workflow v1.0.0 · Updated Apr 15, 2026 · by Justin Adams

Fresh Start Session Handoff

Generates a self-contained handoff prompt at the end of every session so a new Claude Code conversation can pick up exactly where the last one left off.

Claude Code
$ curl -fsSL https://www.cendis.ai/library/skill/fresh-start/install | sh

What it does

At the end of a work session — or when the context window is getting long — this skill produces a handoff prompt that captures everything a fresh conversation needs to continue: what was done, what’s pending, key decisions made, and the current state of the codebase.

When to use it

  • At the end of every coding session before closing the terminal
  • When context is getting stale and you want to start a clean conversation
  • Before handing work between team members who use Claude Code
  • After completing a PR when the next task depends on decisions made in this session

How it works

Add this instruction to your CLAUDE.md:

## Session Handoff

At the end of every session or PR cycle, produce a self-contained handoff prompt
for a fresh chat window. Include:

- What was accomplished (with file paths and commit hashes)
- What's pending or blocked
- Key decisions made and why
- Current branch and git state
- Any context a new session needs to avoid re-discovering

The agent generates a markdown block you can paste directly into a new conversation as the opening message.

Example output

## Handoff — feat/user-settings branch

### Done

- Added user settings API endpoint (apps/api/src/routes/settings.ts)
- Created settings schema with Drizzle migration (commit abc123)
- Frontend form wired up with React Query mutation

### Pending

- Validation error messages not yet styled (blocked on design review)
- Need to add RLS policy for settings table

### Decisions

- Chose to store settings as JSONB column (not separate table) because
  the settings shape is still evolving and migrations are expensive
- Settings are org-scoped, not user-scoped — confirmed with product

### State

- Branch: feat/user-settings (3 commits ahead of main)
- All tests passing, typecheck clean
- PR not yet opened

Why it matters

Claude Code conversations have finite context. When you start fresh, the agent has zero memory of what happened before. Without a handoff, it re-discovers decisions, re-reads files it already analyzed, and may contradict choices from the previous session. A good handoff prompt eliminates that cold-start waste.