Work logs and handoffs
Record checkpoints, correct reported activity and leave a handoff for the next session.
Early access. Email hello@archdocs.io to turn it on for your organization.
This note applies to the in-app Work Log tab. The MCP journal tools work today. You can record entries and read handoffs with the same permissions as other design doc content.
Enable a journal
A journal is a variation content mode for entries instead of an editable document. The Work Log preset is on by default for new organizations. Existing organizations opt in under Settings > Design docs; changing variation configuration requires Team or above and org:manage.
The preset offers Progress, Blocker, Test, Decision, Handoff and Note. Handoff and Correction are built-in kinds. Document variations such as Spec and Implementation plan keep their own text and briefs; journal entries have no approval workflow.
Add a checkpoint
In the enabled Work Log tab, choose a kind, write a short summary and add details or references when needed. Record meaningful progress, blockers or a test result. Over MCP, use add_journal_entry with designDocId, variation: "work-log", kind and summary.
Entries are immutable. To correct one, add a Correction linked to the original entry; over MCP, set kind: "correction" and correctsEntry to its entry number. Both entries remain linked. A correction is a new report, not a replacement history.
Attribution stays visible as Person-reported or Agent-reported. Agent entries keep the client, human operator and session details when supplied. A report that a test passed remains reported activity. An agent report is not verification or approval, and journal entries never count as verification evidence.
Read commit references carefully
Commit references include a repository and SHA. Use owner/repository or host/owner/repository; a bare SHA has no repository scope. With connected GitHub access, ArchDocs checks the reference. A short SHA is accepted only when GitHub resolves it to a full SHA; otherwise supply the full 40-character SHA.
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Found on GitHub | GitHub found the commit in that repository. |
| Not found | GitHub did not find it in the named repository. |
| Not checked | The lookup did not run or could not complete, for example because of missing access or a GitHub failure. |
Finding a commit proves its existence in that repository at the lookup time. It does not prove a claim in the entry, that tests passed, that a PR merged or that code was deployed. The reference keeps its source and scope.
Leave the next handoff
Select Leave a handoff and fill in Done, Blocked on and Next as needed. At least one handoff field must contain text. The Current handoff is the latest non-redacted Handoff entry. ArchDocs does not silently summarize the journal into a new handoff.
On Team and above, you can request an AI draft using your organization's AI credits, review it and save it yourself. The draft does not become an entry until you save it. If newer entries follow the handoff, the card flags it as stale and shows how many entries it does not cover. The card shows later corrections to the handoff itself and entries linked in its references. Entry numbers mentioned only in handoff text are not tracked.
Use Copy resume prompt to copy a prompt that tells the next agent to read get_journal_handoff first, then the open questions. The handoff response also includes newer activity and plan task counts. Checked task boxes do not verify implementation.
Remove sensitive content
An organization administrator with org:manage, or the entry's author acting as a person, can remove content with a reason. Agents cannot redact. Redaction removes the summary, body, handoff and references but leaves the entry number, who removed it, when and why. It also writes an audit event.
Export and continue after shipping
The design doc's Markdown export includes journal entries and redaction markers. Shipping freezes document variations but keeps journals open for later entries; entries after shipping are marked separately. Superseded or abandoned docs do not accept new entries.
Work logs are available with your design doc on every plan. Each entry permits a summary of up to 300 characters, a body of up to 20,000 characters and up to 20 references. Each handoff field permits up to 5,000 characters. Lists default to 50 entries per page, with a maximum of 100. There is no separate plan quota for journal entries. Your design doc limits still apply.