> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gethandshake.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Handshake

> Handshake keeps your sessions portable across coding agents — no cloud, no accounts, no lost context.

Welcome to Handshake — a local-first daemon that keeps your AI coding sessions synced so you can switch between agents without losing context. Hit a token limit in Claude Code, switch to Codex, and pick up exactly where you left off. Handshake runs silently in the background, capturing everything automatically.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Introduction" icon="book-open" href="/introduction">
    Learn what Handshake is, how it works, and which agents it supports.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/quickstart">
    Install Handshake and make your first checkpoint in under a minute.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Checkpointing" icon="flag-checkered" href="/guides/checkpointing">
    Save and restore sessions at exactly the right moment.
  </Card>

  <Card title="CLI Reference" icon="terminal" href="/reference/cli">
    Every command and flag available in the Handshake CLI.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Get started in four steps

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install Handshake">
    Install with a single curl command, via Homebrew, or build from source. The binary is a single self-contained executable with no runtime dependencies.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run the setup wizard">
    Run `handshake setup` to create the session database, register Handshake with your agents, and install it as a login service — all in about 30 seconds.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Checkpoint your session">
    In any supported agent, say `checkpoint this session`. Handshake saves the full conversation, git state, and a handoff brief in one step.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Restore in another agent">
    Open a different agent and say `restore my <session name> session`. The new agent receives a complete handoff brief and picks up right where the previous one left off.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Handshake runs entirely on your machine. No cloud sync, no accounts, no telemetry.
</Note>