| name | onboard-agent |
| description | Use when starting a new project, adding a new agent to an existing system, or setting up workflow infrastructure from scratch. |
| argument-hint | [project or agent name] |
| category | utility |
| version | 2.0.0 |
| user-invocable | true |
MANDATORY PREPARATION
Invoke /agent-workflow — it contains workflow principles, anti-patterns, and the Context Gathering Protocol. Follow the protocol before proceeding — if no workflow context exists yet, you MUST run /teach-maestro first.
Bootstrap a new agent workflow from scratch, or add a new agent to an existing system.
Step 1: Establish Conventions
## Workflow Conventions
### Prompt Format
- Delimiter style: [XML tags / markdown headers / triple-dash]
- Section order: [System → Context → Instructions → Input]
- Output format: [JSON with schema / markdown template]
### Tool Conventions
- Naming: [verb_noun / noun.verb / camelCase]
- Description template: [What → When → When Not → Returns]
- Error format: [{ code, message, details }]
### Logging
- Format: [JSON structured]
- Required fields: [workflow_id, step, timestamp, level]
### File Structure
- Prompts: [prompts/workflow-name/v1.md]
- Tools: [tools/tool-name.{ext}]
- Config: [config/environment.yaml]
- Tests: [tests/workflow-name/]
Step 2: Create Initial Structure
project/
├── prompts/ # System prompts, versioned
├── tools/ # Tool definitions
├── config/ # Environment-specific configuration
├── tests/ # Golden test sets and evaluation suites
├── logs/ # Runtime logs (gitignored)
└── .maestro.md # Workflow context
Step 3: Create the First Agent
- System prompt: Role definition with constraints
- 2-3 essential tools: Start with the minimum viable tool set
- Output schema: Define expected output format
- One golden test: At least one test case with known-good output
- Basic error handling: Structured error responses
- Logging: Structured log output for each run
Step 4: Verify
- Run the agent with the golden test case
- Verify error handling works (send bad input)
- Verify logging captures useful context
Recommended Next Step
After onboarding, run /diagnose for a baseline health check, then /fortify to add production-grade error handling.
NEVER:
- Start building without establishing conventions
- Create tools without descriptions
- Skip the golden test case
- Over-scope the initial agent (start minimal, amplify later)
