rote-shell

name	rote-shell
description	Use for CLI and shell work through rote when command output, files, logs, process state, dependency checks, mixed API/browser evidence, or crystallized CLI flows must be remembered, queried, replayed, or shared.

rote-shell

All rote-<name> references in this document — including every name in the Handoff Contract — are companion skills, never CLI commands (rote-shell is not rote shell). Invoke them through the runtime's skill mechanism; only literal rote … commands run in a terminal.

Use rote for shell and CLI work when the result should become workspace memory: commands, outputs, files, logs, process lifecycle, dependencies, and flow replay. Raw shell is still fine for tiny inspection commands, but work that matters should pass through rote so it can be queried, audited, and crystallized.

Load the shell guidance when you need the complete command model:

rote guidance shell essential

First Decision

Choose the narrowest rote primitive that preserves evidence:

• one-shot command: rote proc run -- <program> [args...]
• stdin from a file: rote proc run --stdin-file input.txt -- <program>
• declared output file: rote proc run --capture-file label:path -- <program>
• moving file/log: rote proc stream follow --file logs/server.log --until READY
• long-running process: rote proc run --background --ready-log READY -- <program>
• process stream: rote proc stream follow-process proc-1 --stream stdout --until READY
• terminal-sensitive command: rote proc pty run -- <program> [args...]
• dependency preflight: rote deps check deps.toml
• legacy TypeScript replay: rote deno run --allow-all ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts
• declarative or presentation replay: rote flow run ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts param=value

Do not replace these with ad hoc command > file, tail -f, or ps | grep when the evidence should be durable. Rote already stores typed responses, artifacts, hashes, offsets, process leases, and command-log provenance.

Hard default: if command output feeds a final answer, user artifact, judge, verifier, flow body, or later reasoning step, it is not disposable. Use rote proc and then query the saved response.

Chaining is acceptable when each meaningful shell process is captured by rote proc. For example, rote proc run ... && rote proc run ... preserves process nodes in the workspace DAG. Do not promote raw pipes or chained lifecycle commands as the default route. Adapter setup, workspace init/session setup, pending-flow lifecycle, release, index, and registry operations are clearer as separate commands unless the runtime explicitly prints a combined command.

Adapter-First Boundary

rote proc is not an adapter substitute. If the task needs provider/API data, such as records, tickets, PRs, issues, markets, trades, CRM rows, calendar events, or database objects, return to rote-task-routing and use adapter search/install/probe/call first. Do not fetch provider REST endpoints through curl, Python, Node, a custom SDK, or inline HTTP scripts unless flow search, explore, catalog search, and adapter probes have failed to produce a rote path.

Shell work starts after routing selects local command evidence, or after adapter/browser evidence has been captured and a local command needs to process it. Provider-native CLIs are shell work only when the CLI itself is the requested source or the router selected it as fallback after adapter checks.

Handoff Contract

• Use when: local CLI commands, files, logs, process lifecycle, dependency checks, generated artifacts, or shell-derived flow replay need rote memory.
• Preconditions: rote can run; a task intent and working directory are known; browser/API state that must feed the command has been materialized as a saved response, snapshot, slice, or file.
• Owns: rote proc primitive selection, process evidence capture, dependency preflight, background lease handling, shell flow crystallization shape, and shell SDK guidance.
• Hands off to: rote-flow-crystallization, rote-flow-authoring, rote-typescript-transformations, rote-troubleshooting, rote-browse, and rote.
• Returns to: rote or the delegating companion with commands run, response IDs, process leases, captured artifacts, result, reusability signal, cleanup state, and next recommended skill.
• Stop when: the shell result is delivered, dependency provisioning needs user approval, a process cleanup or credential prompt blocks, browser/API ownership is required, or reusable flow authoring takes over.
• Completion signal: queried process evidence, captured files/artifacts, resolved background leases, dependency check status, and a save gate of pending, accepted, discarded, or not applicable.

Handoff Packet

Consume this packet from rote, rote-browse, rote-workspace, or a delegated skill:

• Origin skill: rote, rote-browse, rote-workspace, or the delegated skill that handed off.
• User intent: the exact shell-visible result or artifact requested.
• Workspace path: current rote workspace path, or proposed workspace name.
• Working directory: directory where local commands should run.
• Input evidence: saved responses, browser snapshots/slices, files, or adapter results to consume.
• Requirements: the command output, files/logs, output artifact, and verification checks that must survive handoff.
• Allowed commands: exact local CLIs or rote proc primitives expected.
• Stop conditions: missing dependency, prompt/credential request, unsafe mutation, cleanup failure, or user approval needed.
• Return fields: commands run, response IDs, process leases, captured artifacts, cleanup state, result, reusability signal, save gate, and next recommended skill.

Handoff Summary

Write or return this summary when shell work must survive handoff, compaction, or background waits:

# Rote Shell Handoff Summary

- Active skill: `rote-shell`
- Origin skill: `rote` or `rote-...`
- User intent: ...
- Workspace path: ...
- Working directory: ...
- Commands run: ...
- Cached responses: ...
- Process leases: ...
- Captured artifacts: ...
- Requirements: ...
- Current gate: shell execution, dependency approval, background wait, cleanup, save gate, or blocker
- Result: ...
- Save gate: pending, accepted, discarded, or not applicable
- Next skill: `rote-flow-crystallization`, `rote-flow-authoring`, `rote-troubleshooting`, `rote`, or none
- Blockers: ...
- Completion signal: ...

Browser Intent Router

If the user says "browse", "open this site", "attach to my browser", "use the page", "click", "type", "snapshot", "extract from the page", "extract social profiles", "Gmail in browser", or otherwise asks for live web UI state, stop shell routing and invoke /rote-browse.

Do not satisfy browser intent with rote proc run, raw Playwright, native web search, WebFetch, open, curl, or a saved non-browser flow unless the user explicitly switches substrate. Native search may help discover a URL only when the user asked for search/discovery or the browser route cannot identify a URL; it is not a substitute for browsing and extracting the page with rote.

Browse intent has precedence over the domain noun. For example, "browse my calendar", "browse Gmail", "browse HubSpot", or "browse Salesforce" means the user wants browser-state access even though those domains may also have APIs. You may still run rote flow search "<intent>" first, but only use an adapter/flow if it is installed, healthy, and completes the request. If the adapter/flow is missing, stale, unauthenticated, or fails setup, do not ask the user to build an adapter before trying the browser route. Hand off to /rote-browse and use an existing headed browser when the task depends on the user's logged-in profile.

For public profile extraction, such as "browse each committer's social profile", use GitHub/CLI/API data to collect candidate URLs and identities, then use /rote-browse to visit and extract the public pages. Do not replace that browse step with native web search summaries.

Default browser decision:

• Existing login, Gmail, SSO, MFA, extensions, active tabs, or profile state: ask to attach to an existing headed browser.
• Public read-only page, CI, or replay-like work: ask whether headless new-session is acceptable.
• The user says "browse" without choosing mode: ask headed vs headless; if headed, ask attach-existing vs new rote-managed headed browser.

For active browser attach, hand off to /rote-browse and use its sequence:

rote browser attach setup --method extension --browser chrome
rote browse <url> --headed --attach-existing --new-tab --no-prompt --no-snapshot
rote browse wait --selector '<ready-selector>' --timeout 30 --quiet-ms 750
rote browse snapshot

For browser plus shell work, keep both in the same workspace. Use /rote-browse for page leases, snapshots, slices, refs, auth state, and readiness. Use /rote-shell only after browser state has been materialized as a saved response, snapshot, slice, or file that a local CLI should process.

Current Capability Map

Use only shipped commands. Do not invent aliases from the roadmap.

Need	Shipped command	Notes
One-shot process capture	rote proc run -- <program> [args...]	Direct argv by default.
File stdin	rote proc run --stdin-file input.txt -- <program>	Records stdin provenance.
Declared output file	rote proc run --capture-file label:path -- <program>	Captures file metadata and artifact pointer.
Saved stdout/stderr files	rote proc run --stdout-file out.txt --stderr-file err.txt -- <program>	Use for durable stream files.
Dependency preflight	rote deps check deps.toml	No install side effects.
Moving file/log stream	rote proc stream follow --file app.log --until READY	Supports offsets, chunks, hashes, and pattern stop.
Background start	rote proc run --background --ready-log READY -- <program>	Creates a tracked lease such as proc-1.
Background status	rote proc status proc-1	Query lease state before acting.
Background wait	rote proc wait proc-1 --timeout-ms 300000 --poll-ms 500	Blocks until a tracked finite job exits or times out; records exit plus stdout/stderr observations.
Background stdout/stderr follow	rote proc stream follow-process proc-1 --stream stdout --until READY	Reads from background log artifacts.
Background stop and cleanup	rote proc stop proc-1	On Unix, stops the process group and records cleanup facts.
One-shot terminal transcript	rote proc pty run -- <program> [args...]	Use when the command must see a terminal.

Deferred or not shipped as commands yet:

• rote proc attach
• rote proc log
• explicit detach
• persistent PTY sessions: start, send, snapshot, stop, attach
• non-log readiness probes such as HTTP, TCP, file, or command probes
• direct OS-pipe stream handles before background output reaches log artifacts
• non-Unix process-group cleanup guarantees

If a task needs a deferred feature, say so and use the nearest shipped primitive instead. For example, use rote proc wait for finite tracked jobs, use rote proc stream follow-process ... --until <pattern> for log observation or readiness, and use rote proc status plus rote proc stop instead of raw ps/kill when the process is tracked.

TypeScript SDK Pattern Map

For authored TypeScript flows, use first-class SDK wrappers instead of hand-assembling command arrays. The SDK surface mirrors the shipped shell patterns:

Pattern	SDK call
Durable one-shot	await rote.exec({ argv: ["git", "status", "--short"], deps: ["git"] })
Declared stdin/output files	await rote.exec({ argv, stdin: { file }, capture: { stdout: { file }, files: [{ label, path }] } })
Dependency preflight	await rote.depsCheck({ manifest: "deps.toml" })
Tracked background job / detach-like work	await rote.execBackground({ argv, readyLog, readyTimeoutMs, capture })
Long-running job with useful parallel work	await rote.execBackgroundAndJoin(request, async (job) => { ... }, { timeoutMs, pollMs, stopOnWorkError })
Lease status	await rote.execStatus("proc-1")
Lease wait	await rote.execWait("proc-1", { timeoutMs: 300_000, pollMs: 500 }) or await job.wait(...)
Lease cleanup	await rote.execStop("proc-1")
Moving file stream	await rote.followFile("logs/app.log", { until: "READY" })
Background process stream	await rote.followProcess("proc-1", "stdout", { until: "READY" })
One-shot PTY transcript	await rote.ptyRun({ argv, cols: 100, rows: 30 })
Authored ordered fan-out	await rote.execMany(requests, { stopOnError: false })

Use rote.shell().<method> when you want the shell namespace explicitly; the top-level rote.<method> forms are convenience aliases for authored flows.

Do not invent SDK methods for deferred roadmap items. There is no rote.detach, persistent PTY send, or direct OS-pipe stream handle yet. The current detach-like pattern is a tracked background lease with stdout/stderr files, execWait, followProcess, execStatus, and execStop.

rote.execMany preserves workspace response ordering by running process requests serially. For true parallel shell fan-out, generate declarative frontmatter steps: with type: process.exec, for_each, and max_concurrency so the DAG runner owns the scheduling and provenance.

For long-running finite jobs in authored TypeScript, prefer execBackgroundAndJoin or job.join when there is useful adapter, browser, process, file, or explicit stream work to do while the lease runs. The callback creates normal semantic DAG evidence; the final proc wait is the join point. Do not generate heartbeat or polling loops as DAG work. rote.execBackground(...) already prints the lease and poll commands to stderr. Do not duplicate that announcement in crystallized flows. Use announce: false only for deliberately quiet flows.

Crystallization Router

When the user asks to turn shell exploration into a reusable flow, choose the flow shape from the work pattern:

Exploration pattern	Crystallized shape
One finite command whose output is the fact	rote.exec({ argv, deps, capture })
Command writes files that downstream work reads	rote.exec({ capture: { files: [...] } }) plus typed file paths
Existing file or log is the source of truth	rote.followFile(path, options)
Long finite job where other useful work can run	rote.execBackgroundAndJoin(request, async (job) => { ... }, options)
Long service or daemon with readiness	rote.execBackground({ readyLog, capture }), then status/follow/stop
Need to inspect progress from a tracked lease	job.follow(...) or rote.followProcess(...)
Need completion proof from a tracked lease	job.wait(...) or rote.execWait(...)
Terminal behavior is the point	rote.ptyRun({ argv, input, cols, rows })
Many independent commands share one shape	declarative steps: with process.exec, for_each, and max_concurrency

Crystallize causality, not waiting. Do not encode heartbeat loops, repeated status polling, or sleep/retry scaffolding as business DAG nodes. Those are observation mechanics. The reusable flow should expose semantic actions and joins: start work, observe meaningful artifacts or streams, wait for completion, then summarize.

Before authoring a TypeScript shell flow, read:

rote guidance typescript flow-creation

That guide owns frontmatter, deps.toml, FlowOutput, release QA, and the shell SDK wrapper contract.

Flow Runtime Boundary

rote proc run is for exploration, not reusable flow bodies.

• Shell flows must not call rote init internally.
• Crystallized shell flows must not shell out to rote proc run.
• During exploration, rote proc run records evidence; inside reusable flows, use SDK wrappers or process.exec steps.
• Use shell SDK exec only for task commands, not lifecycle bootstrapping.

Strategy Pattern Library

Map the user's vague request to the smallest shipped pattern that preserves evidence:

Signal	Pattern	Use
Tiny disposable inspection	Raw shell allowed	direct harness shell
Result may be queried, compared, summarized, or replayed	Durable one-shot	rote proc run --
Command reads a known file	Declared file input	rote proc run --stdin-file or a direct argv path
Command creates a file that matters	Declared file output	rote proc run --capture-file
Full stdout/stderr matters	Durable stream files	--stdout-file, --stderr-file
Required tools or input files matter	Dependency gate	deps.toml plus rote deps check
Existing log is moving	File stream watch	rote proc stream follow --file
Start a server or daemon-like process	Service lease	rote proc run --background --ready-log
Long finite non-interactive job	Tracked background job	rote proc run --background --stdout-file --stderr-file
Inspect background output	Process stream observation	rote proc stream follow-process
Need liveness before acting	Lease status	rote proc status
Need cleanup	Lease cleanup	rote proc stop
Many independent items share a command shape	Fan-out batch	steps: with process.exec, for_each, and max_concurrency
API result feeds CLI or CLI result feeds API	Mixed substrate chain	adapter/browser primitive plus rote proc run
Browser snapshot/file feeds local CLI	Browser-file bridge	browser snapshot/file plus rote proc run
Release, publish, deploy, or global mutation	Guarded mutation	deps check, tool-native dry-run, approval, then foreground unless background is approved
Command checks whether stdout is a terminal	One-shot PTY transcript	rote proc pty run --
Command may prompt interactively and can be scripted safely	One-shot PTY with bounded input	rote proc pty run --input or --stdin-file
Command needs ongoing human interaction	Foreground or defer	persistent PTY attach is not shipped

--dry-run, --resume, --force-resume, and --max-concurrency are DAG runner controls for frontmatter steps: flows. They are not universal rote proc run flags. For a single command, use the tool's own dry-run/check mode when available.

Workspace Setup

CLI work must happen inside a rote workspace. Command runners rarely preserve cwd between steps, so prefix each workspace-scoped command with the resolved cd <workspace-path> && (one logical step):

rote init cli-work --seq --force
cd ${ROTE_HOME:-$HOME/.rote}/rote/workspaces/cli-work && rote model set <model> --provider <provider> --confirmed-current
cd ${ROTE_HOME:-$HOME/.rote}/rote/workspaces/cli-work && rote workspace sandbox cli-work off

If the runtime does not expose the current model and provider and no command requires identity, record that they were unknown; do not fabricate model metadata.

Keep commands simple and literal. Avoid shell control operators, command substitution, and long && chains unless the user explicitly needs shell semantics (the resolved cd <workspace-path> && rote … prefix is the standing exception). Prefer direct argv:

rote proc run -- rg TODO docs

Use shell parsing only when it is the real subject of the work:

rote proc run -- sh -c 'printf "alpha\n" | tr a-z A-Z'

If parsing transforms evidence for a report, flow, or judge, keep it inside a tracked command and capture the inputs/outputs. Do not rely on terminal scrollback, untracked temp files, or raw pipelines as the only record.

Query After Every Meaningful Step

Treat every @N as the handle for what just happened. The handle is saved evidence, not always the raw business payload. Route by type.

After a command finishes, read @@result first:

• response_id is the saved evidence handle
• response_kind tells you how to query the evidence
• primary_query, primary_stdout_query, primary_stderr_query, or artifact_query are exact typed queries for the saved response
• @@next remains the immediate next-action guide

For one-shot process output, prefer the typed query fields from @@result:

rote query @1 '.stdout.text' -r
rote query @1 '.stderr.text' -r
rote query @1 '.status.exit' -r
rote query @1 '.files' -r
rote query @2 '.cleanup' -r

Use @proc addresses when inspecting process responses:

rote query @proc.last.stdout '.text' -r
rote query @proc.1.exit '.' -r
rote query @proc.last.transcript '.text' -r

When @@result gives an exact query such as rote query @proc.4.transcript '.text' -r, prefer it over @proc.last if any other command may run before you query. Use rote @N . for full provenance inspection, not as a shortcut for stdout or PTY transcript text.

Do not summarize from terminal scrollback when a structured query exists.

Files And Artifacts

Declare file inputs and outputs instead of relying on memory:

rote proc run \
  --stdin-file input.txt \
  --capture-file summary:out/summary.txt \
  -- python3 scripts/summarize.py

This records stdin provenance, file change state, media type, hashes when available, and artifact paths under .rote/artifacts/processes/@N/.

Background Processes

Start servers as leases, not mystery PIDs:

rote proc run --background --ready-log "Listening" --ready-timeout-ms 10000 -- npm run dev
rote proc status proc-1
rote proc stream follow-process proc-1 --stream stdout --until "GET /health"
rote proc stop proc-1
rote query @3 '.cleanup' -r

On Unix, rote starts background commands in a process group and stops the group with TERM followed by KILL if needed. Inspect .cleanup before claiming a process stopped.

Long-Running Finite Jobs

For long-running but finite commands, use a tracked background lease instead of an untracked detach. rote proc detach is not shipped yet. The current detached-like primitive is:

rote proc run \
  --background \
  --stdout-file logs/job.stdout.log \
  --stderr-file logs/job.stderr.log \
  -- cargo test --all-targets --all-features

rote proc status proc-1
rote proc wait proc-1 --timeout-ms 600000 --poll-ms 1000
rote proc stream follow-process proc-1 --stream stdout --from-start --max-bytes 65536
rote proc stream follow-process proc-1 --stream stderr --from-start --max-bytes 65536

Use this when the command is non-interactive, can safely continue while the agent does other work, and its stdout/stderr are enough to monitor progress. Use proc wait to establish completion and exit status. Use follow-process to inspect output, not as the primary completion detector. Keep the lease id (proc-1) in the task notes and query status before making claims about completion if wait has not finished.

In authored TypeScript, prefer the semantic join helper:

const joined = await rote.execBackgroundAndJoin(
  { argv: ["cargo", "test"], deps: ["cargo"] },
  async (job) => {
    const checks = await rote.exec({ argv: ["gh", "pr", "checks"], deps: ["gh"] });
    const stderr = await job.follow("stderr", { fromStart: true, maxBytes: 65536 });
    return { checks, stderr };
  },
  { timeoutMs: 600_000, pollMs: 1_000, stopOnWorkError: true },
);

The callback's work becomes semantic DAG evidence. The wait remains the completion join. Poll/heartbeat internals do not become graph nodes.

Do not background a command when it may prompt for credentials, OTP, passphrase, license acceptance, or confirmation. rote proc pty run can capture a bounded one-shot terminal transcript, but it does not provide persistent attach. Ongoing interactive jobs should run foreground or be postponed until the user can drive the prompt.

One-Shot PTY

Use PTY only when terminal behavior is the point: commands that check isatty, render progress differently on terminals, or can be driven with bounded scripted input.

rote proc pty run --cols 100 --rows 30 -- script-that-checks-tty
rote proc pty run --input "yes\n" -- interactive-but-scriptable-command
rote query @proc.last.transcript '.text' -r

Do not pass secrets through --input; terminal echo may record them in the transcript. Do not use PTY for persistent REPLs or long human-driven sessions until start/send/snapshot/stop support exists.

Treat release and publish commands as high risk. For examples like cargo release, npm publish, gh release create, or deploy commands:

1. Run dependency preflight first.
2. Run the tool's dry-run/check mode first when available.
3. Show the planned mutation and ask the user for approval before the real run.
4. Prefer foreground for final irreversible publish steps unless the user explicitly approves tracked background execution.
5. If background execution is approved, capture stdout/stderr to files, follow process streams, and keep the flow draft until completion evidence is captured.
6. Do not stop a release/publish process unless the user asks; interruption can leave external state partially mutated.

Decision rule:

• short and non-interactive: foreground rote proc run
• long and non-interactive: tracked rote proc run --background
• long-running service: tracked rote proc run --background --ready-log ...
• interactive: foreground or wait for PTY/attach support
• irreversible release/publish: dry-run, user approval, then foreground unless tracked background is explicitly requested

Dependency Manifests

When a task depends on local tools, create or update ~/.rote/flows/<name>/deps.toml before replay. This is not optional for crystallized shell flows: if the flow calls rote.exec({ argv }) for git, gh, cargo, python, node, jq, rg, or any other local executable, the flow directory must include a matching dependency manifest before the flow is marked released.

schema_version = 1

[[tools]]
id = "github-cli"
command = "gh"
required = true
version_requirement = ">=2.0.0"

[files]
required = ["input.txt"]

Declare version_requirement to enforce a version: preflight probes the tool's own version flags (--version, -V, version, -v) against the located binary. If the version cannot be inferred, preflight confirms the tool is present and passes, reporting it as version-unverified rather than failing. Omit version_requirement to check presence only. Preflight never runs manifest-supplied commands and has no install side effects.

Then run:

cd ~/.rote/flows/<name>
rote deps check deps.toml

Do not auto-install tools into global locations unless the user approved that specific provisioning policy. A crystallized flow should declare dependencies so the target environment can check or provision them before work begins.

If rote deps check deps.toml reports missing required tools, stop and elicit an install decision from the user before continuing. Show the missing tool, why the flow needs it, and the lowest-risk install scope available. Prefer project-local or rote-managed installs over global package manager installs. Only install globally when the user explicitly approves that scope.

Use this shape:

The flow needs these missing tools before replay:
- gh: required for GitHub PR and Actions checks

I can install/provision them using one of these scopes:
- rote-managed/project-local: preferred when available; keeps replay isolated
- user/global package manager: broader machine mutation; requires explicit approval

Do you want me to install/provision the missing tools, or should I leave the
flow in draft until you install them?

After any approved install or user-managed install, rerun:

cd ~/.rote/flows/<name>
rote deps check deps.toml

Never mark the flow released while required dependencies are still missing.

Mixed Workflows

For API plus CLI work, use the adapter for typed API calls and rote proc run for local CLI facts. Example shape:

rote POST /github '{"method":"GET","path":"/repos/$owner/$repo"}' -t -s
rote proc run -- gh repo view "$owner/$repo" --json name,visibility
rote query @1 '.' -r
rote query @2 '.stdout.text' -r

For browser plus CLI work, use rote-browse for page state and rote-shell for local processing of snapshots/artifacts. Do not drop into raw Playwright or raw shell when a rote primitive can preserve the evidence.

Current mixed replay support is intentionally asymmetric:

• adapter and process.exec actions are first-class steps: DAG actions
• browser observations are bridged through saved responses, snapshots, and files until first-class browser DAG actions ship

For browser-involved crystallization today, capture the browser state with rote-browse, materialize the snapshot or slice to a file, then consume that file from process.exec.

Crystallization Rule

After a CLI workflow produces the requested result, run the reuse triage before the final answer — one verified run is enough to classify; a workflow that has already worked twice is simply a stronger save candidate. Before presenting, run cd <workspace-path> && rote ls: it surfaces the workspace's @@ state and the [MANDATORY PROTOCOL] pending-stub warning when a reusable result has no pending flow yet. The canonical replay command depends on the flow's execution model.

Legacy TypeScript flows use rote's bundled Deno:

rote deno run --allow-all ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts

Declarative steps: flows, including steps_with_presentation, use the flow runner:

rote flow run ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts param=value

Crystallization Workflow

When the user says yes, do the full release discipline:

1. Choose the correct scaffold path:

   • Shell-only flow: write ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts manually with @rote-frontmatter. Do not run rote flow pending save, rote flow template create, or rote flow frontmatter; those commands require --adapter in the current implementation and will fail or emit an adapter-shaped flow.
   • Mixed adapter/shell flow: use rote flow frontmatter or rote flow template create so adapter fingerprints and parameters are captured. Pass only real adapters to --adapter; do not pass process, shell, or adapter/process. Represent shell/process work with rote.exec(...), process.exec, and deps.toml. Then choose one execution shape:
     • Declarative DAG: add top-level steps: when the replay can be expressed as adapter calls plus type: process.exec actions.
     • Authored SDK: write TypeScript with FlowOutput, runPreflight(...), and SDK calls such as rote.exec({ argv }) when custom branching, formatting, help text, or richer TypeScript logic is needed.

   Minimal shell-only frontmatter shape:

   /**
    * CSV Sales Report
    *
    * Summarizes a local CSV into JSON and a text report.
    *
    * @rote-frontmatter
    * ---
    * name: csv-sales-report
    * description: "Summarizes a local CSV into JSON and a text report using rote shell primitives."
    * provenance:
    *   author: Your Name <[e-mail]>
    *   tier: local
    *   created_at: 2026-01-01T00:00:00.000000+00:00
    *   workspace: csv-json-report-demo
    *   rote_version: 0.49.0
    * metadata:
    *   status: draft
    *   kind: atomic
    *   flow_type: sequential
    *   format: typescript
    *   requires_endpoints: []
    *   requires_sessions: false
    *   parameters:
    *   - name: input
    *     type: string
    *     required: false
    *     default: "input.csv"
    *     description: "Input CSV path"
    *   - name: out_dir
    *     type: string
    *     required: false
    *     default: "out"
    *     description: "Output directory"
    *   tags:
    *   - shell
    *   - process
    *   - typescript
    * ---
    */
   

   Frontmatter must parse: a provenance: block requires author, tier, created_at, and rote_version (only workspace is optional). A missing author fails rote deno run <flow> with a generic "configuration error"; the real cause ("provenance: missing field author") shows only in rote flow index --rebuild stderr. The created_at / rote_version in the example are placeholders — use a real timestamp and your current rote --version.

   Surviving rote flow lint: lint runs the body in lint mode against a synthetic workspace. Shell SDK reads are lint-aware (proc.stdout.text() → "", proc.exit() → {kind:"code",code:0}, proc.files() → []), so no isLintMode() guard is needed. But: (a) parsing must tolerate empty captured output (e.g. text.split(...) on ""), (b) resolve relative path args against Deno.cwd() before Rote.workspace() switches the cwd, and (c) give parameters defaults — lint runs the flow with no arguments.

2. Create ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts.

3. For declarative DAG flows, put the replay graph in frontmatter steps:. For authored SDK flows, use TypeScript SDK shell primitives for process work: rote.exec, rote.execBackground, rote.execStatus, rote.execStop, rote.followFile, rote.followProcess, rote.ptyRun, rote.depsCheck, and rote.execMany. Use adapter handles from runPreflight(...) for adapter work.

4. Create ~/.rote/flows/<name>/deps.toml for every local tool or required input file. For shell-only flows, prefer a real deps.toml file over frontmatter-only dependency prose so replay can run rote deps check.

5. Keep frontmatter parameters, usage text, and the flag parser in lockstep. If frontmatter names use underscores, the parser must accept those exact names or documented aliases; do not ship github_repo metadata with only a --github-repo parser unless both forms work.

6. Start with metadata.status: draft. Do not set released until dependency preflight and replay QA have passed.

7. Test the draft with at least three distinct inputs. For legacy TypeScript:

   cd ~/.rote/flows/<name>
   rote deps check deps.toml
   rote deno run --allow-all ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts <input-a>
   rote deno run --allow-all ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts <input-b>
   rote deno run --allow-all ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts <input-c>
   

   For declarative or steps_with_presentation flows, replace the direct Deno executions with rote flow run ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts param=value ... — the DAG runner takes named key=value parameters, not positional args.

   If dependency preflight fails, ask the user whether to provision missing required tools, with the install scope and side effects stated plainly. Do not continue release QA until dependency preflight passes or the user says to keep the flow as draft.

8. Use the right QA gate for the execution shape.

   Declarative steps: DAG flows:

   rote flow validate ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts
   rote flow run ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts --dry-run param=value
   rote flow run ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts param=value
   rote flow run ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts --resume latest param=value
   

   rote flow lint gates rote flow release for every shape — release runs lint and refuses on failure. For pure steps: DAG flows the body checks are largely vacuous (the DAG runner bypasses the TypeScript body), but the gate still applies; for steps_with_presentation, lint is the presentation body contract check and should run before release.

   Authored SDK flows:

   rote flow lint <name>
   rote deno run --allow-all ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts --help
   rote deno run --allow-all ~/.rote/flows/<name>/main.ts <known-good-input>
   

   In both shapes, loop until hardcoded paths, missing dependency declarations, mismatched parameters, raw shell leaks, and output-format issues are fixed.

9. Mark release only after QA passes. Use rote flow release <name> for the lifecycle transition (it runs the lint gate; do not edit frontmatter status by hand), then verify search:

   rote flow release <name>
   rote flow index --rebuild
   rote flow search "<name or relevant keywords>"
   

10. If a pending workspace stub was used, discard it after release:

rote flow pending discard <workspace>

Do not claim a shell-derived flow is released from memory. The release claim must point back to rote deps check deps.toml, command output, saved responses, and successful replay commands for the flow's execution model.

Step Reference Rules For Mixed DAGs

In steps: flows, @step{.path} resolves against the step response body, not the persisted @N envelope on disk. For an MCP adapter call, the response body is the JSON-RPC body, so a GitHub adapter text payload usually needs a scalar query such as:

@repo_adapter{.result.content[0].text | fromjson | .full_name}

For process steps, the response body is process.exec, so downstream steps can reference fields such as .stdout.text or captured file metadata. Keep process.exec argv, stdin paths, and capture paths scalar after resolution. Do not pass large adapter/browser payloads through argv when a file bridge or a small scalar projection is clearer.