Handoff

# Prompt doc — the handoff contract template

**Source:** Chapter 6 / Appendix A3 · **File:** [`prompts/handoff.template.md`](../../prompts/handoff.template.md)
· **Catalog doc:** [handoff](../handoff.md)

## What it is

The model-neutral contract that carries a decision to any executor. Contract on the
gate, not the code — any implementation that clears the verification gate is acceptable.
One rule: *not in this file, it didn't happen.*

## Full template (verbatim, the 9-section clean version)

The complete template — TL;DR, Context, Task, Constraints, Verification gate,
Escalation triggers, Open disagreements, Raw results, Decisions log — lives in
[`prompts/handoff.template.md`](../../prompts/handoff.template.md). A filled 7-section
instance (the ch06 BUILD STEP scaffold) is [`examples/handoff.sample.md`](../../examples/handoff.sample.md).

## Expected output schema

Markdown `## ` sections. The four that must close or the executor guesses: **Context,
Task, Constraints, Escalation**. The **Verification gate** is a table carrying a
`| Threshold |` column (a command + a number, not an opinion). Raw results is builder-owned;
Decisions log is architect-owned.

## How deterministic code consumes it