Standardized inline markers for inter-agent communication. Use when creating handoff annotations for other agents, scanning for pending work from upstream agents, or when the user mentions handoff markers, agent coordination, or cross-agent communication.
View on GitHublaurigates/claude-plugins
agent-patterns-plugin
January 24, 2026
Select agents to install to:
npx add-skill https://github.com/laurigates/claude-plugins/blob/main/agent-patterns-plugin/skills/agent-handoff-markers/SKILL.md -a claude-code --skill agent-handoff-markersInstallation paths:
.claude/skills/agent-handoff-markers/# Agent Handoff Markers
Structured inline markers for asynchronous agent-to-agent communication.
## Benefits
### Asynchronous Agent Coordination
- Agents can request work from other agents without blocking
- Work can be discovered and processed in future sessions
- Enables non-linear development workflows
### Traceability
- Clear audit trail of inter-agent requests
- Completion markers show what was delivered
- Referenced files provide full context
### Reduced Context Switching
- Agents can complete their current work before handling handoffs
- Markers persist until addressed
- No need for immediate handoff processing
### Improved Code Documentation
- Markers serve as inline documentation of intent
- Requirements are captured at the point of need
- Context is preserved alongside the code
### Workflow Flexibility
- Any agent can create markers for any other agent
- Priority levels allow triage
- Type categorization enables filtering
### CI/CD Integration Potential
- Markers can be scanned in pre-commit hooks
- Blocking markers could fail builds if unaddressed
- Automated reports of pending work
## Core Concept
Handoff markers are structured comments in code that:
1. Request work from a specific agent
2. Provide context for the receiving agent
3. Define requirements and constraints
4. Track completion status
## Marker Format
### Basic Structure
```typescript
// @AGENT-HANDOFF-MARKER(target-agent) {
// type: "category",
// context: "what this code does",
// needs: ["requirement 1", "requirement 2"],
// priority: "blocking|enhancement",
// refs: ["path/to/related/file"]
// }
```
### Full Example
```typescript
// @AGENT-HANDOFF-MARKER(ux-implementation) {
// type: "form-validation",
// context: "User registration form with email/password",
// needs: [
// "error message placement strategy",
// "focus management on validation failure",
// "ARIA live region for error announcements",
// "inline vs summary validation decision"
//