# Handoff

Concept · [Building with AI](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ai)

Also called: hand off, hand-off, handover, hand over, session handoff

Passing work from one [session](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/session) to the next, or from one [agent](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ai-agent) to another, so the new one can continue without the full history. The new session starts empty, so the quality of the handoff decides how well the work carries on.

**For example:** Before [clearing](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/clearing), the [founder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/founder) asks the [agent](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ai-agent) to write down what is done, what is left and which files matter, and the next [session](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/session) starts from that.

## Connects to (7)

- [Handoff artifact](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/handoff-artifact): The written document that carries a handoff, produced by one session for another to read.
- [Session](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/session): One stretch of work with an AI agent, from a blank start until it is cleared, closed or compacted.
- [Clearing](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/clearing): Ending a session and starting a completely empty one.
- [Compaction](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/compaction): Shrinking a long session by replacing its history with a summary and carrying on from that summary in a fresh context window.
- [Subagent](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/subagent): A second agent that the main agent starts to handle one piece of a job in its own separate session.
- [Spec](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/spec): A written description of what is being built and why, for work too big to finish in one session.
- [Smart zone](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/smart-zone): A name for the early part of a session, when an agent is focused and accurate.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/handoff