---
name: handoff-prompt-stale-user-hint-newer-state
description: |
  Gate execution of a structured runbook/handoff/plan prompt behind an AskUserQuestion
  when the user explicitly hints that newer state (issues filed, PRs merged, probes
  shipped) has landed since the prompt was authored. Use when: (1) the user invokes
  "execute docs/handoffs/session_NNN_*.md" or "run this plan" or "implement this ADR"
  AND adds an inline aside like "but please be aware of #642, #662, #663" / "watch out
  for PR #N" / "FYI #issue landed since this was written"; (2) before executing, a
  scan reveals issues/PRs in the user's hint list were filed/merged AFTER the prompt's
  authoring timestamp; (3) the newer artifacts could materially change what the prompt
  should do (e.g., a P1 issue surfacing that the prompt's design decision needs
  revisiting, a probe correction flipping a verdict, a sibling PR's merge claiming an
  ID the prompt reserved). Default behavior to avoid: execute the prompt verbatim and
  paper over the divergence in a post-merge comment. Correct behavior: pause, fetch
  current state of each hinted artifact, then AskUserQuestion with concrete options
  for how scope should shift. Generalises the probe-block case captured by
  `feedback_brief_says_probe_dont_close_on_permission_block` (project-feedback) — same
  root principle (don't barrel forward when brief's premise has changed) but the
  trigger is "user hint about newer issues" rather than "sandbox blocks probe".
author: Claude Code
version: 1.0.0
date: 2026-05-10
---

# Stale handoff prompt: user hints newer state landed since authoring

## Problem

You're asked to execute a structured prompt (handoff, runbook, plan, ADR, implementation
spec) that was authored at time `T0`. The user's invocation includes a casual aside —
"but please be aware of #X, #Y, #Z" / "watch out for PR #N" / "FYI X landed". Between
`T0` and execution, those artifacts were filed or merged and they materially change
what the prompt should do.

The default behavior is to execute the prompt verbatim and surface any divergence in a
post-execution comment. That's wrong: the user is telling you the premise has changed
and is asking you to re-evaluate scope **before** executing.

Failure mode: you ship the prompt's original plan, the newer state's implications get
documented retroactively, and the user has to file a follow-up PR (or worse — a fix-up
PR after auto-deploy) to reconcile.

## Trigger conditions

Activate this skill when **all** of these hold:

1. The user's instruction has two parts: (a) "execute / run / implement [structured
   prompt file or runbook]" AND (b) an aside flagging GitHub issues, PRs, commits, or
   state-of-the-world that should be "aware of" / "factor in" / "watch out for" /
   "FYI." Phrasings include:

   - "execute X, but be aware of #N"
   - "run the prompt — watch out for PR #M"
   - "implement this, factoring in #issue"
   - "but FYI #N was filed since"
   - "remember #X is open now"

2. Before any code changes, a quick check (`gh issue view`, `gh pr view`, `git log`)
   shows at least one hinted artifact was filed/merged AFTER the prompt's authoring
   timestamp (`Date:` line, frontmatter, git mtime, or first commit on the prompt's
   feature branch).

3. The artifact's content is non-trivial — a P1+ issue, a merged PR, a probe verdict,
   a panel review request_changes. (If the hint is just "remember the deploy schedule
   is Friday" — that's calendar context, not a scope change. Don't fire this skill.)

## Solution

**Step 1: Pause before the first scope-affecting action.**

Don't run `git checkout` to the prompt's working branch; don't start the rebase; don't
spawn implementation subagents. The cost of pausing for 1 AskUserQuestion turn is far
lower than the cost of a partial-execution rollback.

**Step 2: Fetch the current state of each hinted artifact.**

For each `#N` the user named:

```sh
# For each #N — issue or PR doesn't matter; gh detects the type:
gh issue view N --repo <org>/<repo> --json number,title,state,labels,body
gh pr view N    --repo <org>/<repo> --json number,title,state,mergeable,merged
```

Pull the body. Look for:
- Severity labels (`p0`, `p1`, `bug`, `ml-correctness`, `security`)
- "Closes / Refs / Supersedes" cross-refs to the prompt's target issue
- Verdicts that contradict the prompt's plan (e.g., "Probe X verified — leakage-adjacent")
- Path-forward menus or amendments

**Step 3: Map each artifact to its implication for the prompt.**

For each artifact, write down in ≤1 sentence:
- "If this is true, the prompt's [step N / design choice / hero number] should change to …"
- "If false / no longer applicable, the prompt is still correct."

**Step 4: Issue a single AskUserQuestion gating execution scope.**

Present the user with concrete options. Bias toward giving them a default that respects
the artifact's implications:

```
question: "PR #656 ships A1 on a basis that #662 now flags as leakage-adjacent.
           How should I proceed with the merge?"
options:
  - "Merge as-is + caveat"        (execute verbatim, surface divergence post-merge)
  - "Edit basis before merge"     (re-scope per #662 path 1; merge after)
  - "Hold PR, design pivot"       (don't merge today; resolve newer issue first)
  - "Narrative-only edit + merge" (smallest delta to address the newer state)
```

Each option's `description` field should explicitly cite what changes and what stays
the same.

**Step 5: Execute the user's choice.**

If "execute verbatim": run the original prompt; flag the divergence in PR description
and follow-up comments.

If "edit / pivot / hold": adjust scope. Update your task list with the new plan before
touching code. The prompt becomes a partial input, not a script.

**Step 6: Record the gate in the post-merge artifacts.**

PR description: include a "Updated after #X amendment" subsection. Commit message:
"...post-#N narrowing." Memory file: capture the user-hint-triggered-rescope as a
session-level annotation so future similar prompts get the gate routine in advance.

## Verification

You did this right if:

1. The first AskUserQuestion fires BEFORE any `git checkout` to the impl branch or
   any code-modifying tool call.
2. The PR description (or commit body) cites the newer issue(s) by number in the
   "what changed" section.
3. The post-merge issue closure comments link back to the prompt's authoring track
   AND the newer-state artifacts that drove the amendment.
4. The user's aside ("be aware of #X") shows up as a load-bearing decision point in
   the session log, not a footnote.

## Example: S164c PR #656 merge with #642/#662/#669 hints (the-project-repo)

**Trigger:** `docs/handoffs/session_164c_pr656_merge_prompt.md` authored 2026-05-09;
user invoked "can you execute docs/handoffs/session_164c_pr656_merge_prompt.md? but
please be aware of #642, #662, and #663" on 2026-05-10.

**Fetched state:**
- `#642` (P1, ml-correctness) — CLOSED via PR #663 (MERGED). Probe 3b verdict:
  `event_signup` IS leakage-adjacent (pre-app marginal lift −0.62pp).
- `#662` (P1, ml-correctness) — OPEN. Surfaced wider finding: 6 of 7 events in A1
  Sharp's basis show negative or near-zero pre-app marginal lift. Named 4 paths.
- `#663` — MERGED docs/probe-3b artifact.
- (Discovered by reading #662 body) `#669` — MERGED methodology correction: under
  the binary-filter framing, 2 of 3 A1 Sharp events ARE clean (program_page_view +
  checklist_item_complete), not just program_page_view alone.

**Map:**
- The prompt's plan: merge PR #656 as-is (3-event basis at 27.3%/n=1,149/~91 today).
- Post-#669 implication: A1 Sharp's 3-event basis includes 2 leakage-flavored events
  (event_signup, todo_item_click). The prompt's plan would ship known-leakage to prod.
- Options narrow to either: (a) accept the leakage with a caveat, (b) narrow basis
  to the 2 clean events per #662 path 1, (c) hold the PR, (d) narrative-only edit.

**AskUserQuestion** with all 4 options + concrete trade-offs. User chose (b) "Edit
basis to clean events."

**Result:** PR #656 squash-merged at `cd8198de` with the narrowed 2-event basis
(22.3%/n=448/~76 today), ADR 0028 amendment, analysis doc S164c section. Closes
#498 + #662 in one merge. Auto-deployed to `the-dashboard-service-00077-b6b`.

Had the prompt been executed verbatim, the narrative-vs-SQL drift class that issue
#498 was originally opened to fix would have shipped a fresh instance — counsellors
seeing wrong event chips on the A1 card.

## Notes

- **Adjacent to but distinct from**
  `feedback_brief_says_probe_dont_close_on_permission_block` (project-feedback): the
  same don't-barrel-forward principle, but the trigger here is a user's verbal hint
  about newer state, not a sandbox block on a required probe.
- **Adjacent to but distinct from** `subagent-pre-existing-misattribution` (global):
  catches when a subagent claims a task is its own work when it was actually done in
  a prior session. That skill protects against attribution drift; this skill protects
  against scope drift.
- **Adjacent to but distinct from** `auto-mode-handoff-deploy-permission-still-denied`
  (global): also about handoff execution, but the failure mode is "Bash permission
  classifier denies despite AskUserQuestion answer" rather than "prompt's premise has
  changed."
- **AskUserQuestion is non-negotiable here.** Without the gate, the model's default
  is to execute the prompt verbatim — exactly what the user's hint was trying to
  prevent. Don't rationalize that you "understand the implications" without surfacing
  them; the user surfaced them deliberately so the decision is theirs.
- **When the hint is ambiguous** ("be aware of the model retrain schedule"), ask the
  user what they mean before assuming it's a scope change. Some hints are operational
  context (deploy windows, on-call) not scope-amending.
- **When the hint cites artifacts NOT yet in your conversation context** (e.g., an
  internal Slack thread): ask the user to summarize or paste the load-bearing content.
  Don't infer from the issue number alone.

## References

- [Project incident — the-project-repo S164c, 2026-05-10](https://github.com/wan-huiyan/the-project-repo/pull/656): user said "execute docs/handoffs/session_164c_pr656_merge_prompt.md? but please be aware of #642, #662, and #663"; the AskUserQuestion gate caught a leakage-recreation that would have shipped to production otherwise.
- [Sister project-feedback memory — feedback_brief_says_probe_dont_close_on_permission_block.md](file:///Users/<user>/.claude/projects/-Users-<user>-Documents-the-project-repo/memory/feedback_brief_says_probe_dont_close_on_permission_block.md) (narrower trigger: probe blocked by sandbox).