Create Handoff

Generate a structured handoff document summarizing implementation work for the review pipeline.

Step 1: Determine the session name

Derive a session name from context:

1. If the user provided $ARGUMENTS, sanitize it to a safe kebab-case string (lowercase, strip any characters that aren't alphanumeric or hyphens, collapse multiple hyphens) and use that as the item name
2. Otherwise, infer from the current branch name (e.g. feature/issue-24-authentication → issue-24-authentication)
3. If on main/master, ask the user what to name the session

Step 2: Create the review session

Create the session directory and handoff file:

SESSION_DIR=".chalk/reviews/${session_name}"
HANDOFF_PATH="$SESSION_DIR/handoff.md"
mkdir -p "$SESSION_DIR"

If the handoff file already exists with content beyond the template, ask the user whether to overwrite or create a new timestamped session.

Step 3: Determine the base branch

Figure out what the current branch was based on:

1. Check for a merge base with main: git merge-base main HEAD
2. If that fails, try origin/main
3. If that fails, try master / origin/master

Store this as {base} for later steps.

Step 4: Gather context

Run these to understand the scope of changes:

git log --oneline {base}..HEAD
git diff --stat {base}..HEAD
git diff {base}..HEAD

Step 5: Detect and run project checks

Auto-detect the project's build/check tooling and run what's available. Check for these in order:

Node.js — if package.json exists:

• Detect package manager: yarn.lock → yarn, pnpm-lock.yaml → pnpm, else npm
• Run build: {pm} run build 2>&1 | tail -5
• Run typecheck: {pm} run typecheck 2>&1 | tail -5 OR npx tsc --noEmit 2>&1 | tail -5
• Run lint: {pm} run lint 2>&1 | tail -5
• Run test: {pm} run test 2>&1 | tail -5

Rust — if Cargo.toml exists:

• cargo check 2>&1 | tail -5
• cargo test --no-run 2>&1 | tail -5
• cargo clippy 2>&1 | tail -5

Go — if go.mod exists:

• go build ./... 2>&1 | tail -5
• go vet ./... 2>&1 | tail -5
• go test ./... -short 2>&1 | tail -5

Python — if pyproject.toml or requirements.txt exists:

• python -m py_compile on changed .py files
• python -m pytest --co -q 2>&1 | tail -5 (collect only, don't run)

Make — if Makefile exists with build/check/test targets:

• make build 2>&1 | tail -5
• make check 2>&1 | tail -5
• make test 2>&1 | tail -5

If no build system is detected, note "No build system detected — skipped automated checks".

Important: If any check fails, note the failure — do NOT try to fix it. The handoff should report the current state honestly.

Step 6: Write the handoff

Write to HANDOFF_PATH. Use this format:

# Handoff

## Scope
- Item: {item reference — e.g. "#24 — Add authentication" or "Refactor IPC layer"}
- Goal: {1-sentence summary of what was accomplished}

## What Changed
{bullet list of logical changes — describe WHAT each change does, not just file names}

## Files Changed
{bullet list of every file modified/created, from git diff --stat}

## Risk Areas
{bullet list of things that could break, have edge cases, or need careful review}

## Commands Run
{bullet list of every command run and its pass/fail status}

## Known Gaps
{bullet list of things NOT done — e.g. "no tests written", "error handling incomplete", "hardcoded values"}

## Suggested Focus For Reviewers
{bullet list of what reviewers should look at most carefully — prioritize by risk}

Step 7: Report to the user

Show:

• The handoff file path
• A brief summary of what was captured
• Suggest next step: run /create-review to generate a review prompt for any AI reviewer

Rules

• Do NOT modify any source code — this skill is read-only except for the handoff file
• Be honest about failures — if build/typecheck fail, report that clearly
• Keep descriptions concrete and actionable — avoid vague statements like "various improvements"
• List ALL files from git diff --stat, don't summarize or skip any
• If there are no commits ahead of base, warn the user that there's nothing to hand off