Checkpoint

Workflow

Save progress, create WIP commit, and generate handoff document when pausing work, switching tasks, or approaching context limits.

Overview

The checkpoint skill preserves your working state through a structured 5-step process: collecting current state, staging meaningful changes, creating a WIP commit with structured metadata, generating a handoff document, and completing an outgoing checklist. It ensures no context is lost between sessions.

When to Use

• Pausing work between sessions
• Switching to a different task mid-stream
• Approaching context token limits
• Handing off work to another session or person

Key Features

• Selective staging: Never uses blanket git add . — stages files individually to avoid committing secrets or artifacts
• Structured WIP commits: Uses checkpoint: or wip: prefix with Done, Next, Risk, and Verify sections so the next session knows exactly where to pick up
• Handoff document generation: Creates HANDOFF.md in the project root (preferred) or docs/handoff/current.md (legacy) with objective, state, next actions, risks, and verification commands
• File-level specificity: Next actions must reference specific files and functions, not vague descriptions
• Outgoing checklist: Confirms all critical information is captured before ending the session

Example Prompts

Save my progress and create a checkpoint.

I need to switch tasks — checkpoint the current work.

We're running low on context, let's do a checkpoint.

Create a WIP commit and handoff document for this session.

Source

• Skill folder: skills/checkpoint/
• Standard: agentskills.io