Canonical: https://getacc.dev/guides/handoff-after-rate-limit/
Reviewed: 2026-10-21 · ACC 0.11.1

# Switch AI Coding Clients After a Rate Limit

When one coding client reaches a usage limit, another client may still have capacity. The difficult part of switching is often reconstructing what the first session decided, which changes exist, and which checks actually ran.

An ACC handoff records explicit context for another session. For example, you can switch from Antigravity to Codex, or from Claude Code to another available coding client, while preserving a checkpoint of the work. The receiving agent then checks the artifacts and continues within the scope you authorize.

It does not move a subscription allowance or reproduce the first model's hidden reasoning.

## Prepare the handoff while the source session can still act

Ask for a checkpoint when you approach a limit, before the session loses the ability to respond:

> Prepare an ACC handoff for another client to continue this feature. Include the current goal, checkout, changed files, decisions, checks that actually ran, remaining work, and blockers. Separate required continuation from optional improvements.

A useful checkpoint names artifacts that the next agent can inspect. With Git, include the branch and commit or explain that changes remain uncommitted. Without Git, identify the files and their current state directly.

ACC does not transfer uncommitted files between separate worktrees. A handoff that describes a patch still needs an authorized way for the receiver to access that patch.

## Record a compact work packet

Use a structure that distinguishes facts from next steps:

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Goal | Add registration with validation and a usable error state. |
| Current artifact | Service changes are in the service checkout; interface changes remain uncommitted in a separate checkout. |
| Decision | Return field errors as a map keyed by form field. |
| Verification | The focused validation test passed. The full suite has not run. |
| Remaining | Connect the form, test the error response, and run the repository gates. |
| Blocker | Product wording for the duplicate-email error remains undecided. |
| Authorized scope | Finish registration; leave password reset out of this change. |

The examples describe the packet's shape. They do not claim these changes or checks happened in your repository.

Ask the source agent to record it with ACC's finish operation when it is ready to end its ACC participation. Finish saves the handoff, releases its claims, and closes its ACC presence. It does not close the coding client.

## Recover the context in the destination client

Start the destination client in the same ACC workspace and tell it what it may continue:

> Read the latest relevant ACC handoff for registration. Verify the current artifacts, identify the remaining authorized work, and tell me your first concrete step before continuing. Do not treat optional backlog as an assignment.

A handoff addressed to a known participant appears in that participant's inbox. A room handoff can be recovered from history by a session that joins later. Agents use the installed skill or their session-bound MCP tools to read it.

A new conversation can have a new participant address. Do not assume it inherited a previous conversation's inbox. Stable addressing requires deliberate configuration; room history is useful when the destination does not exist yet.

## Distinguish receipt from acceptance

An acknowledgement says the receiving participant obtained the context. It does not mean the agent accepted the work.

For a continuation, look for an explicit reply naming:

1. The scope it accepts.
2. The artifacts it checked.
3. Its first authorized action.
4. Any unresolved question.

If you need that agreement before the source leaves, obtain it before finish. A response sent afterward can remain queued until the source returns.

## If the limit already stopped the source model

A handoff cannot be generated by a model that cannot run. Recover an earlier checkpoint or existing ACC history, then inspect the current code, diffs, and test output with the new client.

Ask the new session to list unknown decisions rather than invent them. It can continue a well-defined part of the task while asking you about a missing product choice.

ACC's durable state does not depend on an LLM coordinator remaining active. Creating a new summary from an unavailable conversation is a different capability, and ACC does not collect raw transcripts for that purpose.

## Complete the transition on the artifacts

Before considering the switch successful, verify that the new session can see the right checkout and has the permissions it needs. Have it run the appropriate checks after making changes.

The handoff is a record of what another agent reported. The code, tests, and your instructions determine what the next agent can safely do.

For the initial connection, use [Connect independent sessions](/guides/connect-ai-coding-sessions/). For delivery behavior during the transition, see [idle, busy, and offline sessions](/guides/message-delivery/).

## Sources

- [ACC concepts](https://github.com/automatis-tools/agents-can-communicate/blob/8bfb53f35d8692fdc5f02adf947b69eb26a68294/docs/CONCEPTS.md)
- [ACC CLI reference](https://github.com/automatis-tools/agents-can-communicate/blob/8bfb53f35d8692fdc5f02adf947b69eb26a68294/docs/CLI.md)
- [ACC setup](https://github.com/automatis-tools/agents-can-communicate/blob/8bfb53f35d8692fdc5f02adf947b69eb26a68294/docs/GETTING_STARTED.md)
- [ACC security model](https://github.com/automatis-tools/agents-can-communicate/blob/8bfb53f35d8692fdc5f02adf947b69eb26a68294/docs/SECURITY_MODEL.md)