| name | zymi-skill |
| description | Use this skill when the user is building, scaffolding, debugging, or auditing an agent with zymi-core (the event-sourced agent engine distributed via `uv tool install zymi-core` or `pip install zymi-core`), or exposing zymi pipelines as MCP tools to another agent. Activates on mentions of `zymi`, `zymi run`, `zymi serve`, `zymi init`, `zymi fetch`, `zymi observe`, `zymi mcp serve`; on imports of `zymi` / `from zymi import tool`; on edits to `project.yml`, `pyproject.toml`, `pipelines/*.yml`, `agents/*.yml`, `tools/*.yml`, `tools/*.py`; and on questions about zymi pipelines, tools, MCP wiring (either direction), approvals, reasoning delegation (`ask:` steps), context window, fork/resume, events store, or `zymi` CLI. Covers the declarative YAML surface, the three pipeline step kinds (agent / deterministic tool / ask), the four tool kinds, MCP client and server (`expose.mcp:`, SEP-1686 tasks, elicitation approvals, reasoning delegation via `ask:` steps + `zymi/reasoning/resume`, `zymi.runs.*` introspection), HTTP connectors, event-sourced approvals, context-window tuning, observability, and the `uv tool install` + `zymi fetch` + per-project `.venv` install model (ADR-0032). |
| metadata | {"version":"0.8.0","scope":"zymi-core-pip-user","file_policy":"markdown-only"} |
zymi skill
Use this skill when the user is building or operating an agent with zymi-core. Do not use it for generic agent-architecture questions — for that there is the separate agents-best-practices skill. This skill is the opinionated, zymi-specific layer.
Core stance
zymi is an event-sourced engine. The model proposes; the YAML defines the plan; the runtime appends events. Four load-bearing consequences:
- The pipeline YAML is the plan. Do not generate procedural Python loops to orchestrate agents. Add steps to
pipelines/<name>.yml, connect them with depends_on, branch with when:, terminate with output:.
- Every tool call is an event. Observability is free —
zymi observe (TUI) and zymi events (CLI) read the same event log the runtime writes. Do not reinvent logging.
- Approvals are event-sourced. Never gate side effects with
input() or ad-hoc HTTP. Set requires_approval: true on the tool and configure a channel in project.yml::approvals:. The runtime publishes ApprovalRequested and waits.
- Pipelines are MCP tools (≥0.7.0). A pipeline that declares
expose.mcp: becomes a callable tool for any MCP host (Claude Code, Cursor, OpenHands, …) via zymi mcp serve — audit trail, approval gates, and introspection included. When another agent needs to trigger zymi work, expose a pipeline; don't write glue code.
When to activate
Activate on any of:
- user explicitly mentions zymi / zymi-core / a
zymi subcommand;
- user imports
zymi or from zymi import tool in Python;
- user edits
project.yml, pipelines/*.yml, agents/*.yml, tools/*.yml, tools/*.py;
- working directory contains
project.yml and/or .zymi/;
- user asks to "build an agent with zymi", "add a tool", "wire MCP", "scaffold a pipeline", "add approvals", "tune the context window", "resume from event N";
- user wants another agent (Claude Code, Cursor, OpenHands, …) to call a zymi pipeline — "expose this pipeline", "zymi mcp serve", "pipeline as a tool".
Do not activate for generic single-turn Q&A unrelated to zymi.
First action: orient
If you're not sure what the project looks like yet, run a fast inventory before suggesting anything:
ls project.yml pyproject.toml pipelines/ agents/ tools/ .venv/ .zymi/ 2>/dev/null
zymi pipelines
This tells you whether the project exists, which pipelines are defined, whether a .venv has been built (zymi fetch was run), and where to attach new work. Avoid suggesting zymi init in an already-initialized directory.
Install model (ADR-0032)
The shipped UX is a thin global CLI plus per-project venvs:
uv tool install zymi-core
zymi init
zymi fetch
zymi serve <pipeline>
When the user adds a Python @tool that imports a third-party library, the dep belongs in their project's pyproject.toml, not the global tool env. After editing, they rerun zymi fetch. Re-exec can be bypassed for contributor workflows with --no-venv. pip install zymi-core into a traditional venv remains supported but is no longer the default user path.
How to use this skill
Load references on demand, not all up front:
- references/quickstart.md —
uv tool install zymi-core → zymi init → zymi fetch → first run end-to-end. Load when the user is starting fresh.
- references/pipelines.md — pipeline YAML schema, the three step kinds (agent / deterministic tool / ask),
when: branching, any_of outputs, fresh context, fork/resume. Load when the user is designing or editing a pipeline.
- references/tools.md — the four tool kinds (declarative, Python
@tool, MCP, builtin), when to pick which, schema introspection, requires_approval, no_resume. Load when adding a new capability.
- references/mcp-and-connectors.md — MCP servers (zymi as client), HTTP inbound/outbound, cron, file/stdin connectors. Load when wiring external systems into zymi.
- references/zymi-as-mcp-server.md —
zymi mcp serve (zymi as MCP server): expose.mcp:, host wiring, SEP-1686 tasks for long pipelines, elicitation approval forms, reasoning delegation (ask: steps → input_required + zymi/reasoning/resume), zymi.runs.* introspection tools. Load when another agent should call zymi pipelines.
- references/observability.md —
zymi observe, zymi events, hash chain, runs, verify, fork-resume, event store backends. Load when debugging, auditing, or replaying.
- references/troubleshooting.md — known papercuts and recoveries. Load when something looks wrong.
Decision tree — "I need to do X"
| Need | Use |
|---|
| Run a Python function from an agent | @tool in tools/*.py |
| Hit one HTTP endpoint per pipeline | Declarative kind: http tool, or inline tool step with args: |
| Use a service that exposes N tools (Pinecone, filesystem, GitHub, …) | MCP server in project.yml::mcp_servers: — preferred over hand-rolling N tools |
| React to incoming messages / files / cron ticks | connectors: in project.yml (http_inbound, http_poll, cron, file_read, stdin) |
| Send results out automatically | outputs: in project.yml (http_post, file_append, stdout) on ResponseReady |
| Agent picks between branches | Router agent calls a tool returning a label, downstream steps gate with when:, terminal output: any_of: |
| Deterministic step with no LLM in the middle | Tool step (tool: + args: instead of agent: + task:) — fails the pipeline loud on tool error |
| Ask the caller (or a human) to reason mid-pipeline, no second model | Ask step (ask: "<prompt>") — parks and resumes with the caller's answer; under zymi mcp serve the connected agent answers via zymi/reasoning/resume, else a human at the terminal. No llm: needed (ADR-0042) |
| Skip a side-effect call when resuming a fork | @tool(no_resume=True) for Python; no_resume: [name1, name2] per-MCP-server in project.yml |
| Wipe context before a step (long-running goal loops, ETL fans) | context: { mode: fresh } on the step (ADR-0031) |
| Long conversational session that blows out the prompt | Tune runtime.context: — see references/pipelines.md "chat profile" |
| Human approves an action before it fires | requires_approval: true on the tool + approvals: channel in project.yml |
| Let another agent (Claude Code, Cursor, …) call a pipeline as a tool | expose.mcp: in the pipeline YAML + zymi mcp serve — see references/zymi-as-mcp-server.md |
| Pipeline runs minutes/hours when called over MCP | mode: async hint + SEP-1686 task-augmented calls; or raise the host's per-call timeout |
| Connected agent debugs its own zymi runs from inside the host | zymi mcp serve --expose-observability → zymi.runs.list/get/events/step_io |
| Watch the agent live | zymi observe (TUI run picker) or zymi observe -r <stream-id> |
| Reconstruct what happened after the fact | zymi events --stream <id> (add --raw for JSON-per-line) |
| Re-run from step N with edits | zymi resume <stream-id> --from-step <id> |
Non-negotiables
- Don't suggest a Python orchestration loop. If the user is reaching for
while True: agent.run(...), the answer is "put it in a pipeline."
- Don't gate side effects in user code. Use
requires_approval; the engine owns the approval state.
- Don't catch tool errors silently in a tool step. Tool steps (ADR-0024/0027) fail-fast on purpose — that's the contract. Wrap in an agent step if you need LLM-mediated recovery.
- Don't store conversation memory in
runtime.context knobs. Those bound context length; persistent memory belongs in the event store (the source of truth) or a future memory layer.
- Don't generate examples that import internals (
zymi._zymi_core, zymi.runtime.*). Public surface is from zymi import tool, the CLI, and Runtime / EventStore / ToolRegistry from docs/python-api.md.
- Don't recommend
npx -y for MCP servers in production. Resolve to a globally installed binary; the -y form re-resolves on every spawn and breaks on flaky DNS. See references/troubleshooting.md.
- Don't claim a tool is "called" unless you see
ToolCallCompleted. Models occasionally write tool intent into the assistant message text without emitting a tool call. The event log is ground truth.
Default output structure when advising
When the user asks "how do I add X to my zymi project", respond with the smallest concrete diff, in this order:
- What to add and where — file path + minimal YAML/Python block, copy-pasteable.
- How to test it — exact
zymi command (zymi run …, zymi serve …, zymi observe …).
- What to watch for — the event(s) that prove it worked (e.g.
ToolCallCompleted, ApprovalGranted, OutputResolved).
- One gotcha if relevant — link to references/troubleshooting.md only if there's a real, known pitfall.
Avoid theoretical multi-option answers when the user has a concrete need. Pick the lowest-friction option, name the alternatives in one line, move on.
Tool registry — what ships in the catalog out of the box
Builtin tools available in any project (no declaration needed):
read_file, write_file (gated by contracts.file_write.allowed_dirs)execute_shell_command (gated by policy.allow / policy.deny)write_memory (writes to ./memory/, gated by contracts.file_write)spawn_sub_agent (advanced — spawn another configured agent from inside a turn)
Note: web_search and web_scrape are not builtins. The scaffold (under tools/) ships them as declarative kind: shell stubs that echo "not configured"; the user uncomments a real provider block in the YAML or deletes the file. Don't assume real search is wired.
Anything else (Pinecone, GitHub, filesystem with full access, weather, translate, …) is something the user attaches via MCP, declarative tool, or @tool.
Gotchas
zymi events against a SQLite store can miss recent events stuck in the WAL — checkpoint with sqlite3 .zymi/events.db 'PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(FULL);'. zymi observe is unaffected (reads via the same writer). See references/troubleshooting.md.- MCP servers spawned with
npx -y … re-resolve packages on every startup; a missed init_timeout_secs silently drops the server's tools from the catalog until the process restarts. Pin via global install.
- A
kind: agent step that calls a requires_approval: true tool will pause the whole pipeline (correctly) — make sure the approval channel is configured before testing, otherwise the run hangs without explanation.
context.mode: fresh (ADR-0031) wipes Layer A (observation history) for the step that declares it, not for downstream steps. It is not a global reset.- Resume re-fires every tool call in the re-executed subgraph unless the tool was registered
no_resume=True. For real send-email / send-money tools, set the flag; the runtime then emits a synthetic placeholder result instead of calling out.
- Under
zymi mcp serve, a sync pipeline with a long deterministic step (test suite, build) hits the host's per-tool-call timeout, not zymi's. Raise it (Claude Code: MCP_TOOL_TIMEOUT) or have the caller task-augment the call (SEP-1686).
- Under
zymi mcp serve, approval gates fail closed when the connected client doesn't support elicitation: ApprovalDenied { reason: "client_no_elicitation" }, not a hang. A "mysterious deny" usually means the host lacks elicitation support, not a broken channel.
- Per-tool
requires_approval: true was a dead flag before zymi-core 0.7.0 — it parsed but never gated HTTP/Python/MCP tools. If approvals don't fire at all, check the version first.
Source links
