| name | workflows-work |
| description | Execute the implementation plan by dispatching sub-agents for each task. Stage 4 of the development workflow. |
| argument-hint | [plan path or task selection] |
| user-invocable | true |
Execute the implementation plan: $ARGUMENTS
Purpose
You are executing Stage 4 (Implementation) of the development workflow. A plan exists from Stage 3 with decomposed tasks. Your job is to dispatch sub-agents for each task, collect their structured summaries, and persist everything to disk.
Pre-Conditions
Before starting, verify:
.workflow/state.json exists and currentStage is "implementation"
- Plan file exists (check
stages.planning.artifacts.plan in state, usually .workflow/plan.md)
If pre-conditions are not met, report what's missing and halt.
Process
Step 1: Read the Plan
Read .workflow/plan.md and the spec/ADR it references. Build the task execution order from the dependency graph.
Step 2: Dispatch Sub-Agents
For each task in dependency order:
-
Dispatch a sub-agent (use the Agent tool with subagent_type: "general-purpose") with:
- The task definition from the plan (files, acceptance criteria, notes)
- The relevant spec sections
- The ADR hypotheses this task should support/test
- Instructions to return the structured summary format (see below)
-
Parallelize independent tasks: If tasks have no dependency between them, dispatch their sub-agents concurrently using parallel Agent tool calls.
-
Persist the summary immediately upon receipt:
.workflow/summaries/<branch-slug>-<task-id>.md
-
Verify acceptance criteria: Check each criterion from the plan against the sub-agent's summary. If any fail, note them for review.
Sub-Agent Summary Format
Each sub-agent MUST return this format:
## Sub-Agent Work Summary
### Task
- Branch: <current branch>
- Spec: <spec path>
### Changes
- Files modified: [list]
- Files created: [list]
- Lines: +N / -N
### Claims
1. "[specific testable claim]"
- Verifiable by: [test or command]
### Spec/Evidence Alignment
- H1 "<text>": SUPPORTS / REFUTES / NO EVIDENCE -- [evidence]
### Tests
- Tests written: N
- Tests passing: N/N
- Commands: `[exact command]`
### Known Gaps
- [anything deferred or uncertain]
### Risks
- [anything that could break other parts]
Step 3: Run Tests
After all sub-agents complete, run the full test suite:
npm test
If tests fail, note which tasks' changes caused the failure.
Step 4: Verify Completeness
Check off each task from the plan:
Step 5: Record and Handoff
-
Update workflow state (.workflow/state.json):
-
Set stages.implementation.status to "completed"
-
Set stages.implementation.completedAt to current ISO timestamp
-
Set stages.implementation.artifacts.summaries to list of summary file paths
-
Set currentStage to "review"
-
Update updatedAt
-
Present the handoff:
IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETE
========================
Tasks completed: N/N
Summaries: [list of paths]
Tests: N passing, N failing
Next: Stage 5 - Review (/workflows-review)
Operational Rules
- 1 sub-agent = 1 commit: Each sub-agent works on exactly one task. Commits happen AFTER review (Stage 5), not during implementation.
- Summaries to disk immediately: If the orchestrator crashes, summaries on disk survive. This is your recovery mechanism.
- Do NOT commit during implementation: Code changes remain uncommitted until review validates them.
- Do NOT implement tasks yourself: Always dispatch sub-agents. Protect your context window.
Anti-Patterns
- Do NOT start implementing without reading the plan first
- Do NOT skip persisting summaries — this is the crash recovery mechanism
- Do NOT commit code during implementation — commits come after review
- Do NOT dispatch a sub-agent without its task definition and spec context
- Do NOT ignore test failures — note them for review even if individual tasks pass