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When a session ends without a clean handoff, the next session starts from a guess. 09_handoff_reentry.txt exists to prevent that. It captures what happened, what changed, and where the work stopped — so that re-entry is fast and accurate. It does not hold project truth. It holds just enough continuity to put you back in the right place.

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What it is

09_handoff_reentry.txt is the non-canonical continuity layer of Signal Rail. It supports complete handoff and fast re-entry without losing the thread of the work. It does not try to tell the truth of the project: it tries to put you back into the session that just happened. It is non-canonical by design. A non-canonical handoff that still needs absorption is better than truth promoted too early into the wrong container. Canonical truth stays in 01 through 08.

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What it does

09_handoff_reentry.txt performs three distinct roles, each with its own form:
  1. Session snapshot — captures what happened in the session before the chat closes; prevents thread loss across boundaries
  2. Delta view — shows what truly changed from the previous session in files and canonicals; surfaces work that has not yet been absorbed
  3. Re-entry card — puts you back into the specific conversation and the real point where work stopped; restores the working frame without reconstructing it from scratch
It may summarize active freeze or current live state only as re-entry support, not as authority.

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Session Snapshot Form

The session snapshot captures the minimum needed to re-enter cleanly. Required fields must always be present. Optional fields may be omitted. Do not add narrative outside the form. 
Required:
- date:
- what was done:
- what remains open:
- next move:

Optional:
- blocker:
- files modified:
- active risk:
If D-xx, L-xx, or other canonical IDs are cited here, they remain continuity references only and do not become new local authority.

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Re-entry Card

The re-entry card rebuilds the specific working context — the conversation, the active topics, the ideas that emerged, the point where work stopped. 
- dominant session topic:
- second dominant topic, if present:
- strong idea that emerged:
- decisions discussed but not yet recorded:
- where work stopped before the pause:
- freeze / live summary:
- next sensible move:

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Delta View

The delta view surfaces what is new or changed since the previous session — particularly material that has not yet been absorbed into the canonicals. 
- files changed since the previous session:
- new entries in 04 not yet absorbed:
- changed states in 05:
- canonicals touched but not yet updated:

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Entries zone

09_handoff_reentry.txt is append-driven. New handoff snapshots must be inserted only inside the --- ENTRIES START --- and --- ENTRIES END --- marker zone. [TEMPLATE ONLY] in the entries zone is scaffold only and does not count as a live handoff snapshot. Use external reference for useful material outside the canonical set. AI-generated snapshots are unvalidated by default.

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What it does NOT do

09_handoff_reentry.txt is a continuity support file, not a canonical. It has firm limits:
  • 09 does not replace 02_protocol_freeze.txt — it cannot override or substitute for freeze entries
  • 09 does not replace 03_master_working.txt — a live state update cited in 09 is not a canonical live state update
  • 09 does not replace 04_decision_log.txt — a decision discussed in a session snapshot is not a recorded decision
  • 09 does not replace 08_surface_map.txt — technical surface authority stays in 08
  • Canonical updates must be routed separately — 09 can surface what needs updating, but the update itself must happen in the correct canonical file
  • AI-generated snapshots are unvalidated by default — they require human review before being treated as authoritative continuity

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Failure conditions

  • Writing decisions here instead of 04_decision_log.txt — a decision recorded only in 09 is invisible to the decision log and lacks the structure that makes decisions traceable
  • Updating live state here instead of 03_master_working.txt — live state in a continuity file is not canonical live state; the next session will start from a false position
  • Letting 09 become where things live instead of where things transit — 09 is a transit layer; if material has found its permanent home here, it has been routed incorrectly

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