Long chats go bad. Starting over is worse.
Packs a whole conversation into one handoff block you paste into a fresh chat. Eight fixed sections, nothing important dropped, and two rules that stop the new chat drifting.
Free. No email required, nothing to download.
What you are ultimately trying to achieve, so the new chat knows what it is working towards before it reads anything else.
Exactly what you were working on when you stopped, separated from the wider goal so the two never get confused.
Choices already made and why, approaches you rejected, plus the rules and preferences you have set. Recorded as settled, not as suggestions.
Split into completed, in progress and not started, so nothing gets done twice and nothing gets quietly dropped.
Names, numbers, dates, URLs, products and file names, kept word for word. Uploaded files are listed here so you know what to re-attach.
The latest draft, prompt, plan or code, in full. This one is never summarised, because a summary of your draft is not your draft.
Anything unresolved or waiting on a decision, including anything discussed but never confirmed.
Where you left off, then the next steps in order, so the new chat starts working instead of asking what you want.
Save it as SKILL.md inside a folder called context-transfer and upload the zipped folder, or skip all that and paste the text in as your last message. Same output either way.
Type "context transfer" at the end of the chat. In ChatGPT you can also mention the skill with an @.
Read Decisions and Next actions. If either one is wrong, correct it now. This is the thirty second step that saves you an hour later.
It comes back as one code block, so it is a single click. Re-upload anything listed under Critical context, then let it continue from Next actions.
Save it as SKILL.md and upload it to Claude or ChatGPT, or paste it straight into a chat as your last message. Both routes give the same result.
--- name: context-transfer description: Turns the current conversation into a compact but lossless handoff block that can be pasted into a brand-new chat so work continues with nothing important missing. Use when the user says "context transfer", "handoff", "hand this over", "move this to a new chat", "this chat is getting long", or asks for a summary another AI can pick up from. --- # Context Transfer Turn the current conversation into one standalone handoff that a fresh AI instance can read and continue from correctly, without access to the original chat. ## Rules - Compress the wording, never the facts. Cut filler, keep every detail that affects the work. - Do not invent missing information. If something was never stated, write "Not stated". - Do not re-open decisions that have already been made. Record them as settled. - If something was discussed but never confirmed, label it "Unconfirmed". - Keep names, numbers, dates, URLs, file names, product names and terminology exactly as written. - Working material (drafts, prompts, code, plans, structures) goes in verbatim, latest version only. Never summarise it. - List any files or images that were uploaded by name, and note they must be re-uploaded in the new chat. - Prioritise what a fresh instance needs to continue correctly over conversation history. ## Output Return one code block and nothing else. It must start with the heading CONTEXT TRANSFER and use the sections below in this order. Leave no section out; write "None" if a section is empty. ``` CONTEXT TRANSFER Instruction for the new chat: Read this handoff in full. Treat Decisions and constraints as settled. Re-uploaded files are listed under Critical context. Confirm you understand in two lines, then continue from Next actions. 1. OBJECTIVE What we are ultimately trying to achieve. 2. CURRENT TASK Exactly what we are working on right now. 3. DECISIONS AND CONSTRAINTS Choices made (with the reason where it matters), rejected approaches and why, requirements, preferences, style rules. 4. PROGRESS Completed: In progress: Not started: 5. CRITICAL CONTEXT Names, numbers, dates, URLs, files, products, examples and terminology where accuracy matters. Files to re-upload. 6. CURRENT WORKING MATERIAL Latest version of any draft, prompt, plan, code or structure needed to continue, in full. 7. OPEN QUESTIONS AND BLOCKERS Anything unresolved or waiting on a decision. 8. NEXT ACTIONS Where we left off, then the next logical steps in order. ```
A clean handoff is one small fix. We build the system that keeps your context in one place and does the work every week, then either hand it to your team or run it for you.