codemachine-template

name

codemachine-template

description

Create, validate, and structure CodeMachine AI orchestrator workflow packages. Use when the user asks to build a CodeMachine workflow, write a .workflow.js file, define agents for CodeMachine, scaffold a codemachine package, or create multi-agent pipelines with CodeMachine CLI. Also triggers for: codemachine template, codemachine workflow design, main.agents.js, sub.agents.js, modules.js, resolveStep, resolveModule, directive.json, codemachine.json. Does NOT cover general Claude API usage or non-CodeMachine orchestration frameworks.

codemachine-template

Overview

CodeMachine is a CLI orchestrator that wraps AI coding engines (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, etc.) into structured multi-agent workflows defined as JavaScript ES modules. This skill guides creation of correct, production-quality CodeMachine workflow packages from scratch.

Package Structure

Every CodeMachine workflow is a package with this layout:

my-workflow-codemachine/        ← name ends with -codemachine for discoverability
├── codemachine.json            ← REQUIRED: manifest
├── config/
│   ├── main.agents.js          ← REQUIRED: core agent definitions
│   ├── sub.agents.js           ← optional: parallel sub-agents
│   ├── modules.js              ← optional: loop-capable validation agents
│   └── placeholders.js         ← optional: inter-agent variable injection
├── templates/workflows/
│   └── my-workflow.workflow.js ← REQUIRED: at least one workflow file
└── prompts/templates/
    └── workflow-name/
        ├── agent-name.md       ← agent prompt files
        └── shared/             ← shared prompt fragments

Workflow Creation Process

Step 1 — Define the manifest (codemachine.json)

{
  "name": "my-workflow",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "What this workflow does"
}

Required: name, version. Optional: description, paths (custom layout).

Step 2 — Define agents (config/main.agents.js)

Use import.meta.dirname for portable paths. Exactly one agent gets role: 'controller' only if it drives interactive conversation before automation.

import path from 'path';
const promptsDir = path.join(import.meta.dirname, '..', 'prompts', 'templates', 'my-workflow');

export default [
  {
    id: 'planner',                    // REQUIRED: unique, lowercase-hyphenated
    name: 'Project Planner',          // REQUIRED: TUI display name
    description: 'Creates implementation plan',  // REQUIRED
    promptPath: path.join(promptsDir, 'planner.md'),  // REQUIRED

    // Optional:
    chainedPromptsPath: [             // sequential prompts with user interaction between
      path.join(promptsDir, 'chained', 'step-01.md'),
      { path: path.join(promptsDir, 'chained', 'step-02.md'), tracks: ['track-id'] },
    ],
    role: 'controller',               // only ONE agent per workflow; omit for regular agents
    engine: 'claude',                 // 'claude'|'codex'|'cursor'|'opencode'|'ccr'|'mistral'
    model: 'claude-opus-4-7',
    modelReasoningEffort: ,     
    : [],             
    : [],          
    : [, ], 
    : [{ : , : [] }],
  },
];

Step 3 — Define sub-agents if needed (config/sub.agents.js)

Sub-agents run in parallel via codemachine run "agent-a & agent-b" from an orchestrator prompt.

import path from 'path';
const promptsDir = path.join(import.meta.dirname, '..', 'prompts', 'templates', 'my-workflow');

export default [
  {
    id: 'frontend-dev',
    name: 'Frontend Developer',
    description: 'Implements UI components',
    mirrorPath: path.join(promptsDir, 'sub-agents', 'frontend.md'),  // static prompt
    // Omit mirrorPath for orchestrator-generated dynamic prompts
  },
];

Step 4 — Define modules if looping is needed (config/modules.js)

Modules are agents that can trigger loop-back behavior via directive.json.

import path from 'path';
const promptsDir = path.join(import.meta.dirname, '..', 'prompts', 'templates', 'my-workflow');

export default [
  {
    id: 'quality-gate',
    name: 'Quality Gate',
    description: 'Validates output; loops back if issues found',
    promptPath: path.join(promptsDir, 'quality-gate.md'),
    behavior: { type: 'loop', action: 'stepBack' },  // REQUIRED for modules
  },
];

Step 5 — Build the workflow file (templates/workflows/my-workflow.workflow.js)

Global helpers are injected at runtime: resolveStep, resolveModule, resolveFolder, separator, controller.

export default {
  name: 'My Workflow',

  // Optional interactive controller agent (for pre-workflow conversation):
  controller: controller('controller-id', { engine: 'claude' }),

  // Autonomous mode: 'never'|'always'|true|false (true = default auto, user can toggle)
  autonomousMode: true,

  // Require a spec file before workflow starts:
  specification: false,

  // User selects a project type (radio):
  tracks: {
    question: 'What are we building?',
    options: {
      greenfield: { label: 'New Project', description: 'Build from scratch' },
      existing:   { label: 'Existing Codebase', description: 'Extend or refactor' },
    },
  },

  // User selects features (multi-select):
  conditionGroups: [
    {
      id: 'stack',
      question: 'What does the project include?',
      multiSelect: true,
      tracks: ['greenfield'],          // scope to a specific track
      conditions: {
        has_api:  { label: 'REST API', description: 'Backend endpoints' },
        :   { : , :  },
        : { : , :  },
      },
    },
  ],

  : [
    (),
    (, { :  }),

    (),
    (, {
      : [],
      : [],          
      : ,
      : ,
      : ,
    }),
    (, {
      : [, ],  
    }),

    (),
    (, { : , :  }),
  ],

  : [, , ],
};

Step 6 — Write prompt files

Every agent prompt .md must have YAML frontmatter and write directive.json to signal completion:

---
name: "Planner"
description: "Creates implementation plan from requirements"
---

## STEP GOAL
[What this agent must accomplish]

## MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES
[Constraints and invariants]

## Sequence of Instructions
1. Read `.codemachine/artifacts/requirements.md`
2. Produce implementation plan
3. Write `.codemachine/artifacts/plan.md`
4. Write directive:

\`\`\`json
{ "action": "complete", "reason": "Plan written" }
\`\`\`

## SUCCESS METRICS
[How to know the step succeeded]

Directive actions:

action	Effect
complete / continue	Advance to next step
loop	Return N steps back (requires module with loopSteps)
checkpoint	Pause and await user confirmation
trigger	Invoke a specific agent (trigger module type)
error	Halt workflow with failure
stop	Terminate workflow successfully

Directive must be written to .codemachine/memory/directive.json as a file — chat messages are not detected.

Step 7 — Wire inter-agent data with placeholders (config/placeholders.js)

import path from 'path';
export default {
  userDir: {
    // Resolved relative to user's project directory at runtime
    requirements: '.codemachine/artifacts/requirements.md',
    plan_output:  '.codemachine/artifacts/plan.md',
  },
  packageDir: {
    // Resolved relative to this workflow package
    coding_standards: path.join('prompts', 'templates', 'my-workflow', 'shared', 'standards.md'),
  },
};

Use in prompts as {{placeholder_name}} — expands to full file contents at runtime.

Built-in runtime placeholders (no registration needed, always available):

Placeholder	Value
{{date}}	Current date
{{project_name}}	Active project name
{{selected_track}}	User's selected track ID
{{selected_conditions}}	User's selected condition IDs
{{specification}}	Contents of spec file (if specification: true)

Validation Constraints

Before declaring a template complete, verify:

• name and version in codemachine.json — non-empty
• Each agent: id, name, description all non-empty
• promptPath — non-empty string or non-empty array
• modelReasoningEffort — only 'low'|'medium'|'high' if present. CodeMachine's validator hard-rejects any other value (e.g. 'xhigh') and the template then silently disappears from the picker — no error shown to the user.
• executeOnce, interactive — boolean if present
• Exactly zero or one agent with role: 'controller'
• Modules have behavior: { type: 'loop', action: 'stepBack' }
• Module agents defined in modules.js must NOT be duplicated in main.agents.js
• Sub-agents use mirrorPath, not promptPath
• Every step agent writes directive.json (chat alone won't advance workflow)
• resolveModule loopSteps ≤ total preceding steps (can't loop past step 0)
• Every resolveStep('id') / resolveModule('id') id MUST exist in the package's config/main.agents.js / config/modules.js. The resolver throws at module evaluation on an unknown id (Unknown main agent: …) → template fails to load.

Validating a workflow (catch picker-silent failures)

The CodeMachine picker drops any workflow whose module evaluation throws OR whose template fails validateWorkflowTemplate — without printing why. To diagnose, run the bundled validator (a faithful port of the CLI's validator.ts + the resolveStep/resolveModule throw-on-unknown-id behaviour):

node <skill>/assets/validate-workflow.mjs <path/to/x.workflow.js> [--config <pkg>/config]

It loads the package config exactly like registerImportedAgents, evaluates the workflow with the real global helpers, then validates. It surfaces:

• module-evaluation throws (unknown agent/module id) — the #1 silent-vanish cause
• invalid modelReasoningEffort (e.g. 'xhigh')
• bad step type, promptPath, module behavior
• loop bounds that rewind past step 0

--config auto-detects ../../config relative to the workflow when omitted. Run it on every workflow before declaring done; a missing template in the picker almost always means it threw or failed validation here.

MCP Integration

Built-in MCP servers for agent coordination:

// Controller agent — approve/reject step transitions
mcp: [{ server: 'workflow-signals', only: ['approve_step_transition', 'get_pending_proposal'] }]

// Step agents in autonomous mode — propose completion
mcp: [{ server: 'workflow-signals', only: ['propose_step_completion'] }]

// Orchestrator agent — run sub-agents
mcp: [{
  server: 'agent-coordination',
  only: ['run_agents', 'get_agent_status'],
  targets: ['frontend-dev', 'backend-dev'],  // which sub-agents are invokable
}]

Parallel Sub-Agent Execution

From an orchestrator prompt, run sub-agents:

# Sequential (&&)
codemachine run "data-dev && api-dev && ui-dev"

# Parallel (&)
codemachine run "api-dev[tail:50] & ui-dev[tail:50]"

# Mixed
codemachine run "data-dev[tail:30] && api-dev[tail:50] & ui-dev[tail:50] && test-dev"

# With input files
codemachine run "backend-dev[input:.codemachine/artifacts/plan.md,tail:100]"

Common Mistakes

• Using promptPath instead of mirrorPath for sub-agents → sub-agents won't load
• Forgetting to write directive.json in prompt → workflow hangs indefinitely
• loopSteps: 3 when only 2 steps precede the module → loops past start, crashes
• Multiple agents with role: 'controller' → only first is recognized
• chainedPromptsPath with a bare string path (not a ChainedPathEntry object or array) for multiple sequential prompts → only first step runs; use an array for multiple chained steps
• resolveFolder without spread operator (...resolveFolder(...)) → type error
• resolveFolder files without numeric prefix (01-, 02-) → not loaded in correct order
• Defining a module agent in main.agents.js AND modules.js → ID conflict; keep in modules.js only

Resources

references/

• references/workflow-schema.md — complete TypeScript WorkflowTemplate interface + all option types; load when writing complex workflows or debugging validation errors
• references/agent-config-schema.md — full AgentDefinition, ModuleDefinition, SubAgentDefinition schemas; load when agent config has unusual requirements (conditional chains, MCP, nested conditions)
• references/prompt-patterns.md — prompt structure patterns, XML-style controller prompts, directive variants, artifact hierarchy conventions; load when writing or reviewing prompt files
• references/orchestration-patterns.md — interactive/autonomous/continuous/hybrid patterns, controller pattern, engine registry, CLI reference; load when designing the overall workflow execution model

assets/

• assets/codemachine.json — manifest template
• assets/main.agents.js — annotated agent config template
• assets/sub.agents.js — sub-agent config template
• assets/modules.js — module config template
• assets/placeholders.js — placeholder registry template
• assets/workflow.workflow.js — full workflow template with all optional fields
• assets/prompt-template.md — prompt file template with frontmatter and directive
• assets/validate-workflow.mjs — workflow validator (port of CLI validator.ts + resolvers); run before declaring any workflow done to catch picker-silent load/validation failures