vcfa-authoring

name

vcfa-authoring

description

Author and promote VCF Automation Orchestrator (vRO) content safely through the mcp-vcf-orchestrator MCP server. Use when the user wants to create, update, scaffold, refactor, review, promote, or import a vRO workflow, action, configuration element, resource element, or package, or to publish reusable content through the project package. Encodes the server's discovery-first, confirm-before-write lifecycle and routes to the matching vcfa-* prompts. Does not invent vRO IDs, schemas, or contracts.

VCFA Authoring

Drive the VCF Automation Orchestrator MCP server when authoring or promoting vRO artifacts. Stay discovery-first and conservative with the live environment. This skill orchestrates the server's own prompts, resources, and tools — it does not replace them.

Core principles

• Discover before you write. Start with the list-* and get-* tools and verify every ID, category, schema, and contract from the live environment, docs, or configured tools. Never invent vRO IDs, parameter schemas, action contracts, package names, or category IDs.
• Mutating tools require a confirm: true argument. That schema flag is not a substitute for real user confirmation — confirm the exact target, expected impact, and rollback or backup plan with the user before any live write.
• Keep local artifact work inside the configured artifact directories. Pass plain file names, never paths, absolute paths, traversal, or symlinks.

Prefer the server prompts

Reach for the server-provided prompts first — they encode the full playbooks:

• vcfa-discover-capabilities — explore installed plugins, categories, reusable actions, workflows, and gaps before designing anything.
• vcfa-collect-context-snapshot — persist reusable environment context in unfamiliar or large environments.
• vcfa-discovery-first-implementation-plan — produce a phased plan that begins with verified read-only discovery.
• vcfa-author-workflow — plan, scaffold, preflight, and safely import a workflow.
• vcfa-build-workflow-from-action — wrap an existing action's verified contract in a workflow.
• vcfa-refactor-workflow — inspect, export, diff, and plan a safe refactor.
• vcfa-review-artifact-import — review a local artifact before import.

Artifact lifecycle

Follow this sequence unless the user explicitly asks for a narrower read-only review:

1. Discover the live target and dependencies with list-* / get-* tools.
2. Export or snapshot existing live state when replacing content (export-workflow-file, export-action-file, export-configuration-file, export-resource-element, export-package).
3. Author or modify the local artifact (scaffold-workflow-file, create-workflow, create-action, create-configuration).
4. Validate with the matching preflight tool (preflight-workflow-file, preflight-action-file, preflight-configuration-file, preflight-package).
5. Diff when replacing a workflow or action (diff-workflow-file, diff-action-file).
6. Run prepare-artifact-promotion to bundle preflight, optional backup export, and change summaries before a live replacement.
7. Confirm the exact target and impact with the user.
8. Import or publish (import-workflow-file, import-action-file, import-configuration-file, import-resource-element, import-package).
9. Verify with read-only inspection or a confirmed execution.

Package-first publishing

Move reusable project content through the stable project package by default. Do not create random, timestamped, or task-specific packages.

ensure-project-package → add-workflow-to-project-package / add-action-to-project-package / add-configuration-to-project-package / add-resource-to-project-package → rebuild-project-package → export-project-package → get-project-package-import-details → import-project-package.

Use direct import-*-file tools only for narrow validation or an explicitly requested one-off test.

Authoring detail lives in the server resources

Do not re-derive authoring rules here. Read the server resources for the current, authoritative detail:

• vcfa://docs/artifact-authoring — full vRO artifact authoring guide (input forms, native action items, layout, encoding rules).
• vcfa://schemas/workflow-scaffold — the workflow scaffold schema.
• vcfa://patterns/workflows/basic-scriptable-task and vcfa://patterns/workflows/action-wrapper — workflow patterns to start from.