Handoff

Handoff lets an agent or operator move useful state without dumping an entire chat transcript. The receiving side gets memory state, proof artifacts, and restore instructions.

Create A Handoff

zmem handoff --summary-only

This writes a handoff directory under .zerker/handoff.

Preview, Then Restore

Verify the package, inspect its effect on the selected destination, and obtain a preview id without importing memory:

zmem \
  --db .zerker/imported.sqlite \
  restore \
  --handoff-dir .zerker/handoff \
  --dry-run \
  --summary-only

The preview reports the snapshot and bundle verification state, incoming and conflicting memory ids, whether the destination is empty, and whether any memory would be deleted. It writes no memory, receipt, or continuity state.

Apply the exact reviewed preview:

zmem \
  --db .zerker/imported.sqlite \
  restore \
  --handoff-dir .zerker/handoff \
  --confirm-preview <preview-id>

If the package or target state changes after preview, confirmation fails. The local zmem ui follows the same flow and restores into a fresh copy rather than replacing the current workspace database.

Run status after restore:

zmem --db .zerker/imported.sqlite status --summary-only

What Good Handoff Includes

• memory records that are safe to carry forward,
• receipts and event history needed for verification,
• policy and agent prompt context,
• clear restore commands,
• a read-only, destination-bound restore preview,
• enough provenance for the receiving agent to know what it is allowed to trust.