
• next: - Action items for next session

DO NOT use alternative field names like session_goal, objective, focus, current, etc. The statusline parser looks for EXACTLY goal: and now: - nothing else works.

3. Mark Session Outcome (REQUIRED)

IMPORTANT: Before responding to the user, you MUST ask about the session outcome.

Use the AskUserQuestion tool with these exact options:

Question: "How did this session go?"
Options:
  - SUCCEEDED: Task completed successfully
  - PARTIAL_PLUS: Mostly done, minor issues remain
  - PARTIAL_MINUS: Some progress, major issues remain
  - FAILED: Task abandoned or blocked

After the user responds, mark the outcome:

# Mark the most recent handoff (works with PostgreSQL or SQLite)
PROJECT_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || echo "${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR:-.}")
cd "$PROJECT_ROOT/opc" && uv run python scripts/core/artifact_mark.py --latest --outcome <USER_CHOICE>

4. Confirm completion

After marking the outcome, respond to the user:

Handoff created! Outcome marked as [OUTCOME].

Resume in a new session with:
/resume_handoff path/to/handoff.yaml

When to Use

• Before running /clear
• Context usage approaching 70%+
• Multi-day implementations
• Complex refactors you pick up/put down
• Any session expected to hit 85%+ context

When NOT to Use

• Quick tasks (< 30 min)
• Simple bug fixes
• Single-file changes

Why Clear Instead of Compact?

Each compaction is lossy compression—after several compactions, you're working with degraded context. Clearing + loading the handoff gives you fresh context with full signal.