devspecs

Coding agent handoff

Hand off AI coding work without rebuilding the brief

A useful coding-agent handoff preserves the goal, current slice, repo evidence, decision state, and next gate in files the next human or agent can inspect.

Direct answer

The code is not the whole handoff

When a coding agent stops, the next participant needs more than a diff. They need to know which slice was attempted, what the agent actually read and tested, why the result was accepted or rejected, and what remains outside the boundary.

DevSpecs keeps that continuity in local task plans, results, and checkpoints. The same records support human-to-agent delegation, agent-to-human review, and a later agent-to-agent continuation without turning a chat transcript into the source of truth.

Mechanism

Carry the smallest durable contract across each transition

The handoff changes shape as work moves, but its core record stays inspectable in the repository.

Human to agent
A bounded task slice carries the goal, packed source and tests, exclusions, success checks, and a clear stop condition.
Agent to human
A result and checkpoint record files read or edited, tests run, misses, learnings, and the recommended decision.
Agent to agent
The next prompt starts from the current task state and verified prior evidence instead of asking another agent to reconstruct the work.
Human gate
Promote, improve, rework, rollback, or block remains explicit. A lifecycle decision does not replace code review or merge approval.

Product proof

One slice, with its boundary intact

In the pinned FastAPI workflow, F01 checkpointed the files and tests it verified. The F02 handoff carried those leads forward while keeping F01, F03, and the full track out of scope.

ds apply fastapi-oauth-redirect
  • Target: F02 only
  • Prior source: fastapi/applications.py · fastapi/openapi/docs.py
  • Prior tests: test_custom_swagger_ui_redirect.py · test_no_swagger_ui_redirect.py
  • Do not implement F01, F03, or the full task track
  • Stop with promote, improve, rework, rollback, or block

Boundaries

What the handoff still leaves to you

  • DevSpecs prints or stores the bounded prompt; it does not launch the next coding agent.
  • It does not watch an agent automatically. The agent or developer checkpoints observed evidence after the work.
  • A promote decision advances the task lifecycle; it does not approve a code review or merge.

Continue

See the workflow, then use the exact docs.

Understand persistent coding-agent contextSee how intent, code evidence, lifecycle state, and handoffs form one local thread.Build a bounded handoffFollow the pinned FastAPI task from named slices through an evidence-backed decision.Review the work after the agentUse the diff and recorded task reason together before continuing.Use the handoff from CodexInstall the repo-local Codex skills and route work through the same CLI records.

Try DevSpecs

Keep the thread in your repository.

Install the local CLI. Use the command docs when you need exact flags and lifecycle details.

Install CLIRead the task flow