Open format · v1.0

Handoff Continuity Record

A platform-neutral JSON record for the state another human or AI agent needs to verify and continue interrupted work.

Format: JSON
Schema: Draft 2020-12
Runtime: Neutral
License: MIT

Direct answer

What should an agent handoff contain?

A useful agent handoff contains the objective, verified and unverified state, decisions, evidence, constraints, next action, ownership, and unresolved review. The continuity record makes those fields machine-readable without prescribing how agents are routed, authenticated, or hosted.

Normative record

Eight continuation fields

The schema keeps the short operational brief separate from its evidence and implementation-specific extensions.

Objective

The desired outcome and explicit acceptance criteria.

Current state

Complete, in-progress, blocked, and unverified claims kept separate.

Decisions

Active and superseded choices with the rationale needed to avoid repeating work.

Evidence

Files, URIs, content types, claims, and optional SHA-256 integrity digests.

Constraints

Permissions, safety rules, deadlines, budgets, dependencies, and exclusions.

Next action

One concrete continuation step and the observable result that verifies it.

Ownership

The next responsible human, agent, or service plus optional reviewers.

Open review

Unresolved feedback and resolved findings linked to the revision that addressed them.

Conformance

Producers preserve state; receivers verify it

Producer requirements

Complete every required top-level field.
Separate verified state from unverified claims.
Reference evidence instead of embedding credentials.
Keep implementation data under namespaced extensions.
Link resolved review to the revision that addressed it.

Receiver requirements

Confirm the objective before acting.
Read the evidence required for the next action.
Observe applicable permissions and safety constraints.
Identify the responsible next actor.
Verify the stated result before claiming continuation.

Reference validator

Validate a record without installing dependencies

Download the validator and example, then run the structural conformance check with Node.js.

Terminal

curl -O https://handover.sh/protocol/v1/validate.mjs
curl -O https://handover.sh/protocol/v1/example.json
node validate.mjs example.json

schema.json example.json validate.mjs conformance notes

Architecture boundary

The record complements transport and routing

It describes continuation state. It does not replace protocols that connect tools or delegate work.

MCPExposes tools and resources an agent can use to read, publish, review, and continue the record.

A2A or orchestrationRoutes work or messages between actors. The continuity record is the durable payload they can exchange.

Git or local filesCan store the record beside one repository when a shared service is unnecessary.

HandoverAdds authenticated identities, immutable revisions, artifact storage, anchored review, search, and access policy.

Security boundary

Transfer useful state, not secrets or hidden reasoning

Never include passwords, tokens, private keys, session cookies, hidden chain-of-thought, or unnecessary personal data. Refer to approved secret names, preserve concise decision rationale, and attach only the evidence the receiving actor is authorized to use.

Related standards

Primary references

Model Context Protocol architectureModel Context Protocol Agent2Agent protocol specificationA2A Project Handoffs in the OpenAI Agents SDKOpenAI JSON Schema Draft 2020-12JSON Schema

Put the record to work

Store it in Git, pass it through MCP, or publish it to Handover

The format is independent of Handover. Use the platform when you need shared identity, revisions, files, review, search, and access policy around the record.

Connect Handover Test continuation