cofoundr — handoff + pickup skills for Claude Code
Two Claude Code skills that fix the most common multi-session AI coding failure: re-explaining yourself every time you /clear.
/cofoundr:handoff — at the end of a session, creates or updates docs/handoff/<epic>.md for the epic you're working on/cofoundr:handoff --archive — when the whole epic is shipped, moves the file to docs/handoff/archived//cofoundr:pickup — at the start of the next session, reads the latest handoff and briefs the agent on epic progress + what's next
Install (recommended): npx skills add
npx skills add CoFoundr-org/handoff-skill
Installs both /handoff and /pickup as user-scope skills. Works in Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and any agent that supports the skills standard.
Why /pickup and not /resume? Claude Code reserves bare /resume for session resumption. /pickup is the non-colliding alias.
Install (alternative): Claude Code plugin marketplace
Installs as /cofoundr:handoff and /cofoundr:pickup (namespaced) with auto-updates:
/plugin marketplace add CoFoundr-org/handoff-skill
/plugin install cofoundr@handoff-skill
/reload-plugins
Tab-completion works after /cof…, so you don't pay the namespace cost in keystrokes.
Install (alternative): one-line curl
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CoFoundr-org/handoff-skill/main/install.sh | bash
Writes /handoff and /pickup directly to ~/.claude/skills/. Pass --local for project-scoped installs. No auto-updates.
Design principle
One file per epic. Features accumulate inside it. Never overwrites. Archive only when the whole epic is done.
An epic is a coherent body of work — usually a milestone, a campaign, or a multi-feature push. Inside it you'll complete one feature at a time. When a feature ships, you log it in the epic's handoff and move to the next one. The epic's handoff file is the running history of the whole campaign.
A typical epic spans 5–30 working sessions and 3–10 features. Each session ends with /cofoundr:handoff and starts with /cofoundr:pickup. The handoff file (docs/handoff/<epic>.md) is the same file across all those sessions — it grows, it doesn't get replaced.
Features completed, Decisions made, Files touched, Tech debt, and Gotchas are append-only. Current state, Features remaining, and Next 3 priorities overwrite each session. Session log appends.
Most context-handover tools treat every session as independent and end up with feature-20260508.md, feature-20260509.md, feature-20260510.md cluttering your repo. This one keeps a single living doc per epic that captures the whole arc.
Why
Context windows degrade well before they fill — output quality drops at 40–50% of the limit, not 90%. The fix isn't a bigger window, it's a clean handoff. Every multi-session epic needs one. The quality of the handoff doc decides the quality of the next session.
Use
(Examples use the namespaced plugin form. If you installed via curl, drop the cofoundr: prefix.)
First session on a new epic
> /cofoundr:handoff
Handoff created: docs/handoff/checkout-v2.md
Sessions: 1 · Status: in-progress · Features done: 0/4
Next priority: replace legacy payment form with Stripe Elements
Run /clear then /cofoundr:pickup to continue in a fresh session.
Subsequent sessions on the same epic (feature just shipped)
> /cofoundr:handoff
Updated docs/handoff/checkout-v2.md (session #4)
Feature completed: stripe-migration
Added: 3 decisions, 6 files, 2 gotchas
Refreshed: current state, features remaining, next 3 priorities
Picking up the next morning
> /cofoundr:pickup
## You are here
Project: shopfront
Epic: checkout-v2
Status: in-progress
Sessions so far: 4
Features shipped: 2 · Features remaining: 2
Last session built: Stripe Elements migration complete; old Braintree
integration removed; webhook handler updated for new event shapes.
Recently shipped:
- 2026-04-22 — stripe-migration — Elements form live, Braintree removed
- 2026-04-20 — cart-redesign — new multi-step cart UI shipped
Open questions (need your input):
- Promo codes: apply at checkout client-side or validate server-side only?
Top tech debt:
- [med] webhook handler has no retry logic for failed order inserts
- [low] cart state still uses localStorage, should move to server session
- [low] no integration tests for the new Elements form flow
Next priority: promo code feature
Success criterion: codes validated server-side, applied to Stripe PaymentIntent before confirm.
Ready to continue? Reply "go" to start, or tell me to do something else.
> go
When the whole epic ships
> /cofoundr:handoff --archive
Archived: docs/handoff/archived/checkout-v2.md
Features shipped: 4
Sessions: 7
What the file looks like
# checkout-v2
