| name | workflow |
| description | Define and run multi-step workflows that chain skills, agents, and tasks together with state tracking. Use when the user says "workflow", "pipeline", "chain these steps", "run my pipeline", "define a workflow", "automate these steps", or has a task with more than 3 sequential steps. |
| argument-hint | [define|run|list|status|resume] [workflow-name] [variables] |
| disable-model-invocation | true |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash |
Workflow — Multi-Step Pipeline Orchestration
Goal
Define, persist, and execute multi-step pipelines that survive context compaction and session restarts. Success = workflow runs to completion with each step's output saved to a file, checkpoints honored, and a final log written.
Dependencies
- Tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash
- No external services required; sub-skills and agents are invoked by name
Context
Workflow definitions and state live in .claude/workflows/. Each run reads the definition file and an optional state file to enable resumption.
Define, run, and resume multi-step workflows that chain skills and agents together.
Commands
/workflow define <name>
- Ask the user to describe the workflow in plain English
- Break into numbered steps — each step is one of:
- Skill:
/research, /wizard, /tdd, etc.
- Agent:
@code-reviewer, @debugger, etc.
- Instruction: plain text task for Claude
- Command: bash command to execute
- For each step, define: input source, output file, and whether it's a checkpoint
- Save to
.claude/workflows/<name>.md
/workflow run <name> [VAR=value ...]
- Read
.claude/workflows/<name>.md
- If
.claude/workflows/<name>-state.md exists, ask: resume or start fresh?
- For each step:
- Announce: "Step N: [name] — [description]"
- Execute with appropriate context (pass prior step output as file reference)
- At checkpoint steps: present output, ask "Proceed, modify, or abort?"
- On failure: save state, report clearly, stop
- On success: mark step done in state file
- On completion: write summary to
.claude/workflows/<name>-log.md
/workflow list
Show all workflows in .claude/workflows/ with step count and last run date.
/workflow status <name>
Show current state: which steps completed, which failed, what output was produced.
/workflow resume <name>
Read state file, pick up from last incomplete step.
Workflow Definition Format
# Workflow: content-pipeline
## Description
Research a topic, plan content, write it, review, optimize for SEO.
## Steps
1. **research** — /research $TOPIC
- Output: RESEARCH-$TOPIC.md
- Checkpoint: false
2. **plan** — /plan-and-spec based on research
- Input: RESEARCH-$TOPIC.md
- Output: PLAN.md
- Checkpoint: true
3. **write** — Write the article following PLAN.md
- Input: PLAN.md, RESEARCH-$TOPIC.md
- Output: drafts/$TOPIC.md
- Checkpoint: true
4. **review** — @code-reviewer on the draft
- Input: drafts/$TOPIC.md
- Output: REVIEW.md
- Checkpoint: false
5. **finalize** — Apply review feedback and optimize
- Input: drafts/$TOPIC.md, REVIEW.md
- Output: final/$TOPIC.md
- Checkpoint: true
## Variables
- $TOPIC: Subject of the article
## On Failure
Pause and report: step name, input used, error. Do not skip.
State File Format
# State: content-pipeline (run 2026-03-23)
## Variables
TOPIC=Claude Code best practices
## Steps
- Step 1 research: COMPLETED — output: RESEARCH-claude-code.md
- Step 2 plan: COMPLETED — output: PLAN.md
- Step 3 write: IN_PROGRESS
- Step 4 review: PENDING
- Step 5 finalize: PENDING
Design Principles
- State in files: Workflow state survives compaction and session restarts
- Output as files: Each step writes to a file path, not inline content (protects context)
- Checkpoints are sacred: Never skip a checkpoint without explicit user approval
- Heavy steps fork: For steps that produce large output, delegate to a subagent to protect main context
