How to hand off an existing codebase to a support developer safely?

1. Share repository access, architecture documentation, and environment setup guides before the engagement begins. 2. Arrange a technical briefing covering codebase structure, key business logic, and known issues. 3. Establish communication channels and escalation procedures for the handover period. 4. Provide a 2–4 week familiarisation phase before the developer undertakes independent tasks. 5. Confirm access to CI/CD pipelines, staging environments, and monitoring tools.