Handoff And Fresh Reviewer — Claude Code Guide

An English lesson about Handoff And Fresh Reviewer — Claude Code Guide in a controlled Claude Code workflow.

A handoff is a reproducible state

A handoff is not just a message saying “almost done.” The next participant should understand what was done, which files changed, which decisions were made, what checks confirmed, which risks remain, and what specific next step to take.

The information should rely on artifacts and evidence, not on the author’s memory.

HANDOFF_NOTE.md section	Contents
Goal	The expected result in one sentence
Specification	A link to TASK_SPEC.md and a short scope
Changed files	The actual list of affected paths
Decisions and assumptions	The chosen approach and what has not yet been confirmed
Evidence and checks	Commands, logs, tests, and results
Risks	Uncovered scenarios and limitations
Next step	One clear action

HANDOFF_NOTE.md structure

# HANDOFF_NOTE.md

## Goal
...

## Specification
- TASK_SPEC.md: ...
- Scope: ...

## Changed files
- ...

## Decisions
- ...

## Evidence
- ...

## Tests and checks
- command: result

## Risks
- ...

## Next step
- ...

Practice lab

Prepare a handoff for a fresh reviewer

Goal: Pass on a milestone so another participant can reproduce the state, check the evidence, and continue without guessing.

Inputs

Changed files and the diff
Test results or other checks
Unresolved risks

Steps

Briefly describe the goal and scope.
List the files actually changed.
Separate decisions from assumptions.
Add commands and actual verification results.
Name one next step and a stop condition.

Expected output

`HANDOFF_NOTE.md` with evidence
A package prepared for review

Verification

Paths and commands exist or are explicitly marked as examples.
The reviewer can distinguish confirmed facts from open questions.

Stop if: The key result cannot be confirmed or the handoff scope is unclear.

Lab artifacts

HANDOFF_NOTE.mdA reader-facing HANDOFF_NOTE.md record that keeps context transfer at a milestone boundary explicit for review.
HANDOFF_REVIEW.mdA reader-facing HANDOFF_REVIEW.md record that keeps an independent review of source, findings, and next decision explicit for review.
CONTRACT.mdA reader-facing CONTRACT.md record that keeps interfaces, responsibilities, invariants, and failure behavior explicit for review.

Sources: level-06

Package for a fresh reviewer

A fresh reviewer should not receive the entire conversation history.
Separate context reduces the impact of the author’s assumptions.
The reviewer checks scope, edge cases, the API, and whether the handoff matches the actual changes.

Pass along TASK_SPEC.md.
Pass along HANDOFF_NOTE.md.
Add the diff relative to the base branch.
Add test and check results.
Describe the review focus and priority risks.
Ask reviewers to support findings with a link to a diff, test, or other evidence.

Do not confuse engineering artifacts

Artifact	Role
Handoff note	Continuation or verification of the current task
PR description	A change package before merge
Commit message	One logical step in history
Changelog	Changes for the release and the user

A quality handoff completes the milestone

After the handoff, the task becomes less dependent on the author’s memory: another session or person can restore context, check gaps, and determine the next action. This is the final artifact of a controlled transfer, not a formality before completion.

Canonical lesson source · JavaRush

Open JavaRush material