CRUMB

The copy-paste AI handoff format.

Ever been deep into a task with one AI, then need to switch to another? You either paste an enormous chat log and hope it picks up the thread, or you start over and re-explain everything from scratch.

CRUMB is a third option. It's a small, structured text block you copy-paste between AI tools. The next AI gets exactly what it needs to continue your work -- the goal, the context, and the constraints -- without the noise.

Try it right now

Copy this and paste it into any AI:

BEGIN CRUMB
v=1.1
kind=task
title=Fix login redirect bug
source=cursor.agent
project=web-app
---
[goal]
Fix the bug where authenticated users are redirected back to /login after refresh.

[context]
- App uses JWT cookie auth
- Redirect loop happens only on full page refresh
- Middleware reads auth state before cookie parsing is complete

[constraints]
- Do not change the login UI
- Preserve existing cookie names
- Add a regression check before merging
END CRUMB

That's it. The next AI knows what to fix, what it can't change, and why.

Two real-world scenarios

Found the bug in Cursor, need Claude to write the test. Generate a task crumb from Cursor with crumb it, paste it into Claude. Claude sees the goal, the surrounding code context, and the constraints -- and writes the test without asking you to re-explain anything.

Re-explaining your preferences every session? A mem crumb stores your working style once:

BEGIN CRUMB
v=1.1
kind=mem
title=Builder preferences
source=human.notes
---
[consolidated]
- Prefers direct technical answers with minimal fluff
- Wants copy-pasteable outputs when possible
- Cares about launch speed more than theoretical purity
- Prefers solutions that survive switching between AI tools
END CRUMB

Paste it at the start of any session. No more "I like concise answers, don't use emojis, prefer TypeScript..." every time.

Five kinds: task (what to do next), mem (long-term memory), map (repo overview), log (session transcript), todo (work items).

How it compares

Add "crumb it" to your AI

Add this to your AI's custom instructions and it generates CRUMBs on command:

When I say "crumb it", generate a CRUMB summarizing the current state.

For tasks: kind=task with [goal], [context], [constraints]
For memory: kind=mem with [consolidated]
For repos: kind=map with [project], [modules]

Format: BEGIN CRUMB / v=1.1 / headers / --- / sections / END CRUMB

Works in ChatGPT custom instructions, Claude Projects, Cursor rules, or any AI with system prompts.

Install

pip install crumb-format

New in 0.2.0: MeTalk

MeTalk is the caveman-compression layer for CRUMBs. It shrinks handoff text before you paste it into the next AI.

# default level 2
crumb metalk examples/task-bug-fix.crumb

# aggressive mode
crumb metalk examples/task-bug-fix.crumb --level 3

# add MeTalk as Stage 3 after TurboQuant compression
crumb compress examples/task-bug-fix.crumb --metalk --metalk-level 2

Quick start

# create a task crumb
crumb new task --title "Fix auth" --goal "Fix token refresh race condition"

# validate
crumb validate examples/*.crumb

# append observations to memory, then consolidate
crumb append prefs.crumb "Switched to Neovim" "Dropped Redux"
crumb dream prefs.crumb

# search across crumbs (keyword, fuzzy, or TF-IDF ranked)
crumb search "auth JWT" --dir ./crumbs/

# seed all your AI tools at once
crumb init --all

# compress a crumb for cross-AI handoff
crumb metalk examples/task-bug-fix.crumb --level 2

Full command reference: crumb --help (23 commands including MeTalk compression, export, import, templates, todos, watch mode, and more).

Integrations

MCP Server -- native tool integration with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code:

claude mcp add crumb python3 /path/to/crumb-format/mcp/server.py

See mcp/README.md for setup.

Pre-commit hook -- validate .crumb files on every commit:

repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/XioAISolutions/crumb-format
    rev: main
    hooks:
      - id: validate-crumbs

ClawHub skill -- install as an OpenClaw agent skill. See clawhub-skill/.

What's in this repo

• SPEC.md -- the format specification
• DREAMING.md -- how memory consolidation works
• examples/ -- ready-to-paste .crumb files
• cli/crumb.py -- full CLI (23 commands)
• cli/metalk.py -- MeTalk caveman compression layer
• validators/ -- Python and Node reference validators
• docs/HANDOFF_PATTERNS.md -- practical handoff patterns

License

MIT. See TRADEMARK.md for brand guidance.

CRUMB is plain text. It works everywhere text works.