diff --git a/agenticoding.test.ts b/agenticoding.test.ts
index 79c56b5..42d350c 100644
--- a/agenticoding.test.ts
+++ b/agenticoding.test.ts
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ test("/handoff sends the direction back through the LLM without opening the edit
 	assert.deepEqual(pi.sentUserMessages, [
 		{
 			content:
-				"Handoff direction: implement auth\n\nPrepare a handoff in the current session. First, save any durable reusable knowledge to the notebook: findings worth keeping, constraints discovered, decisions made, or other grounding future contexts will need. Then draft a concise but sufficiently detailed handoff brief capturing only the remaining situational context: current state, blockers, unresolved questions, failed paths worth avoiding, and next steps. The next context will read the notebook on demand, so do not duplicate notebook content in the brief. Use any structure that makes the next work unambiguous. Reference notebook pages by name when relevant.",
+				"Handoff direction: implement auth\n\nPrepare a handoff in the current session. First, save any durable reusable knowledge that aligns with the direction above to the notebook: findings worth keeping, constraints discovered, decisions made, or other grounding future contexts will need. Then draft a concise but sufficiently detailed handoff brief capturing only the remaining situational context: current state, blockers, unresolved questions, failed paths worth avoiding, and next steps. The next context will read the notebook on demand, so do not duplicate notebook content in the brief. Use any structure that makes the next work unambiguous. Reference notebook pages by name when relevant.",
 			options: undefined,
 		},
 	]);
diff --git a/handoff/command.ts b/handoff/command.ts
index 3459466..314a389 100644
--- a/handoff/command.ts
+++ b/handoff/command.ts
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ export function registerHandoffCommand(pi: ExtensionAPI, state: AgenticodingStat
 			}
 
 			pi.sendUserMessage(
-				`Handoff direction: ${direction}\n\nPrepare a handoff in the current session. First, save any durable reusable knowledge to the notebook: findings worth keeping, constraints discovered, decisions made, or other grounding future contexts will need. Then draft a concise but sufficiently detailed handoff brief capturing only the remaining situational context: current state, blockers, unresolved questions, failed paths worth avoiding, and next steps. The next context will read the notebook on demand, so do not duplicate notebook content in the brief. Use any structure that makes the next work unambiguous. Reference notebook pages by name when relevant.`,
+				`Handoff direction: ${direction}\n\nPrepare a handoff in the current session. First, save any durable reusable knowledge that aligns with the direction above to the notebook: findings worth keeping, constraints discovered, decisions made, or other grounding future contexts will need. Then draft a concise but sufficiently detailed handoff brief capturing only the remaining situational context: current state, blockers, unresolved questions, failed paths worth avoiding, and next steps. The next context will read the notebook on demand, so do not duplicate notebook content in the brief. Use any structure that makes the next work unambiguous. Reference notebook pages by name when relevant.`,
 				ctx.isIdle() ? undefined : { deliverAs: "followUp" },
 			);
 		},
diff --git a/handoff/tool.ts b/handoff/tool.ts
index 38d08fa..790fa11 100644
--- a/handoff/tool.ts
+++ b/handoff/tool.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ export function registerHandoffTool(
 
 		promptSnippet: "Pivot to a new job via deliberate handoff compaction",
 		promptGuidelines: [
-			"Before handoff, promote any missing durable grounding knowledge to the notebook. " +
+			"Before handoff, promote any missing durable grounding knowledge that the next context will need to the notebook. " +
 				"Then draft a concise but sufficiently detailed brief with the distilled next task and immediate starting state for the next clean context. The active notebook topic will reset after handoff, so the next context should assign a fresh topic from the brief or user direction.",
 		],