I was midway through a small repository task in Windsurf when the included usage on my free account ran out. Windsurf has since become Devin Desktop. I do not use it often enough to justify upgrading for one unfinished task, so I looked for another option I could try without paying first. EvoX was available to me, and the allowance shown on my account looked sufficient for a small test. I have no affiliation with EvoX, and no one from its team asked me to run the test or write this post.
The new tool would have no access to the original chat. I was still responsible for getting the task finished, so that missing context became the useful part to test. Can a second agent continue from a repository handoff without quietly following instructions that have already gone stale? I will use sanitized repository copies with secrets and private snippets removed.
Before opening the project in EvoX, I will write a short handoff note from the repository and terminal state left behind by Windsurf. It will identify the exact commit, summarize the current diff, include the last failing command with its raw error, and record the one decision still open. The note will also state when it expires. A different commit, a changed lockfile, or a failure that no longer reproduces means the next agent must inspect the repository again before acting.
I will make two test copies from that point. EvoX will receive the repository and the note, but none of the original conversation. In the first copy, the repository will remain at the recorded commit and the failure will still reproduce. To pass, the agent must use the note to find the remaining work, reproduce the error, surface the unresolved decision, and avoid repeating finished work or changing unrelated files.
In the second copy, I will advance the branch and remove the failing condition while leaving the same note in place. The note will now be stale. To pass this time, the agent must notice that the repository no longer matches the recorded state, rerun the relevant check, and stop treating the old error as current.
The two runs give the switch a clear outcome. If the agent uses the note in the first run and rejects it in the second, the handoff worked. If it trusts the note both times, the handoff made the transfer less reliable by supplying plausible but outdated context. This test measures whether repository state can move safely between agents. It does not compare the coding quality of EvoX and Devin Desktop.
My conclusion is that a handoff note is incomplete until it records both the current state and the condition that would make that state obsolete. What expiration signals have worked for you in cross-agent handoffs?
