workflow-start

name	workflow-start
version	1.0.0
description	[Skill Management] Use when starting a detected workflow, initializing workflow state, or activating a workflow sequence.

Quick Summary

Goal: Detect user intent → present catalog/custom options → activate with full TaskCreate plan.

Workflow:

1. Detect — Match prompt against workflow catalog; identify best catalog workflow + optional custom pipeline
2. Ask — Use AskUserQuestion to present up to THREE options before doing anything else
3. Activate — Create ALL TaskCreate items for chosen sequence; mark first in_progress

Key Rules:

• MUST ATTENTION always call AskUserQuestion before activating — NEVER auto-activate or skip the confirmation step
• Present THREE options: A) Activate [Workflow] (Recommended) | B) Custom Pipeline: [step → ...] | C) Execute directly
• Propose Custom Pipeline when no catalog workflow is a strong fit (>80% steps relevant = use catalog)
• workflows.json workflows field is an OBJECT — use workflows[workflowId], NEVER .find() or [index]
• Create ALL TaskCreate items BEFORE marking the first task in_progress — batch creation, then execute
• NEVER mark a task completed without invoking its Skill tool — skip = in_progress + comment, not delete
• ALWAYS check context for ## Workflow Catalog first (Tier 1) — NEVER read workflows.json directly when catalog is in context
• If another workflow is active, it auto-switches (ends current, starts new) — no manual cleanup needed

NOT for: Manual step execution (follow TaskCreate items), workflow design (use planning), catalog management.

Related: /workflow-start <workflowId> | Hook: workflow-step-tracker.cjs | Hook: workflow-router.cjs

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Custom Pipeline Option

When the prompt doesn't cleanly match a single catalog workflow — or combining steps from multiple workflows serves the request better — the AI MAY propose a Custom Pipeline alongside the catalog option.

When to propose

Condition	Example
No catalog workflow matches well	"Review hook changes and update skill docs" — spans review + docs
Best-match has significant unnecessary steps	Quick investigate + fix, but bugfix includes full TDD + integration cycle
Prompt combines 2+ workflow domains	"Audit performance and write integration tests for the slow query"
User explicitly requests a step sequence	"Just run scout, plan, and cook — nothing else"

Do NOT propose when a catalog workflow is a strong match (>80% of its steps are relevant). Catalog workflows encode validated best-practice sequences — prefer them.

How to build

1. Valid steps only — Use only keys from commandMapping in workflows.json. No invented step names.
2. Logical order — Investigate → Plan → Implement → Test. Never reverse dependency order.
3. Minimal — Include only steps the prompt needs. No "just in case" additions.
4. Name it — Short descriptive name: "Quick Fix + Docs", "Audit + Test Coverage".

How to present (AskUserQuestion format)

Show full step sequences for ALL options so the user compares scope:

Option A — Activate "Bug Fix" workflow (Recommended)
  Steps: /scout → /investigate → /debug-investigate → /plan → /fix → /prove-fix → /test → ...

Option B — Custom Pipeline: "Quick Fix + Docs"
  Steps: /scout → /investigate → /fix → /docs-update
  Rationale: Prompt targets a known location — full TDD cycle is over-engineered here.

Option C — Execute directly without workflow

Rules:

• Always show full step list per option
• One-sentence AI rationale for the custom pipeline
• Catalog workflow = "(Recommended)" unless custom pipeline confidence is clearly higher
• NEVER present custom pipeline as the only option — always include the catalog option

Task creation for Custom Pipeline

Same 1:1 protocol — one TaskCreate per step. Use [Custom] prefix to distinguish from catalog tasks:

TaskCreate: subject="[Custom] /{step-name} — {brief description}", description="Custom pipeline step N/{total}.", activeForm="Executing /{step-name}"

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Workflow Lookup — Token-Efficient (3-Tier Strategy)

ALWAYS try tiers in order — stop at first success.

Tier 1: Context (FREE — no file reads)

The workflow catalog is already injected as ## Workflow Catalog in your context (injected by workflow-router.cjs on every UserPromptSubmit).

1. Search your context for ## Workflow Catalog
2. Find the line: **{workflowId}** — {name}
3. Read the NEXT line: Use: ... | Steps: /step1 → /step2 → ...
4. Parse the Steps: value — these ARE the slash commands for TaskCreate

Example: Steps: /scout → /plan → /cook → /test → /workflow-end → Create 5 TaskCreate items for /scout, /plan, /cook, /test, /workflow-end in order.

✅ Use Tier 1 for: all standard TaskCreate creation (no file reads needed) ⚠️ Use Tier 2 if: catalog not in context, OR you need preActions.injectContext

Tier 2: Targeted Grep (1 grep operation)

Use when catalog is absent from context OR preActions.injectContext is needed:

Grep: pattern='"<workflowId>":'  path='.claude/workflows.json'  context=35

Returns only that workflow's entry (~35 lines vs full file). Parse: sequence array → step IDs → resolve via commandMapping.

Tier 3: Minimal Read (last resort — avoid)

Only if Tier 1 and Tier 2 both fail:

Read '.claude/workflows.json' lines 1-15    ← commandMapping only
Then Grep '"<workflowId>":' context=30

NEVER read the full file — it is large and wastes tokens.

---

After Activation — Task Creation Protocol (ZERO TOLERANCE)

FIRST action after activation: create EXACTLY one TaskCreate for EACH entry in the workflow's sequence array.

How to read workflows.json — CRITICAL SCHEMA

workflows.json is a JSON OBJECT, not an array. Most common AI mistake.

{
  "commandMapping": { <stepId>: { "claude": "/cmd", "copilot": "/cmd" } },
  "settings":       { ... },
  "workflows":      { <workflowId>: WorkflowEntry }   ← OBJECT, keyed by ID
}

Lookup algorithm:

workflow = workflows[workflowId]           // key lookup — NOT .find(), NOT [index]
steps    = workflow.sequence               // array of step ID strings
// resolve slash command:
slashCmd = commandMapping[stepId].claude   // commandMapping["scout"].claude → "/scout"

WorkflowEntry fields:

Field	Type	Notes
name	string	Display name
confirmFirst	boolean	Prompt user before starting
sequence	string[]	Ordered step IDs — SOLE source of truth
whenToUse / whenNotToUse	string	Natural language intent matching
preActions	object	Optional injectContext / readFiles

FORBIDDEN (common mistakes):

// ❌ WRONG
workflows.find(w => w.id === workflowId)
workflows[0]

// ✅ CORRECT
workflows[workflowId]
Object.keys(workflows)   // list all IDs

Task creation steps

1. Tier 1 first (no file read): Search context for ## Workflow Catalog → find **{workflowId}** → parse Steps: line → slash commands are ready to use
2. Tier 2 if needed: Grep .claude/workflows.json --pattern '"<workflowId>":' --context 35 → parse sequence + commandMapping
3. Create one TaskCreate per step IN ORDER

See Workflow Lookup — Token-Efficient (3-Tier Strategy) above for full lookup rules and fallback chain.

Task format:

TaskCreate: subject="[Workflow] /{step-name} — {brief description}", description="Workflow step N/{total}. {conditional note}", activeForm="Executing /{step-name}"

Rules (NON-NEGOTIABLE):

• 1:1 mapping — each sequence entry = exactly one task. No consolidation, no invented tasks.
• Conditional steps still get tasks — add to description: "Conditional — skip if reviews pass"
• Recursive self-calls get tasks — e.g., [Workflow] /workflow-review-changes — Recursive re-review (conditional)
• Count verification — after creation: task count == len(sequence). Fix mismatch before proceeding.

Create ALL tasks first → then TaskUpdate first task to in_progress.

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Step Execution Protocol

Per step: TaskUpdate in_progress → invoke Skill tool → complete skill → TaskUpdate completed.

• Completing a task without invoking its Skill tool = workflow violation
• Validation gates (/plan-validate, /plan-review, /why-review) MUST use AskUserQuestion — never auto-approve
• To skip a conditional step: TaskUpdate in_progress → comment "Skipped — {reason}" → TaskUpdate completed. Never delete.

---

Workflow-in-Workflow Gate (HARD GATE — NO EXCEPTIONS)

Some workflow steps ARE themselves full workflows. Running them inline causes the parent session to absorb the entire nested workflow's tool calls, file reads, and sub-agent reports — guaranteed context overflow on long sequences.

Steps requiring sub-agent delegation (hard gate):

Step	Workflow activated	Steps	Agent type
/workflow-review-changes	review-changes	16	code-reviewer
/workflow-review	review	14	code-reviewer

Protocol when these steps appear in the active workflow sequence:

1. NEVER invoke via inline Skill tool call
2. Spawn via Agent tool: subagent_type: "code-reviewer"
3. Agent prompt must include: current git diff context + feature/task description
4. Sub-agent runs the full nested workflow in its isolated context
5. Return ONLY SYNC:subagent-return-contract summary — write full findings to plans/reports/
6. Main agent reads plans/reports/ file only when resolving specific blockers

The workflow-step-tracker.cjs PostToolUse hook injects the ⚠️ [WORKFLOW-IN-WORKFLOW GATE] warning automatically when the next step is one of the above.

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IMPORTANT MANDATORY Steps: detect-workflow -> analyze-best-match -> ask-user-workflow-choice -> activate-workflow -> create-task-tracking -> execute-sequence

IMPORTANT MANDATORY Steps: detect-workflow -> analyze-best-match -> ask-user-workflow-choice -> activate-workflow -> create-task-tracking -> execute-sequence

[MANDATORY] TaskCreate FIRST — break every workflow into tasks before any action. NEVER skip. [MANDATORY] AskUserQuestion ALWAYS — present 3 options, NEVER auto-activate. [MANDATORY] Skill tool REQUIRED per step — NEVER mark a task completed without invoking it.

AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Check downstream references before deleting. Deleting components causes documentation and code staleness cascades. Map all referencing files before removal. Verify AI-generated content against actual code. AI hallucinates APIs, class names, and method signatures. Always grep to confirm existence before documenting or referencing. Trace full dependency chain after edits. Changing a definition misses downstream variables and consumers derived from it. Always trace the full chain. Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness. Confirming code exists is not confirming it executes. Always trace early exits, error branches, and conditional skips — not just happy path. When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace whether bug is in caller (wrong data) or callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer — never patch symptom site. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Before changing any constant, limit, flag, or pattern: read comments, check git blame, examine surrounding code. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. Changes touching multiple stacks require verifying EVERY output. One green check is not all green checks. Holistic-first debugging — resist nearest-attention trap. When investigating any failure, list EVERY precondition first (config, env vars, DB names, endpoints, DI registrations, data preconditions), then verify each against evidence before forming any code-layer hypothesis. Surgical changes — apply the diff test. Bug fix: every changed line must trace directly to the bug. Don't restyle or improve adjacent code. Enhancement task: implement improvements AND announce them explicitly. Surface ambiguity before coding — don't pick silently. If request has multiple interpretations, present each with effort estimate and ask. Never assume all-records, file-based, or more complex path.

Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

Incremental Result Persistence — MANDATORY for all sub-agents or heavy inline steps processing >3 files.

1. Before starting: Create report file plans/reports/{skill}-{date}-{slug}.md
2. After each file/section reviewed: Append findings to report immediately — never hold in memory
3. Return to main agent: Summary only (per SYNC:subagent-return-contract) with Full report: path
4. Main agent: Reads report file only when resolving specific blockers

Why: Context cutoff mid-execution loses ALL in-memory findings. Each disk write survives compaction. Partial results are better than no results.

Report naming: plans/reports/{skill-name}-{YYMMDD}-{HHmm}-{slug}.md

Sub-Agent Return Contract — When this skill spawns a sub-agent, the sub-agent MUST return ONLY this structure. Main agent reads only this summary — NEVER requests full sub-agent output inline.

## Sub-Agent Result: [skill-name]

Status: ✅ PASS | ⚠️ PARTIAL | ❌ FAIL
Confidence: [0-100]%

### Findings (Critical/High only — max 10 bullets)

- [severity] [file:line] [finding]

### Actions Taken

- [file changed] [what changed]

### Blockers (if any)

- [blocker description]

Full report: plans/reports/[skill-name]-[date]-[slug].md

Main agent reads Full report file ONLY when: (a) resolving a specific blocker, or (b) building a fix plan. Sub-agent writes full report incrementally (per SYNC:incremental-persistence) — not held in memory.

MUST ATTENTION apply critical thinking — every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact.

MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — holistic-first debugging, fix at responsible layer, surface ambiguity before coding, re-read files after compaction.

Closing Reminders

MUST ATTENTION call AskUserQuestion BEFORE activating — present all THREE options (catalog | custom pipeline | execute directly). Never auto-activate. MUST ATTENTION workflows is an OBJECT — workflows[workflowId], NEVER .find() / [index] / .forEach() MUST ATTENTION create ALL TaskCreate items for the full sequence BEFORE marking the first task in_progress MUST ATTENTION never mark a task completed without invoking its Skill tool — skip means comment + completed, not delete MUST ATTENTION custom pipeline steps must be valid commandMapping keys — never invent step names MUST ATTENTION use Tier 1 context parse FIRST — check ## Workflow Catalog in context before any file read

[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using TaskCreate.

[IMPORTANT] Analyze how big the task is and break it into many small todo tasks systematically before starting — this is very important.