Mark the current conversation as a durable handoff so a new agent can resume the work. Use when the user wants to preserve state for a later or parallel session. Triggers include "hand this off", "write a handoff", "drop a wheypoint", "checkpoint this", "compact the conversation", and "/wheypoint".

/wheypoint /wheypoint records the state a new agent needs to resume the work. Use it for culture sessions, for work without a phase slug, and for a phase's Checkpoint & stop option. A phase checkpoint is a standalone, non terminal Wheypoint record, not a terminal phase artifact. Workers at a hard limit return observations; the parent, not the worker, runs checkpoint persistence. Inputs The conversation is the primary input. The optional argument shapes only the orientation line; the focus never removes a decision, question, or directive. Runtime commands Run every command through this skill's archive by its resolved installed bundle path; see [ ../cheese/references/harness portability.md ](../cheese/references/harness portability.md). When the consumer repository lacks skills/ , resolve the installed bundle path before execution; never assume the easy cheese checkout or current working directory. Repeat grep , status , next , or project to search several values in one list call; a hit matching any value of one flag is kept, and distinct flags combine with AND; never loop over list once per term; outside a Git checkout, list with no scope searches machine scope and reports scope fallback: machine , while an explicit scope keeps its meaning. fork writes only a child genesis record with one forked from edge; import writes only an imported record, and bundle digest covers the canonical bundle with no field of its own; [ references/work graph.md ](references/work graph.md) gives refs, edge kinds, the bundle, and the list graph filters. Create a link with checkpoint link ; resolve validates artifact links, grounded paths, Git objects, and coverage; a slug with no exact match resolves by unique prefix, then unique substring, and several matches return ambiguous with every candidate. resolve , list , log , show , schema , and turns only read; direct invocations return output, and STOP before checkpoint writing. /cheese continue uses resolve and never invokes another archive; slash commands are host renderings, not the control model; foreign machine hits require the owning checkout; follow [the continuation protocol](../cheese/references/continue resume.md). The parent delegates persistence to this capability as one structured checkpoint task and runs validate before checkpoint ; workers never invoke either command at a hard limit. Phase skills resolve with their own wheypoint resolve ref <slug command; follow [ references/delta contract.md ](references/delta contract.md) for its outcomes, working context , and findings. Flow 1. Read the user's words. Run turns and keep every user turn in view. 2. Map each turn to an entry, or write one line that says why the turn is not captured. 3. Rehydrate. Run show or resolve for the work id and note its revision id ; a first checkpoint needs no base. 4. Every write to an existing record needs that revision id as base (or base revision id ). After a compaction, read again before you write. 5. Write the intent. Follow [ references/intent contract.md ](references/intent contract.md). 6. Put each user stated constraint or preference in a directive entry with its verbatim quote . 7. Put each choice in a decision entry with a rationale . 8. Put each open item in a question entry; give a blocking question a rationale . 9. Record a parked fork as a question with gates and a rationale that names the options and your prior leaning. 10. Put the report a cold reader needs in notes . 11. Put paths and URLs in artifact links and working context , not their contents. 12. Validate. Run validate base <revision id and fix every named problem. 13. Checkpoint. Run checkpoint base <revision id . A base revision required or stale parent refusal means: read again, apply your change again, then write. 14. Report. State the durability the result reports and the resume commands. What the runtime enforces The runtime refuses an intent instead of dropping data. It refuses an unknown key and names its path. It refuses a first checkpoint that carries no entry and no notes. It refuses next: affinage without a PR reference in artifact . It refuses next: cook without an artifact . It refuses text that matches a credential pattern and names the field. It refuses an empty artifact links or remove artifact links list. It derives status: from the gating entries per the [handback contract](../cheese/references/handback contract.md); no author sets it. It refuses a baseline key rather than drop it; a Cook baseline stays in the Cook handoff. It requires a rationale for each blocking question a delta adds. It derives every identifier, digest, and revision. It refuses an agent authored fork transition and a forked from edge in a delta. It refuses notes over 6000 characters. It pins a bare path:line in working context or an artifact link to path:line@<short HEAD sha when HEAD holds the file, and otherwise warns with unpinned line ref (no checkout or commit, or an untracked, ignored, or absent file). It lists each local reference (an xdg: ref, an absolute path outside the checkout, or a Git ignored path) under Local references . It warns with stale notes when a decision changes and notes stay as they were, marks that drift at the top of Notes , and lists an entry that checkpoint supersede <old [ by <new ] rationale <why replaced under Superseded . Fix a refused intent and run checkpoint again. Handoff slug The checkpoint command writes the shared preamble at the top of the generated projection; every consumer reads it with parse handoff slug() . For next: tasks the projection adds a mode: parallel keyed line after artifact: ; the keyed block after the orientation holds the Wheypoint pins. The projection body shows gates, open entries, decisions, directives, notes, context, artifacts, tasks, and a final Identifiers section. The projection title is Wheypoint handoff . The projection is never the authority; never edit it and never resume from it by hand. next: values The meaning of each next: value is in [ references/intent contract.md ](references/intent contract.md); briesearch and culture are read only kickoffs, and tasks follows [ references/parallel handoffs.md ](references/parallel handoffs.md). A missing next: makes the handoff malformed; use hold when no action follows. Derive next: and status: from the open questions, not from expected success. Use status: gated: for every human decision; the resumed agent asks through the shared [handoff gate](../cheese/references/handoff gate.md) before it dispatches. Handwritten notes, their legacy values, and their provenance fields are in [ references/legacy notes.md ](references/legacy notes.md) and [ references/provenance fields.md ](references/provenance fields.md). Rules Never run a Git commit, push, or publication to raise durability. Never write a note by hand, never edit a generated projection, and never include a secret value. Reference each artifact by path or URL; do not copy its contents. Use complete sentences; write one sentence per line. Handoff End with the orientation and this link: Wheypoint dropped: [.cheese/notes/<slug .md](<absolute note path ) .