How to hand off an AI coding task without losing the thread

Capture the state before continuing

Check whether the previous session still has a running command or an incomplete edit. Read the working-tree status and the relevant diff. A summary written before the final command finished may describe a state that no longer exists.

Keep the original user request and the current acceptance criteria. Then add only the context that changes the next action: important decisions, edited files, known failures, and unresolved questions. Do not make the next agent infer the goal from a list of filenames.

Write a packet that supports the next action

Be precise about evidence. ‘Tests passed’ is less useful than the command, its result, and the behavior it covers. If a check did not run, say so. If a failure existed before the task, distinguish it from a new failure.

A compact packet is easier to verify than a whole transcript. Keep links or paths to deeper material so the next session can inspect the source when needed.

Goal: restore an interrupted upload without creating a second job.
State: implementation edited; changes are not committed.
Decision: reuse the original job ID when ownership is unchanged.
Files: upload route, retry service, interrupted-upload check.
Checked: retry check passed; browser behavior has not been checked.
Open question: expired ownership token behavior.
Next: reproduce that case, inspect the diff, then verify in browser.

Understand Lattice’s automatic handoff

With automatic handoff enabled, Lattice watches for supported Claude or Codex usage-limit messages. It can continue in the same pane using another available signed-in account, with a compact packet of the task context available to carry forward.

Automatic handoff is opt-in. Switching between Claude and Codex has a separate setting. The destination account needs its own available usage, and a switch does not grant additional permissions or approve prompts. Provider account rules and limits still apply.

Context is compacted to fit. Treat the packet as a starting point and read the relevant source before changing code. The new session may have a different view of the task or different available tools.

Make the first action a check

Ask the next session to confirm the repository state against the packet, identify any unfinished command, and restate the next step. If the source disagrees with the summary, use the current source and resolve the difference.

After a handoff, keep the task’s original review standard. A continuation is not a completed task: the diff still needs review and the relevant behavior still needs verification. Record the final result so another session can tell that the work is finished.