writing-runbooks

name	writing-runbooks
description	Use when creating, editing, or authoring rundown runbook files (.runbook.md), or when needing runbook format syntax reference

Writing Runbooks

Rundown runbooks are markdown files (.runbook.md) that define executable step-by-step workflows. Steps combine human-readable instructions with machine-executable commands and deterministic control flow.

When to Use

• Creating a new .runbook.md file from scratch
• Editing or refactoring an existing runbook's steps, transitions, INPUTS/OUTPUTS, ARTIFACTS, or FOR loops
• Looking up Rundown format syntax (directives, transitions, artifacts, delegation, frontmatter)

When NOT to Use

• Executing or stepping through an active runbook — use the running-runbooks skill instead
• Orchestrating parent-side delegation to child agents — use the delegating-runbooks skill instead
• Planning the work before a runbook exists — use the writing-plans skill when applicable

House Style

This skill documents Rundown syntax. For the idiomatic conventions — how the directives combine in practice — follow house-style.md, distilled from the canonical end-to-end-test/ and planning/ plugin runbooks. Read it before authoring a new runbook. Headline conventions:

• Schema-first artifact pipeline: bind the schema (step 1) → rehydrate inputs → write to {{ path Alias }} → validate with PASS COMPLETE / FAIL GOTO <write-step> (produce → validate → retry loop).
• One runbook, one artifact with a full frontmatter contract (INPUTS / REQUIRED / OUTPUTS); compose small leaves from a parent.
• Reference {{ path Alias }}, never hardcoded paths; aliases are PascalCase *Path / *Paths.
• Delegate the fan-out, then delegate collation — never collate from the parent.
• Record-don't-gate review steps use FAIL CONTINUE.

Quick Reference

---
name: my-runbook
description: What this runbook does
tags:
  - category
INPUTS:
  - environment
  - PlanPath
REQUIRED:
  - PlanPath
---

# Runbook Title

Optional description.

## 1. Step name
- PASS CONTINUE
- FAIL STOP

Instructions for the step.

## 2. Auto-execute step

```bash
npm test
```

All frontmatter fields are optional (open schema). Place project runbooks in .rundown/runbooks/ for discovery (rundown ls --all).

Frontmatter casing convention

Casing	Fields	Reason
UPPERCASE	INPUTS, OUTPUTS, REQUIRED	Load-bearing runtime parameters; mirrors the step-level - OUTPUTS/- FOR directive style
lowercase	name, description, version, author, tags, skill	Static metadata

Validate with: rundown check <file> and rundown resolve <file>

Steps

Identifiers

Prefer numeric step IDs for ordinary sequential workflows:

## 1. Install dependencies
## 2. Run tests

Use named IDs when a step is mainly a GOTO target:

## FixFailure. Repair failing checks
- PASS GOTO 2
- FAIL STOP

Avoid transition and action words as IDs (PASS, FAIL, CONTINUE, STOP, GOTO, RETRY, etc.). Run rundown check <file> after editing; it catches invalid IDs and malformed transitions.

Separators between ID and title are flexible: ., :, -, ), or space.

Content Order (strict)

Within a step, put directives before the body:

## 1. Produce a plan
- OUTPUTS
  - PlanPath
- PASS CONTINUE
- FAIL STOP

```bash
printf '%s\n' "plan.md" > "$RD_OUTPUTS_PlanPath"
```

FOR steps put iteration transitions under the FOR directive and use substeps:

## 2. Review files
- FOR file IN {{ files }}
  - PASS DEFER
  - FAIL DEFER

### 2.1 Review current file
Review {{ file }}.

Step Types

Type	Contains	Behavior
Command	bash/sh/shell code block (case-insensitive)	Auto-executes; exit code → pass/fail
Prompt	Text instructions	Requires rundown pass or rundown fail
Display-only	bash prompt, prompt, json, yaml blocks	Displayed, NOT executed

Context Passing

Data flows forward by author contract:

1. Declare the output name on the producing step.
2. The command writes the value to RD_OUTPUTS_<Name>.
3. Later steps read it with {{ Name }}.
4. Frontmatter OUTPUTS: exports selected values to a parent/delegating runbook.

Step/Substep ARTIFACTS

ARTIFACTS declares structured artifact aliases for the step or substep being entered. It is valid only on H2 steps and H3 substeps, never in frontmatter, and must be the first directive after the heading.

## 2. Write plan
- ARTIFACTS
  - PlanPath "plan.json"
- PASS CONTINUE
- FAIL STOP

```bash
printf '{"ok":true}\n' > "{{ path PlanPath }}"
```

ARTIFACTS resolves at step/substep entry, writes structured artifact variables and manifest rows, and emits the resolved records on STEP_ENTERED.artifacts. It does not write artifact file contents. Producers write managed artifact content to the local path rendered by {{ path Alias }}.

Artifact token forms:

• Name — naked assertion/rehydration for an already-bound artifact reference; not shorthand creation.
• Name "plan.json" — managed artifact key for the current context/run.
• Name "review-*.json" — wildcard selector; read-only, does not create records. May resolve to [], one record, or many records.
• Name "schemas/file.json" — existing file reference.
• Name "/abs/path/file.json" — absolute file reference.
• Name "rd://artifacts/<ctx>/<run>/<key>" — exact artifact URI or selector URI.

Tokens are double-quoted only. Missing, denied, or out-of-root path-like references fail visibly at resolution. Same-name ARTIFACTS and OUTPUTS are allowed, but OUTPUTS overwrites the structured artifact value after command completion, so avoid that as a default pattern.

Artifact rendering helpers:

Template	Renders
{{ Alias }}	Local filesystem path value(s) (direct alias)
{{ path Alias }}	Local filesystem path value(s)
{{ artifact Alias }}	Artifact URI value(s)
{{ path "file.json" }}	Local path only; does not create a manifest row

For wildcard aliases that resolve to arrays, {{ path Reviews }} renders a JSON array of paths. Arrays can be used as FOR data sources when that matches the workflow.

Producer example:

## 1. Produce plan
- ARTIFACTS
  - PlanPath "plan.json"
- PASS CONTINUE
- FAIL STOP

```bash
printf '{"ok":true}\n' > "{{ path PlanPath }}"
```

Consumer/rehydration example:

## 1. Review plan
- ARTIFACTS
  - PlanPath
- PASS CONTINUE
- FAIL STOP

Read the inherited plan from `{{ path PlanPath }}`.

Step/Substep OUTPUTS

OUTPUTS declares the name-only values a step or substep publishes for later steps. The command writes each value to its RD_OUTPUTS_<Name> channel; Rundown merges them after the command completes. Do not write managed artifact contents to RD_OUTPUTS_* — write artifact files to {{ path Alias }}.

## 7. Capture summary
- OUTPUTS
  - Summary
- PASS CONTINUE
- FAIL STOP

```bash
printf 'ready\n' > "$RD_OUTPUTS_Summary"
```

After the step passes or fails, later steps can use {{ Summary }}.

Frontmatter OUTPUTS: — exporting to the parent

Declares which values the runbook exports when it completes. A parent or delegating runbook can receive these values and use them as variables.

---
name: write-plan
OUTPUTS:
  - PlanPath
---

Combine frontmatter OUTPUTS: with a step-level OUTPUTS or ARTIFACTS declaration so the runbook produces the value before completion.

Frontmatter INPUTS: and REQUIRED: — declaring what a runbook needs

---
name: review-plan
INPUTS:
  - PlanPath
  - environment
REQUIRED:
  - PlanPath
---

• INPUTS: is a YAML sequence of variable names the runbook accepts. Declarations only — entries do not carry values.
• REQUIRED: is a subset of INPUTS:. rundown check <file> reports a required name that is not declared as an input. rundown resolve <file> reports required inputs that do not have values.

Defaults are not carried in frontmatter. Provide values via --input, --input-json, --input-file, RD_INPUT_* env, parent-forwarded variables (from a parent runbook's OUTPUTS:), or project .rundown/config.yaml.

Variable resolution precedence (highest → lowest): explicit invocation values (--input, --input-json, --input-file), plugin variables, RD_INPUT_*, inherited delegation variables, project .rundown/config.yaml, built-in defaults, context-output fill-gap values.

Transitions

Syntax: - RESULT [AGGREGATION] ACTION [message]

Actions

Action	Effect
CONTINUE	Proceed to next step
STOP [msg]	Terminate (failure)
COMPLETE [msg]	Terminate (success)
GOTO target	Jump to step/substep
RETRY N action	Retry N times, then fallback action
DEFER	Pass result up for aggregation (substeps/FOR only)
NEXT	Skip to next iteration (FOR only)
BREAK	Exit loop (FOR only)

Defaults

• If only PASS defined: FAIL defaults to STOP
• If only FAIL defined: PASS defaults to CONTINUE
• If neither defined: PASS CONTINUE, FAIL STOP

Aliases

YES/NO are aliases for PASS/FAIL (e.g., - YES GOTO 1, - NO STOP "Unable to fix").

Substeps

Nested steps within a parent step, using H3 headers:

## 2. Review changes
- PASS ALL CONTINUE
- FAIL ANY STOP

### 2.1 Code review
Review the implementation.

### 2.2 Test review
Verify test coverage.

Aggregation

Modifier	Meaning
PASS ALL / FAIL ANY	Every substep must pass; any failed substep makes the parent fail (default)
PASS ANY / FAIL ALL	One successful substep is enough; the parent fails only if every substep fails

Standalone - DEFER shorthand expands to - PASS DEFER + - FAIL DEFER.

DELEGATE

Use bare - DELEGATE to delegate a step or substep. DELEGATE value is invalid. Place - DELEGATE after FOR on H2 steps and after OUTPUTS on H3 substeps, before transitions, prompt text, or body content.

An H2 DELEGATE propagates to its substeps. Delegated targets must resolve to runbooks; do not use delegation for arbitrary files or commands.

FOR Loops

Repeat a step across iterations:

## 3. Process items
- FOR item IN 1 TO 5
  - PASS DEFER
  - FAIL DEFER

### 3.1 Handle item
Process {{ item }}.

FOR Syntax

Form	Example
Named range	FOR i IN 1 TO 10
Unnamed range	FOR 1 TO 5
Shorthand	FOR 5 (same as FOR 1 TO 5)
Descending	FOR i IN 10 TO 1
Data source	FOR item IN {{ items }}
Windowed	FOR item IN 1 TO 3 OF {{ items }}

• FOR steps MUST have substeps
• Loop variable available as {{ var }} in substeps
• Iteration-level transitions nest under the FOR clause
• Data source FOR requires a named variable

Template Variables

Use {{ variableName }} syntax. See CLAUDE.md — Template Variables for full reference.

Key authoring notes:

• Undefined variables preserved as literal {{ variable }} text
• Frontmatter INPUTS: declares names only — defaults come from .rundown/config.yaml, --input, --input-json, --input-file, or RD_INPUT_* env
• Data sources for FOR loops: use --input-json for inline arrays, or .rundown/config.yaml / --input-file for arrays and file: values

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
H4+ headings	Only H1 (title), H2 (steps), H3 (substeps)
Command block + substeps in same step	Choose one — cannot mix
ARTIFACTS after OUTPUTS or transitions	H2 order: ARTIFACTS → OUTPUTS → FOR → DELEGATE → transitions → prompt → body. H3 order omits FOR.
OUTPUTS expression form in a step/substep (- Name {{ expr }})	Step/substep OUTPUTS entries are bare names only. Use frontmatter OUTPUTS: for export expressions.
Writing artifact contents to RD_OUTPUTS_*	Write managed artifact files to {{ path ArtifactAlias }}. Use RD_OUTPUTS_* only for command output channel values.
Using naked ARTIFACTS as creation (- PlanPath)	Naked ARTIFACTS asserts/rehydrates an already-bound artifact reference. Use - PlanPath "plan.json" to create a managed artifact record.
Assuming FOR works on substeps	FOR is valid only on H2 steps. Put iteration on the parent step and work inside H3 substeps.
Writing DELEGATE value	Use bare - DELEGATE; the target is resolved from the delegated step/substep context.
Confusing artifact URI and path rendering	{{ Alias }} (direct) and {{ path Alias }} render local filesystem paths; only {{ artifact Alias }} renders artifact URI values.
Broken fenced examples inside fenced docs	When documenting a runbook inside a code fence, use a longer outer fence, such as four backticks around examples containing triple-backtick command blocks.
Reserved word as step ID	PASS, FAIL, CONTINUE, etc. are reserved
INPUTS: written as a key→default map (VarName: default)	INPUTS: is a YAML sequence of bare names (- VarName). Defaults live in config / --input-file / --input-json / env, not in frontmatter.
Name in REQUIRED: not declared in INPUTS:	REQUIRED: must be a subset of INPUTS:. Add the name to INPUTS: too.
Skipping rundown check	Always validate: rundown check <file>

Companion Bootstrap Skill

A runbook becomes runnable from natural language by giving it a companion bootstrap skill — a small SKILL.md whose description triggers on the user intent the runbook serves. The skill is a pre-bound variant of the generic rundown launcher: its body tells the orchestrating agent to start this runbook and hand off to running-runbooks.

The orchestrating agent loads the execution protocol first, then starts the runbook — the skill instructs, the agent runs rundown run. Loading the protocol before the run is deliberate: the agent must be ready to interpret the first step's output (including a delegation) the moment it appears, not scramble for the protocol after rundown run has already fired. Nothing auto-starts a runbook behind the agent's back.

Create one for common, named runbooks (e.g. planning). One-off project runbooks don't need their own skill — the generic rundown launcher starts any runbook by name.

Template

Place at skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md (directory name must equal name:):

---
name: <skill-name>
description: Use when <the user need this runbook serves, in trigger terms>.
---

# <Skill Title>

<important>
## Runbook-Orchestrated Skill
Load the execution protocol *before* starting the runbook:

1. `Skill(skill: "rundown:running-runbooks")` — always.
2. `Skill(skill: "rundown:delegating-runbooks")` — only if this runbook contains a `- DELEGATE` step.
3. Then start it: `rundown run <runbook-name>`
</important>

<One or two sentences: what this runbook does and when to reach for it.>

## When to Use
- <intent that should start this runbook>

## When NOT to Use
- <adjacent intent that belongs to a sibling skill>

## Reference
- [running-runbooks](../running-runbooks/SKILL.md) — the execution protocol
<plus sibling skills per the heuristics below>

Use the namespace:name form (e.g. rundown:planning) when the runbook ships with the plugin. If the runbook needs inputs, include them on the command (e.g. rundown run rundown:convert-skill --input SkillPath=<path>). Do not restate the runbook's steps in the skill — the runbook owns the sequence; the skill names the intent and points at the craft skills.

Sibling-skill heuristics

Decide which skills the bootstrap skill references by what the runbook contains:

If the runbook…	Reference
(always)	running-runbooks — the execution protocol
contains a - DELEGATE directive	delegating-runbooks
writes, reviews, or executes a plan (plan pipeline)	writing-plans / executing-plans

Extend this table as new craft skills are added. The rule: reference the skill that owns the craft for each thing the runbook does; never duplicate it.

Reference

• Rundown specification
• Runbook patterns and examples
• Worked examples — standalone demo runbooks (create-worktree, pr-feedback) to read as teaching material
• Template variables