conversation-handoff-mcp

MCP server for transferring conversation context between AI chats or different projects within the same AI.

日本語ドキュメント

Features

• Tags & Search (v0.12.0+): Tag handoffs with structured labels (project:foo, issue:176) and discover them with handoff_search — multi-criteria filtering by tags, text, project, AI, status, and date range
• Handoff Metadata (v0.11.0+): Enrich handoff_list with message count, size, status, and next action — decide on work resumption without loading full conversations
• Comments/Annotations (v0.10.0+): Add notes and annotations to handoffs for cross-session context
• Server Restart (v0.9.0+): Restart the shared HTTP server from any MCP client — useful after package updates
• Audit Logging (v0.7.0+): Optional structured JSONL logging for diagnostics (--audit flag)
• Verbatim Conversation Saving (v0.6.1+): AI saves complete conversations without summarization or abbreviation
• Merge Handoffs (v0.6.0+): Combine multiple related handoffs into one unified context
• MCP Apps UI (v0.5.0+): Interactive UI for browsing and managing handoffs on compatible clients
• Auto-Connect (v0.4.0+): Server automatically starts in the background - no manual setup required
• Auto-Reconnection (v0.4.0+): Seamlessly reconnects when server goes down - no manual intervention needed
• Memory-Based Storage: Lightweight temporary clipboard design - no files written to disk
• Common Format: Human-readable Markdown format
• Lightweight API: Returns only summaries when listing to save context
• Auto-Generated Keys (v0.4.0+): Key and title are now optional in handoff_save

Installation

Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, and other MCP clients.

Configuration File Locations

Client	Config File
Claude Desktop (macOS)	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Desktop (Windows)	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Code	~/.claude/settings.json
Codex CLI	~/.codex/config.toml
Gemini CLI	~/.gemini/settings.json
Cursor	~/.cursor/mcp.json
ChatGPT Desktop	In-app settings (Developer Mode)

Via npm (Recommended)

No pre-installation required - runs via npx.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conversation-handoff": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["conversation-handoff-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For global installation:

npm install -g conversation-handoff-mcp

Local Build

git clone https://github.com/trust-delta/conversation-handoff-mcp.git
cd conversation-handoff-mcp
npm install
npm run build

MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conversation-handoff": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/conversation-handoff-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Note: Codex CLI uses TOML format. See Codex MCP documentation for details.

Tools

handoff_save

Save conversation context. Key and title are auto-generated if omitted (v0.4.0+). The conversation field stores the complete verbatim content — AI is instructed not to summarize or abbreviate messages (v0.6.1+).

// With explicit key and title
handoff_save(
  key: "project-design",
  title: "Project Design Discussion",
  summary: "Decided on MCP server design approach",
  conversation: "## User\nQuestion...\n\n## Assistant\nAnswer..."
)

// Auto-generated key and title (v0.4.0+)
handoff_save(
  summary: "Decided on MCP server design approach",
  conversation: "## User\nQuestion...\n\n## Assistant\nAnswer..."
)
// → key: "handoff-20241208-143052-abc123" (timestamp + random)
// → title: "Decided on MCP server design approach" (from summary)

handoff_list

Get list of saved handoffs (summaries only).

handoff_list()

handoff_load

Load full content of a specific handoff.

handoff_load(key: "project-design")
handoff_load(key: "project-design", max_messages: 10)  // Last 10 messages only

handoff_clear

Delete handoffs.

handoff_clear(key: "project-design")  // Specific key
handoff_clear()  // Clear all

handoff_merge (v0.6.0+)

Merge multiple related handoffs into one. Useful for combining discussions from separate sessions.

// Merge two handoffs (chronological order by default)
handoff_merge(keys: ["session-1", "session-2"])

// With custom key and delete sources
handoff_merge(
  keys: ["design-v1", "design-v2", "design-v3"],
  new_key: "design-final",
  new_title: "Final Design Document",
  delete_sources: true,
  strategy: "sequential"
)

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
keys	Yes	-	Array of handoff keys to merge (min 2)
new_key	No	auto	Key for merged handoff
new_title	No	auto	Title for merged handoff
new_summary	No	auto	Summary for merged handoff
delete_sources	No	false	Delete source handoffs after merge
strategy	No	"chronological"	"chronological" (by creation time) or "sequential" (array order)

handoff_stats

Check storage usage and limits.

handoff_stats()

MCP Apps UI (v0.5.0+)

For MCP Apps-compatible clients, handoff_list automatically opens an interactive UI. Non-compatible clients receive the standard JSON response.

Features

• List View: Card-based list showing title, source AI, and date
• Detail View: Expandable cards showing summary and conversation (parsed as User/Assistant messages)
• Load (v0.5.2+): Insert handoff content into chat to continue conversation
• Delete: Remove handoffs directly from UI

Known Limitations

Note: According to the MCP Apps specification, sendMessage should add messages directly to the conversation and trigger a model response. However, Claude Desktop's current implementation inserts the message into the chat input field instead, requiring the user to press Enter. When you click "Load", the handoff content will be inserted into the input field - press Enter to send it to Claude. This behavior is expected to improve in future Claude Desktop updates.

Auto-Connect Mode (v0.4.0+)

Starting with v0.4.0, the server automatically starts in the background when an MCP client connects. No manual setup required!

How It Works

[User launches Claude Desktop]
  → MCP client starts
  → Scans ports 1099-1200 in parallel for existing server
  → If no server found: auto-starts one in background
  → Connects to server
  → (User notices nothing - it just works!)

[User launches Claude Code later]
  → MCP client starts
  → Scans ports 1099-1200 in parallel
  → Finds existing server
  → Connects to same server
  → Handoffs are shared!

Operating Modes

Mode	When	Behavior
Auto-Connect (default)	No HANDOFF_SERVER set	Discovers or auto-starts server
Explicit Server	HANDOFF_SERVER=http://...	Connects to specified URL
Standalone	HANDOFF_SERVER=none	No server, in-memory only

Memory-Based Storage

Handoff data is stored in memory only:

• Data is shared across all connected MCP clients via the HTTP server
• Data is lost when the server process stops
• No files are written to disk - lightweight and clean
• Perfect for temporary context sharing during active sessions
• FIFO Auto-Cleanup: When limit is reached, oldest handoff is automatically deleted (no errors)

Auto-Reconnection

When the shared server goes down during operation:

[Server stops unexpectedly]
  → User calls handoff_save()
  → Request fails (connection refused)
  → Auto-reconnection kicks in:
    → Rescan ports 1099-1200 for existing server
    → If found: connect to it
    → If not found: start new server in background
  → Retry the original request
  → User sees success (transparent recovery!)

• Configurable retry limit via HANDOFF_RETRY_COUNT (default: 30)
• On final failure: outputs pending content for manual recovery
• Other MCP clients automatically discover the new server on their next request

Server Auto-Shutdown (TTL)

The server automatically shuts down after a period of inactivity:

• Default: 24 hours of no requests
• Configurable via HANDOFF_SERVER_TTL environment variable
• Set to 0 to disable auto-shutdown
• Next MCP client request will auto-start a new server

MCP Client Configuration

Standard configuration (recommended) - Just works with auto-connect:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conversation-handoff": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["conversation-handoff-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Specify custom server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conversation-handoff": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["conversation-handoff-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "HANDOFF_SERVER": "http://localhost:3000"
      }
    }
  }
}

Force standalone mode (no server):

For Claude Desktop only. Claude Desktop cannot transfer conversations between projects by default, but since it shares memory space as a single app, this MCP server enables handoffs between projects. Claude Code and CLI tools run as separate processes per tab/session, so handoffs don't work in this mode.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conversation-handoff": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["conversation-handoff-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "HANDOFF_SERVER": "none"
      }
    }
  }
}

Manual Server Start (Optional)

If you prefer manual control:

# Default port (1099)
npx conversation-handoff-mcp --serve

# Custom port
npx conversation-handoff-mcp --serve --port 3000

HTTP Endpoints

Method	Path	Description
POST	/handoff	Save a handoff
POST	/handoff/merge	Merge multiple handoffs
GET	/handoff	List all handoffs
GET	/handoff/:key	Load a specific handoff
DELETE	/handoff/:key	Delete a specific handoff
DELETE	/handoff	Delete all handoffs
GET	/stats	Get storage statistics
GET	/	Health check

Workflow Example

Scenario: Design discussion in Claude Desktop → Implementation in Claude Code

1. In Claude Desktop - Have a design discussion:

   User: Let's design an authentication system for my app.
   
   Assistant: I recommend using JWT with refresh tokens...
   [detailed discussion continues]
   

2. Save the conversation - When ready to hand off:

   User: Save this conversation for implementation in Claude Code.
   
   Assistant: (calls handoff_save)
   ✅ Handoff saved with key: "auth-design-20241208"
   

3. In Claude Code - Load and continue:

   User: Load the auth design discussion.
   
   Assistant: (calls handoff_load)
   # Handoff: Authentication System Design
   [Full conversation context loaded]
   
   I see we discussed JWT with refresh tokens. Let me implement that...
   

Key Points:

• The AI automatically formats and saves the conversation
• Context is fully preserved including code snippets and decisions
• No manual copy-paste needed

Note: The server automatically starts in the background when the first MCP client connects. No manual startup required.

Configuration

Customize behavior via environment variables.

Connection Settings (v0.4.0+)

Variable	Default	Description
HANDOFF_SERVER	(auto)	none for standalone, or explicit server URL
HANDOFF_PORT_RANGE	1099-1200	Port range for auto-discovery
HANDOFF_RETRY_COUNT	30	Auto-reconnect retry count
HANDOFF_RETRY_INTERVAL	10000	Auto-reconnect interval (ms)
HANDOFF_SERVER_TTL	86400000 (24h)	Server auto-shutdown after inactivity (0 = disabled)
HANDOFF_AUDIT	(disabled)	true or 1 to enable audit logging (same as --audit)

Storage Limits

Variable	Default	Description
HANDOFF_MAX_COUNT	100	Maximum number of handoffs
HANDOFF_MAX_CONVERSATION_BYTES	1048576 (1MB)	Maximum conversation size
HANDOFF_MAX_SUMMARY_BYTES	10240 (10KB)	Maximum summary size
HANDOFF_MAX_TITLE_LENGTH	200	Maximum title length
HANDOFF_MAX_KEY_LENGTH	100	Maximum key length

Configuration Example (Claude Desktop)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conversation-handoff": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["conversation-handoff-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "HANDOFF_MAX_COUNT": "50",
        "HANDOFF_MAX_CONVERSATION_BYTES": "524288"
      }
    }
  }
}

Conversation Format

## User
User's message

## Assistant
AI's response

Security

Prompt Injection Protection

The handoff_load output includes security markers to protect against prompt injection attacks:

• Warning banner: Alerts AI that content is user-provided and untrusted
• Code blocks: User content is wrapped in code blocks to prevent interpretation as instructions
• End marker: Clear boundary marking end of user content

This prevents malicious content stored in handoffs from being interpreted as AI instructions.

License

MIT

Author

trust-delta