a0_software_orchestrator/help/handover/help.md

handover_to_specialist – Tool Documentation

Status: Phase 1 (read-only spike). The tool prepares a stage-1 handover package and appends a per-specialist briefing file. It does not yet invoke the subagent – the orchestrator follows up with call_subordinate().

---

Purpose

The Software-Orchestrator plugin exposes a single specialist hand-off tool that follows the 3-stage context-transfer pattern documented in /usr/workdir/handover-spike.md (sections 4 and 5):

1. Stage 1 (default): token-bounded package = summary + last N turns + decisions + artifacts. Cost ≈ 1 500 – 4 000 tokens.
2. Stage 2 (opt-in): specialist calls request_full_history() for the full chat context, capped at 50 000 tokens with automatic compaction.
3. Stage 3 (persistent): briefing file in <project_root>/.a0proj/handover/<specialist>-<topic>-<date>.md, append-only Markdown, readable on demand by the specialist.

The goal is to give the user the experience of talking to a named specialist (frontend designer, planner, architect, …) while keeping token usage low and context safe.

---

Tool signature

handover_to_specialist(
    specialist_profile: str,        # required, must be in the allow-list
    topic: str,                     # required, short slug for the briefing file
    summary: str,                   # LLM-curated summary of the older turns
    recent_turns: list[str],        # verbatim last turns (auto-trimmed to N)
    decisions: list[str],           # decisions made so far
    artifacts: list[str],           # paths / references to relevant files
    return_condition: str,          # when the specialist should hand back
    handover_reason: str,           # logged into the briefing file
    project_root: str,              # absolute path to the project root
    max_context_tokens: int,        # default 3000; warning if exceeded
    include_recent_turns: int,      # default 5
)

Argument notes

Argument	Required	Notes
specialist_profile	✅	One of the 11 known profiles (see below).
topic	✅	Short slug. Used in the briefing filename.
summary	recommended	LLM-curated; max 300 tokens recommended.
recent_turns	optional	Auto-trimmed to include_recent_turns.
decisions	optional	Free-form bullet points.
artifacts	optional	File paths or other references.
return_condition	optional	Default user_request.
handover_reason	optional	Logged in the briefing.
project_root	✅	Must be absolute. Used for the briefing file path.
max_context_tokens	optional	Default 3000.
include_recent_turns	optional	Default 5.

---

Known specialist profiles

The tool accepts only the following profile names. This is an explicit allow-list (defence-in-depth): a typo in the profile name produces a clear ERROR response, not a silent miss.

• a0_software_orchestrator
• codebase_explorer
• implementation_engineer
• quality_reviewer
• release_auditor
• requirements_analyst
• runtime_devops_engineer
• security_data_engineer
• solution_architect
• test_debug_engineer
• hacker

frontend_designer is not a known profile in Phase 1. It is on the roadmap for Phase 2.

---

Return value

The tool returns a JSON object with three top-level keys:

{
  "status": "ok",
  "persona_marker": "[frontend designer]",
  "package": {
    "specialist": "frontend_designer",
    "topic": "landing-page-hero",
    "summary": "...",
    "briefing_file": "/abs/path/.a0proj/handover/frontend-designer-landing-page-hero-2026-06-05.md",
    "estimated_tokens": 2143,
    "max_context_tokens": 3000,
    "oversize_warning": false
  },
  "briefing": {
    "path": "/abs/path/.a0proj/handover/frontend-designer-landing-page-hero-2026-06-05.md",
    "existed_before": false,
    "newly_created": true,
    "size_bytes": 1789
  },
  "next_step": "Orchestrator: review the package, then call_subordinate(...)"
}

If the package exceeds max_context_tokens, a WARNING: line is appended to the response so the orchestrator can decide whether to truncate.

---

Errors

The tool never raises an unhandled exception. All error paths return a Response(message="ERROR: …", error=True) so the orchestrator can decide how to react.

Common error cases:

Error	Cause
specialist_profile is required	missing or empty
unknown specialist profile	not in the allow-list
topic is required	missing or empty
project_root is required	missing or empty
project_root must be absolute	relative path
max_context_tokens must be positive	≤ 0
failed to append briefing file	OSError (permissions, disk full, …)

---

What the tool does NOT do (Phase 1 limits)

• ❌ Does not call call_subordinate(). The orchestrator is expected to do that in a follow-up reasoning step.
• ❌ Does not LLM-summarise the older turns. The orchestrator must pass a pre-computed summary argument.
• ❌ Does not update the state_store. A future phase will add a state_store.snapshot() call before the briefing is written.
• ❌ Does not modify the chat loop or any framework core.
• ❌ Does not expose a UI persona marker yet. Phase 3 will add the 🖌️ Designer style marker to the chat output.

---

Phase-2 plan (forward-looking)

• request_full_history() tool for specialists (stage 2).
• call_subordinate() wired into the orchestrator flow with persona marker.
• Loop guard: max_handover_depth = 3 to prevent bouncing.
• Integration with state_store.snapshot() for crash safety.
• Add frontend_designer (and any other missing) profile to the allow-list.
• UI persona marker in the webui chat output.

---

Related files

• Helper: helpers/handover_protocol.py
• Helper: helpers/briefing_file.py
• Tool: tools/handover_to_specialist.py
• Spike design doc: /usr/workdir/handover-spike.md
• Memory-protection rules: enforced inside handover_protocol.py (no mid-subagent compaction, no overwrite, briefing ≠ chat history).