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Agentic Handover Protocol

This protocol defines how CHERENKOV agents transition work between each other to maintain consistency, safety, and architectural integrity.

The C2 Hub (Control Tower)

The C2 Hub is the central coordination layer. Any agent can assume the C2 role to act as the primary coordinator for a session or workflow.

Coordination Levels (3-tier Alert System)

Agents monitor their own context usage and status to trigger handovers:

  1. 🟢 GREEN (< 75% Context): Normal operations. Agent is stable.
  2. 🟡 YELLOW (75-90% Context): Approaching context limits. Agent should begin preparing a Handover Packet and notify the C2 Hub.
  3. 🔴 RED (> 90% Context): Critical threshold. Agent MUST stop work, serialize state to the AgentStateStore, and trigger an immediate handover to a fresh agent.

Handover Packet

A formal Handover Packet (serialized as a HandoverSnapshot) must include:

  • Context Summary: Brief description of current progress and goal.
  • Accumulated Results: Data gathered or produced so far.
  • Active Task ID: The ID of the task currently being executed.
  • Status & Version: Current agent status and state version.
  • Capabilities Needed: List of capabilities required to continue the work.

Handover Process

  1. Initiation: The source agent (or C2 Hub) calls initiate_handover.
  2. Snapshot Creation: Source agent state is captured in a HandoverSnapshot.
  3. Target Ready: The target agent is notified and enters RECEIVING_HANDOFF status.
  4. Acceptance: Target agent validates the snapshot against its capabilities.
  5. Completion: Target agent calls complete_handover, absorbing the snapshot state and becoming READY.
  6. Cleanup: Source agent returns to IDLE or is terminated.

AgentStateStore

The AgentStateStore is the single source of truth for agent persistence. - Located in agent_state/ (JSON backend). - Supports Redis for distributed environments. - Provides optimistic concurrency via versioning.

Code of Conduct for Agents

  1. Read-SSOT First: Every agent MUST read .agents/context.md before performing any action.
  2. No Hidden State: All relevant state MUST be stored in AgentState or the project filesystem.
  3. Atomic Handovers: Work MUST NOT be lost during transitions.
  4. Acknowledge C2: All agents operate under the coordination of the current C2 Hub role holder.