Agent Handoff Safety

Why handoffs matter

Multi-agent systems are powerful because different agents can specialize. But every handoff — passing a task, a file, a decision, or user context from one agent to another — is a place where intent can drift, data can leak, or actions can be duplicated.

What can go wrong

• Context loss. Agent A knows a user preference; Agent B does not receive it.
• Permission escalation. Agent A has read access; Agent B assumes write access.
• Double action. Both agents try to fulfill the same request.
• Data leakage. Handoff payload includes more data than the receiving agent needs.
• Ambiguous ownership. It is unclear which agent is responsible when something fails.

How to design safer handoffs

1. Use explicit contracts. Define exactly what the handoff payload contains: task ID, required inputs, decision state, and constraints.
2. Scope permissions per agent. Do not inherit broad permissions just because another agent had them.
3. Log every handoff. Record sender, receiver, timestamp, payload schema, and outcome.
4. Require acknowledgment. The receiving agent should confirm it received and understood the handoff.
5. Fail closed. If a handoff is malformed or unauthorized, stop rather than guess.

Handoff checklist

• Payload is validated against a schema.
• Receiving agent has the minimum permissions needed.
• Sensitive fields are redacted if not required.
• A unique task ID prevents duplicate execution.
• Timeout and retry policy is defined.
• Human escalation path exists for ambiguous handoffs.

Related

• Agent Identity and Access Control
• Output Validation for Agent Tool Calls
• Monitoring and Auditing Agents