Handoff

The user wants to resume work. Optional cwd override: $ARGUMENTS

Quick start

memory_sessions { "limit": 20 }

Pick the most recent session whose cwd matches this project, then: memory_recall { "query": "<session top concepts>", "limit": 10 }.

Expected output:

Resuming 7f3a9c2 "Auth refresh rework".
Open question: should logout revoke all device tokens or just the current one?
Next step: decide revoke scope, then update auth/logout.ts.

Why

Match the session by directory boundary, not raw prefix, so a sibling repo never gets mistaken for this one. Never invent observations for an empty session.

Workflow

1. Resolve the project path: if $ARGUMENTS is given, normalize it to absolute (path.resolve(process.cwd(), $ARGUMENTS)); else use the cwd. 2. Call memory_sessions. Pick the most recent session whose normalized cwd matches by directory boundary: equality, OR cwd.startsWith(projectPath + sep), OR projectPath.startsWith(cwd + sep). Prefer completed over abandoned. No match: fall back to the single most recent session overall. 3. If the session ended on an unanswered user-facing question, surface it FIRST. Look in summary or recent conversation observations whose narrative ends in ?. 4. Summarize: title/summary, key files, key decisions or errors, using memory_recall on the top concepts, limit 10. 5. End with one concrete "next step?" pointer.

Anti-patterns

WRONG: session.cwd.startsWith(projectPath) matches /repo-a-staging when the project is /repo-a, resuming the wrong repo's session.

RIGHT: session.cwd === projectPath || session.cwd.startsWith(projectPath + sep), a directory-boundary check that cannot cross sibling repos.

Checklist

• cwd override resolved to an absolute, normalized path.
• Match used a directory-boundary check, not a raw prefix.
• Unanswered question (if any) leads the response.
• Empty session is reported plainly, with an offer to start fresh.

See also

• recap, session-history, recall: same session data, broader views.

Troubleshooting

See ../_shared/TROUBLESHOOTING.md if memory_sessions or memory_recall is not available.

handoff worked examples

1. Resume with an open question

User: "Where were we?"

Project cwd: /Users/dev/app. Invocation:

memory_sessions { "limit": 20 }

Response:

{
  "sessions": [
    { "id": "7f3a9c21", "cwd": "/Users/dev/app", "title": "Auth refresh rework",
      "status": "completed", "startedAt": "2026-06-07T09:00:00Z",
      "summary": "Reworked refresh rotation. Open: should logout revoke all device tokens?",
      "concepts": ["jwt-refresh-rotation", "logout"] }
  ]
}

Pull supporting context:

memory_recall { "query": "jwt-refresh-rotation logout", "limit": 10 }

Present:

Resuming 7f3a9c2 "Auth refresh rework".

Open question: should logout revoke all device tokens or just the current one?

Touched auth/refresh.ts, auth/logout.ts. Refresh rotation is done.

Next step: decide the revoke scope, then finish auth/logout.ts.

2. Sibling-repo guard

Project cwd: /Users/dev/repo-a. Sessions include one with cwd: /Users/dev/repo-a-staging.

A raw prefix would match repo-a-staging. The boundary check rejects it because /Users/dev/repo-a-staging does not equal /Users/dev/repo-a and does not start with /Users/dev/repo-a/. Pick the real repo-a session instead, or fall back to the most recent session overall if none matches.

3. Empty session

User: "Resume."

If the matched session has zero observations:

The most recent session c98f110 for this project has no recorded

observations. Nothing to hand off. Want to start fresh from the current state?