diff --git a/src/docs/TORCH.md b/src/docs/TORCH.md
index 03c2043..e480993 100644
--- a/src/docs/TORCH.md
+++ b/src/docs/TORCH.md
@@ -55,12 +55,15 @@ Common settings:
 - `dashboard.defaultCadenceView` — default dashboard view (`daily`, `weekly`, `all`).
 - `dashboard.defaultStatusView` — default dashboard status filter (`active`, `all`).
 - `scheduler.firstPromptByCadence.daily` / `.weekly` — first-run scheduler starting agent.
+- `scheduler.handoffCommandByCadence.daily` / `.weekly` — shell command run after lock acquisition; command must use `SCHEDULER_AGENT`, `SCHEDULER_CADENCE`, and `SCHEDULER_PROMPT_PATH` provided by `scripts/agent/run-scheduler-cycle.mjs`.
 - `scheduler.paused.daily` / `.weekly` — array of agent names to exclude from scheduler rotation.
 
 Default first-run daily scheduler prompt is `scheduler-update-agent`.
 
 For weekly repository-fit maintenance, TORCH also includes `src/prompts/weekly/repo-fit-agent.md` to periodically adjust defaults and docs to the host repository.
 
+Operational note: scheduler handoff commands are treated as required execution steps. A non-zero exit code (or missing command) is a hard failure: the scheduler writes a `_failed.md` task log, exits immediately, and does not publish `lock:complete` for that run.
+
 ## Roster precedence
 
 The lock CLI resolves roster names in this order:
diff --git a/torch-config.json b/torch-config.json
index ab630b6..9827335 100644
--- a/torch-config.json
+++ b/torch-config.json
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@
       "daily": "scheduler-update-agent",
       "weekly": "bug-reproducer-agent"
     },
+    "handoffCommandByCadence": {
+      "daily": "test -n \"$SCHEDULER_AGENT\" && test -n \"$SCHEDULER_CADENCE\" && test -n \"$SCHEDULER_PROMPT_PATH\" && test -f \"$SCHEDULER_PROMPT_PATH\" && echo \"HANDOFF_OK cadence=$SCHEDULER_CADENCE agent=$SCHEDULER_AGENT prompt=$SCHEDULER_PROMPT_PATH\"",
+      "weekly": "test -n \"$SCHEDULER_AGENT\" && test -n \"$SCHEDULER_CADENCE\" && test -n \"$SCHEDULER_PROMPT_PATH\" && test -f \"$SCHEDULER_PROMPT_PATH\" && echo \"HANDOFF_OK cadence=$SCHEDULER_CADENCE agent=$SCHEDULER_AGENT prompt=$SCHEDULER_PROMPT_PATH\""
+    },
     "memoryPolicyByCadence": {
       "daily": {
         "mode": "required",