diff --git a/internal/mcpserver/firstcall.go b/internal/mcpserver/firstcall.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d3d0501
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/mcpserver/firstcall.go
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+package mcpserver
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+
+	"github.com/Coder8124/logos/internal/setup"
+)
+
+// startHooked reports whether this host's session already opened with the
+// handoff, injected by a session-start hook. Every answer is read from disk
+// rather than assumed from the host's name: Claude Code registered with
+// `claude mcp add` has no plugin and so no hook, and Cursor or Codex only have
+// one if setup wrote it.
+var startHooked = func(agent string) bool {
+	switch agent {
+	case "claude-code":
+		return setup.LogosPluginRecord().Connects
+	case "cursor":
+		return setup.StartHookInstalled("Cursor")
+	case "codex":
+		return setup.StartHookInstalled("Codex")
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// handsOverItself lists the tools whose own answer is the handoff, so a first
+// call to one of them needs nothing added.
+var handsOverItself = map[string]bool{"resume": true, "context": true}
+
+// closesWithoutIt lists the tools that end a stretch of work. A model whose
+// first call is one of them has already done the work the handoff was for, and
+// after it the "last checkpoint" a resume would show is the one it just wrote,
+// handed back as if a previous agent had left it.
+var closesWithoutIt = map[string]bool{"checkpoint": true, "handoff": true}
+
+// handoffDue decides, before the tool runs, which project's handoff this call
+// should carry, or "" for none. Before, not after: a call that creates the
+// project (a first note_progress in a new one) would otherwise find it existing
+// and hand the model its own new work as where an earlier agent left off.
+//
+// Whatever is settled here is settled for the session, so a hooked host or a
+// session with nothing to hand over pays for the check once, not per call.
+func (s *Session) handoffDue(tool string) string {
+	if s.started || handsOverItself[tool] || closesWithoutIt[tool] {
+		return ""
+	}
+	if startHooked(s.clientAgent) {
+		s.started = true
+		return ""
+	}
+	// Only the project this session is in, and only one the vault holds.
+	// Resume's fallback for no project is the most recent one in the vault, and
+	// for an unknown name a "nothing filed under it" report: the first is a
+	// guess a model that asked for nothing has no reason to doubt, the second
+	// is noise on a call that was about something else.
+	project := s.sessionProject()
+	if project == "" || !s.projectExists(project) {
+		s.started = true
+		return ""
+	}
+	return project
+}
+
+// firstCallResume is the handoff a host with no session-start hook never got,
+// carried on the first Logos tool result of the session that succeeded, or ""
+// when there is nothing to add. project is what handoffDue decided before the
+// call ran.
+//
+// In a host with a hook the session opens with where the last agent stopped and
+// what it ruled out. In one without, that depended on the model choosing to call
+// resume, which is the step it most often skips — and the one whose absence
+// costs the most, because the next thing it does is re-try a dead end. Any
+// first call is the earliest point the server can reach the model at all, so
+// the handoff rides on that.
+//
+// After the tool's own answer, not before it: the model called for that answer,
+// and a handoff above it pushes it out of the place it is read.
+func (s *Session) firstCallResume(tool, project string) string {
+	if s.started {
+		return ""
+	}
+	if handsOverItself[tool] {
+		s.startOffered = true
+		return ""
+	}
+	if closesWithoutIt[tool] {
+		s.started = true
+		return ""
+	}
+	if project == "" {
+		return ""
+	}
+	out, err := s.resume(project, "", 0, "")
+	s.startOffered = true
+	if err != nil {
+		retry := ""
+		if s.toolSet == nil || s.toolSet["resume"] {
+			retry = " Call resume to try again."
+		}
+		return fmt.Sprintf("\n\n(Logos could not load where work on %s left off: %v.%s)", project, err, retry)
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("\n\n---\n_This host has no session-start hook, so this is the first chance to hand over: where work on %s left off. Read it before you plan; you don't need to call resume._\n\n", project) + out
+}
+
+// startSent records whether the result carrying the handoff reached the host.
+// A cancelled call's reply is dropped unread, so the handoff stays owed.
+func (s *Session) startSent(delivered bool) {
+	if s.startOffered && delivered {
+		s.started = true
+	}
+	s.startOffered = false
+}
diff --git a/internal/mcpserver/firstcall_test.go b/internal/mcpserver/firstcall_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..974a73f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/mcpserver/firstcall_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,184 @@
+package mcpserver
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/Coder8124/logos/internal/session"
+)
+
+// firstCallServer is a server whose session is in project "kestrel", which has
+// a checkpoint, connected as host — the hookless host by default.
+func firstCallServer(t *testing.T, host string) *testClient {
+	t.Helper()
+	t.Setenv("LOGOS_PROJECT", "kestrel")
+	c, db, vault := startServer(t)
+	c.req("initialize", map[string]any{
+		"protocolVersion": "2025-06-18",
+		"capabilities":    map[string]any{},
+		"clientInfo":      map[string]any{"name": host, "version": "1"},
+	})
+	if err := session.Init(db); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	cp := session.Checkpoint{Project: "kestrel", Agent: "cursor", Next: "quote the extruded option", TS: time.Now().Unix()}
+	if err := session.Commit(db, vault, &cp); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return c
+}
+
+// A host with no session-start hook opened every session blind unless the
+// model chose to call resume, which is the step it most often skips. The first
+// thing it calls Logos for, whatever that is, now carries the handoff.
+func TestTheFirstToolCallInAHostWithNoHookCarriesTheHandoff(t *testing.T) {
+	c := firstCallServer(t, "claude-ai")
+
+	out, isErr := c.callText(t, "list_projects", map[string]any{})
+	if isErr {
+		t.Fatalf("list_projects errored: %s", out)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "quote the extruded option") {
+		t.Errorf("the first call in a hookless host did not carry where work left off:\n%s", out)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "no session-start hook") {
+		t.Errorf("the handoff arrived without saying why it is there:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+// Once, not on every call: the handoff is a few thousand tokens, and repeated
+// it would bury every answer after it.
+func TestTheHandoffIsCarriedOnlyOnce(t *testing.T) {
+	c := firstCallServer(t, "claude-ai")
+
+	c.callText(t, "list_projects", map[string]any{})
+	out, _ := c.callText(t, "list_projects", map[string]any{})
+	if strings.Contains(out, "quote the extruded option") {
+		t.Errorf("the second call carried the handoff again:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+// A model that resumed on its own already has the handoff; adding it to the
+// next call would hand it over twice.
+func TestAModelThatCalledResumeFirstIsNotHandedItAgain(t *testing.T) {
+	c := firstCallServer(t, "claude-ai")
+
+	if out, isErr := c.callText(t, "resume", map[string]any{"project": "kestrel"}); isErr || strings.Count(out, "quote the extruded option") != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("resume as the first call: isErr=%v, want the handoff once:\n%s", isErr, out)
+	}
+	if out, _ := c.callText(t, "list_projects", map[string]any{}); strings.Contains(out, "quote the extruded option") {
+		t.Errorf("the call after resume carried the handoff again:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+// Claude Code's plugin hook already opened the session with the handoff.
+func TestAHostWhoseHookHandedOverIsNotHandedItAgain(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	t.Setenv("CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR", dir)
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(dir, "plugins"), 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	installed := `{"plugins":{"logos@noeton":[{"scope":"user","version":"0.5.8"}]}}`
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dir, "plugins", "installed_plugins.json"), []byte(installed), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	c := firstCallServer(t, "claude-code")
+
+	if out, _ := c.callText(t, "list_projects", map[string]any{}); strings.Contains(out, "quote the extruded option") {
+		t.Errorf("a hooked host was handed the handoff a second time:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+// Cursor only has a hook if setup wrote one. Cursor wired by hand opens blind
+// like any hookless host, and is treated as one.
+func TestCursorWithoutTheHookInstalledIsHandedOver(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("HOME", t.TempDir())
+	c := firstCallServer(t, "cursor-vscode")
+
+	if out, _ := c.callText(t, "list_projects", map[string]any{}); !strings.Contains(out, "quote the extruded option") {
+		t.Errorf("Cursor with no hooks file was not handed over:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+// A cancelled call's reply is dropped unread; the handoff on it is still owed.
+func TestAHandoffOnAResultTheHostNeverReceivedIsCarriedAgain(t *testing.T) {
+	s := &Session{}
+	s.startOffered = true
+	s.startSent(false)
+	if s.started {
+		t.Error("a handoff dropped with a cancelled reply was counted as delivered")
+	}
+	s.startOffered = true
+	s.startSent(true)
+	if !s.started {
+		t.Error("a delivered handoff was not counted")
+	}
+}
+
+// The other half: Cursor whose hooks file holds logos's session-start hook
+// already opened the session with the handoff.
+func TestCursorWithTheHookInstalledIsNotHandedItAgain(t *testing.T) {
+	home := t.TempDir()
+	t.Setenv("HOME", home)
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(home, ".cursor"), 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	hooks := `{"version":1,"hooks":{"sessionStart":[{"command":"/usr/local/bin/logos hook cursor session-start"}]}}`
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(home, ".cursor", "hooks.json"), []byte(hooks), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	c := firstCallServer(t, "cursor-vscode")
+
+	if out, _ := c.callText(t, "list_projects", map[string]any{}); strings.Contains(out, "quote the extruded option") {
+		t.Errorf("Cursor with the hook installed was handed over twice:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+// Claude Code registered with `claude mcp add`, without the plugin, has no
+// session-start hook: being Claude Code is not the same as being hooked.
+func TestClaudeCodeWithoutThePluginIsHandedOver(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR", t.TempDir())
+	c := firstCallServer(t, "claude-code")
+
+	if out, _ := c.callText(t, "list_projects", map[string]any{}); !strings.Contains(out, "quote the extruded option") {
+		t.Errorf("Claude Code with no plugin was not handed over:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+// A session in a project the vault does not hold yet has no earlier work. Its
+// own first write creates the project, and the call after it must not hand the
+// model what it just wrote as where a previous agent left off.
+func TestASessionThatCreatesItsProjectIsNotHandedItsOwnWork(t *testing.T) {
+	c := firstCallServer(t, "claude-ai")
+	t.Setenv("LOGOS_PROJECT", "snowflake")
+
+	out, isErr := c.callText(t, "remember", map[string]any{"project": "snowflake", "text": "the drift flag is per tenant"})
+	if isErr {
+		t.Fatalf("remember errored: %s", out)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(out, "no session-start hook") {
+		t.Errorf("the write that created the project carried a handoff of itself:\n%s", out)
+	}
+	if out, _ := c.callText(t, "list_projects", map[string]any{}); strings.Contains(out, "no session-start hook") {
+		t.Errorf("the call after it handed the session its own new work:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+// A model whose first call is a checkpoint has finished the work the handoff
+// was for; the checkpoint it gets back on the next call would be its own.
+func TestAFirstCallThatCheckpointsIsNotHandedItsOwnCheckpoint(t *testing.T) {
+	c := firstCallServer(t, "claude-ai")
+
+	for _, tool := range []string{"checkpoint", "list_projects"} {
+		args := map[string]any{}
+		if tool == "checkpoint" {
+			args = map[string]any{"project": "kestrel", "agent": "desktop", "state": "shipped the quote", "next": "invoice it"}
+		}
+		if out, _ := c.callText(t, tool, args); strings.Contains(out, "no session-start hook") {
+			t.Errorf("%s after a first checkpoint carried a handoff:\n%s", tool, out)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/mcpserver/server.go b/internal/mcpserver/server.go
index ee842f0..6c2f0c7 100644
--- a/internal/mcpserver/server.go
+++ b/internal/mcpserver/server.go
@@ -194,6 +194,12 @@ type Session struct {
 	// saved holds the projects this session checkpointed itself, which the
 	// close path uses to leave those alone. See unsaved.go.
 	saved map[string]bool
+
+	// started is whether the model has been handed this session's resume, and
+	// startOffered whether the result now being sent carries it. See
+	// firstcall.go.
+	started      bool
+	startOffered bool
 }
 
 // checkpointOnDisk asks by stem, not path: the last checkpoint this session
@@ -398,6 +404,7 @@ func (s *Server) Serve(in io.Reader, w io.Writer) error {
 			// The nudge in this response is only spent if the response is
 			// actually sent; a cancelled call's reply is dropped unread.
 			sess.nudgeSent(!cancelled)
+			sess.startSent(!cancelled)
 			if !cancelled {
 				send(resp)
 			}
@@ -692,7 +699,14 @@ func (s *Session) callTool(req request) *response {
 	}
 
 	stalls := s.embed.Stalls()
+	handoff := s.handoffDue(p.Name)
 	text, err := s.dispatch(p.Name, args)
+	// Only on a result that worked: a failing call is already asking the model
+	// to deal with something, and a second thing to attend to competes with it.
+	// Inside the stall window, so a handoff built without embeddings says so.
+	if err == nil {
+		text += s.firstCallResume(p.Name, handoff)
+	}
 	// Falling back without embeddings is right, and doing it without a word is
 	// not: the answer is thinner than usual and the fix — the runtime — is
 	// outside Logos (invariant 3).
@@ -713,8 +727,6 @@ func (s *Session) callTool(req request) *response {
 			"isError": true,
 		})
 	}
-	// Only on a result that worked: a failing call is already asking the model
-	// to deal with something, and a second thing to attend to competes with it.
 	text += s.unsavedNudge()
 	return reply(req.ID, map[string]any{
 		"content": []map[string]any{{"type": "text", "text": text}},
diff --git a/internal/setup/hooks.go b/internal/setup/hooks.go
index ef5c7f5..5ca26ee 100644
--- a/internal/setup/hooks.go
+++ b/internal/setup/hooks.go
@@ -401,6 +401,20 @@ func hooksPathFor(name string) string {
 	return ""
 }
 
+// StartHookInstalled reports whether host ("Cursor" or "Codex", as
+// hooksPathFor names them) has logos's session-start hook in its hooks file, so
+// the MCP server knows the session already opened with its handoff. Read from
+// the file rather than assumed from the host's name: Cursor wired by hand, or
+// by a one-click install, has no hook and would otherwise never be handed one.
+func StartHookInstalled(host string) bool {
+	path := hooksPathFor(host)
+	if path == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+	return err == nil && isLogosHook(string(raw), strings.ToLower(host))
+}
+
 // removeHook takes logos's session-start hook out and leaves the rest of the
 // file as it was, reporting whether there was one and where the copy of the
 // file as it found it is. A hook left behind after uninstall runs a binary that