> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.plannotator.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Coding Agent Handoff Template

> Copy a coding-agent handoff template that connects the request, revision, changes, validation evidence, deviations, risks, and next action.

Use a handoff to help the next person or agent verify returned work. It should point to the real request, revision, diff, and evidence. It should not replace those records or dump an entire agent transcript.

```md theme={null}
# Handoff: [Outcome]

## Request
- Source: [issue, plan, specification, or message]
- Reviewed revision: [commit, branch, PR, document version, or date]
- Intended outcome: [one sentence]

## What changed
- [User-visible or system change]
- [Important implementation boundary]

## Validation
- `[command]` → [result]
- [browser, integration, migration, or operator proof] → [result]

## Evidence
- Diff: [link or revision]
- Screenshots, HTML, logs, or reports: [links]

## Deviations and decisions
- [Difference from the request and why]
- [New decision recorded elsewhere]

## Risks and incomplete work
- [Known risk, skipped proof, or follow-up]

## Next action
[Review, revise, merge, deploy, investigate, or hand to another owner.]
```

## Annotated example

```md theme={null}
# Handoff: Reject expired export links before storage access

## Request
- Source: issue #418 and technical-spec.md R7
- Reviewed revision: commit 4f2c8a1

## What changed
- Expiry validation now runs in the shared download gate.
- Hidden and missing links keep the same 404 response.

## Validation
- `pnpm test download-route` → 18 passed
- Two-worker integration proof → expired requests made zero storage reads

## Risks and incomplete work
- Clock-skew policy was preserved but not load-tested.

## Next action
Review the route diff and the new integration assertion.
```

The handoff names a revision and maps each claim to evidence. The reviewer can inspect the result without trusting the summary alone.

For a concrete state handoff, inspect the [generated GSD project state from the reliable-webhook-delivery run](https://github.com/plannotator/spec-planning-frameworks/blob/main/examples/gsd/raw/.planning/STATE.md). It records the project's current phase and next action. The later phase-plan run was interrupted before it produced a plan.

Read [How to design a coding-agent handoff](/learn/code-context/ai-coding-agent-handoff) for the full method. Use the [AI coding plan template](/templates/ai-coding-plan) for intended work and the handoff for returned work.

GitHub's official guide shows how reviewers can [explore a Copilot-created pull request through its session logs](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/tutorials/explore-pull-requests), and OpenAI's [Codex introduction](https://openai.com/index/introducing-codex/) describes returning citations, terminal logs, and test results. Those are examples of source evidence a handoff can index; the handoff should not replace them.

*Reviewed July 19, 2026. Written and maintained by the Plannotator documentation team.*