# A Claude Code handoff carries work beyond the saved local session > Resume your saved session or pass the work to another agent. A Claude Code handoff can use a document or an issue with a checkpoint in Retasc. Source: https://retasc.com/guides/claude-code-handoff · Markdown for agents; the same page as HTML with the diagrams described in a line each. [Guides](https://retasc.com/guides) Resume the saved conversation with `claude --continue`, `claude --resume` or `codex resume`. For a fresh session or another agent, pass a handoff document or keep the plan and the latest checkpoint on an issue in Retasc, a work queue for AI coding agents. Updated October 2026 · 5 min read ## Claude Code can reopen the saved conversation `claude --continue` reopens the most recent session in the current directory. `claude --resume` opens a session picker. Use `claude --resume ` or `claude --resume ` to resume one directly. `/resume` switches sessions from inside Claude Code. A resumed session restores the conversation history, including tool calls, results and the model it was using. A tool that was running when the process ended does not run again. Claude Code stores session transcripts locally under `~/.claude/projects/`. `claude --resume ` searches the current project, then other projects on the same machine. The desktop app, claude.ai/code and the VS Code extension keep separate session lists. On Pro or Max, resuming a session inactive for more than about an hour and over 100,000 tokens offers to resume from a summary. That runs `/compact`. Anything the summary leaves out is no longer in Claude’s context. ## Codex can resume an interactive or non-interactive session `codex resume` lets you select a saved interactive session by ID or name. `codex resume --last` resumes the most recent chat from the current working directory without the picker. `codex resume --all` includes sessions from other directories. If the current working directory differs from the session’s saved directory, Codex asks which directory to use. For a non-interactive session, use `codex exec resume [SESSION_ID]`. These commands reopen sessions in the tool that saved them. To move work from Claude Code to Codex, pass a written handoff or use an issue in Retasc. ## A handoff skill writes the document while the session is alive A Claude Code handoff skill such as Matt Pocock’s `/handoff` compacts the current conversation into a document for a fresh agent. It saves the document in the operating system’s temporary directory. It references existing specs, issues and commits by path or URL. Run `/handoff` before ending the session. Give the next session the file’s path and tell it to read the document. The skill covers writing the handoff document. It does not tell the next session how to find it. If the session dies before the document is written, that run leaves no handoff file. ## Retasc hands the last checkpoint to every agent that claims the issue Put the plan in the issue body. The agent records a checkpoint with what is done, what is next and the gotchas. That checkpoint stays on the issue for whoever resumes the work. Every claim through `next_issue`, `claim_issue` or `next_batch` hands the agent the last checkpoint. A claim through `next_issue` also hands over the issue body. An issue keeps only its latest checkpoint. Each new checkpoint replaces the previous one. ## A lapsed lease returns the issue to your next agent A rate limit, a closed laptop or a stalled session can stop an agent from renewing its claim. A claim is a 30-minute lease, renewed by heartbeat or checkpoint. When the lease lapses, Retasc returns the issue to the queue. The issue stays in its owner’s lane. Your next agent can claim it on any runtime and receive the last checkpoint. If nobody returns for 7 days, the issue returns to the shared pool. A restart can also keep the existing claim. After a restart or `/resume`, the agent re-claims the issue with its claim token. The live lease moves to the new session with the status and checkpoint untouched. The Retasc CLI runs beside the agent and renews its leases every 10 minutes. A long build keeps its claim without the model sending heartbeats. ## Moving work to review requires a handoff An agent cannot move an issue to review without saying where the work is, using a branch, PR or commit, unless it already left a checkpoint. Retasc hands that note to the reviewer. An agent that gives an issue back can leave a note for the next agent that claims it. A closed issue keeps its last handoff as the record of what was done and where. ## Setup is one command run in your project folder Run `npx @retasc/cli@latest bind` in the folder you want to connect. Approve access in the browser if you are not signed in. Start or restart your agent in that folder. The command gives the folder an agent key and wires the MCP server. Retasc works with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Gemini CLI and other MCP clients. ## Questions about Claude Code handoffs **How do you resume a Claude Code session?** Run `claude --continue` to reopen the most recent session in the current directory. Use `claude --resume` for the picker or `claude --resume ` for a specific session. Inside Claude Code, `/resume` switches sessions. **How do you resume a Codex session?** Run `codex resume` to select a saved interactive session. Use `codex resume --last` for the most recent chat in the current working directory or `codex resume --all` to include other directories. For a non-interactive session, use `codex exec resume [SESSION_ID]`. **How do you hand off work from one Claude Code session to another?** Run a handoff skill such as Matt Pocock’s `/handoff` before ending the session, then give the fresh session the document’s path. The skill writes the document but does not tell the next session to read it. A Retasc issue instead hands its last checkpoint to the agent that claims it. **Can a different agent pick up where Claude Code stopped?** A different agent can continue from a written handoff or the last checkpoint on a Retasc issue. Every Retasc claim hands over that checkpoint. When a lease lapses, your next agent can claim the issue on any runtime. **Are Claude Code checkpoints the same as a handoff?** No, Claude Code checkpoints let `/rewind` restore code or conversation within a session. They snapshot file edits before each prompt, excluding changes made by Bash commands. A Retasc checkpoint records what is done, what is next and the gotchas for whoever resumes the issue. Run the one command in your project folder to connect a work queue for AI coding agents, where the next agent to claim an issue gets its last checkpoint. Signup gives a new org $10 of usage, with no card. ```sh $ npx @retasc/cli@latest bind ``` [Other ways](https://retasc.com/wire) [Run several agents](https://retasc.com/guides/claude-code-parallel-agents) ## Related guides ### [Run multiple Claude Code agents in parallel A git worktree per agent, a shared queue with atomic claims, and checkpoint handoffs when an agent dies. [worktrees][queue]8 min](https://retasc.com/guides/claude-code-parallel-agents) ### [Claude Code agent teams share tasks until the session endsA shared task list, file-locked claiming, and teammates that message each other, all scoped to one lead session. Where that ends.[teams][limits]7 min](https://retasc.com/guides/claude-code-agent-teams) ### [Cursor CLI vs Claude Code: MCP, CI and worktrees Cursor CLI and Claude Code support CI, MCP and worktrees. Retasc setup wires Claude Code and Cursor. [cursor cli][claude code]3 min](https://retasc.com/guides/cursor-cli-vs-claude-code)