orchestrationcreating-workflows

name	orchestration:creating-workflows
description	Use when user says "create workflow", "create a workflow", "design workflow", "orchestrate", "automate multiple steps", "coordinate agents", "multi-agent workflow". Creates orchestration workflows from natural language using Socratic questioning to plan multi-agent workflows with visualization.

Creating Orchestration Workflows

I'll help you create powerful orchestration workflows that coordinate multiple Claude Code agents. I use Socratic questioning to understand your needs and generate optimal workflow syntax.

When I Activate

I automatically activate when you:

• Describe a multi-step process you want to automate
• Mention "workflow", "orchestration", "automate", "coordinate agents"
• Ask "how do I create a workflow?"
• Want to connect multiple agents or tasks
• Ask about automating repetitive processes

My Process

1. Understanding Your Intent

CRITICAL: I use AskUserQuestion tool for ALL questions. NO plain text numbered lists.

I'll ask strategic questions to understand:

• What problem you're solving
• What your goal is
• What scope you have in mind
• What external data sources you need (APIs, web scraping, databases)

2. Detecting Temp Script Needs

I automatically scan for these triggers:

• External APIs: Reddit, Twitter, GitHub, ProductHunt, etc.
• Web Scraping: Extracting data from websites
• Data Processing: Analyzing 10+ items, statistical analysis
• Authentication: Any service requiring API keys

If detected → I'll proactively create temp scripts for you

3. Identifying the Pattern

I'll determine if your workflow is:

• Sequential: One step after another (->)
• Parallel: Multiple tasks at once (||)
• Conditional: Based on results (~>)
• Hybrid: Combination of above

3. Designing the Workflow

I'll help you define:

• Which agents to use (built-in or custom)
• How data flows between steps
• Error handling strategy
• Review checkpoints

4. Generating Syntax

I'll create clean, readable workflow syntax like:

# Simple sequential workflow
explore:"Analyze codebase" ->
implement:"Add feature" ->
test:"Run tests"

# Parallel with merge
[security-check || style-check || performance-check] ->
general-purpose:"Consolidate findings"

Question Approach

For more details on my questioning strategy, see socratic-method.md.

Quick overview:

• Vague requests: I ask about problem → scope → constraints
• Specific requests: I confirm pattern → ask about customization
• Medium requests: I explore scope → clarify details

Common Patterns

I have templates for common scenarios. See patterns.md for complete catalog.

Popular patterns:

• Feature implementation (explore → implement → test → review)
• Bug fixing (investigate → fix → verify)
• Security scanning (scan → review → fix → verify)
• Documentation (analyze → write → review)
• Refactoring (analyze → refactor → test → validate)

Custom Agents

When your workflow needs specialized expertise, I can create temp agents for you.

Temp agents are:

• Created automatically during workflow design
• Saved in temp-agents/ directory
• Auto-cleaned after workflow execution
• Can be promoted to permanent agents if useful

When I create temp agents:

• You need domain-specific expertise (e.g., security scanner)
• Task requires specific output formats
• Multiple workflows might benefit (I'll suggest making it permanent)

See temp-agents.md for examples and guidelines.

Temp Scripts (CRITICAL)

Temp scripts are Python/Node.js scripts I create for tasks that Claude Code tools can't handle directly.

When I Create Temp Scripts

I automatically create temp scripts when you need:

1. External API calls - Reddit, Twitter, GitHub, ProductHunt
2. Web scraping - Extracting data from websites
3. Data processing - Pandas analysis, JSON parsing at scale
4. Database queries - SQL, NoSQL operations
5. Batch operations - Processing 10+ files
6. Third-party libraries - NumPy, BeautifulSoup, requests

How It Works

You say: "Fetch 10 Reddit posts about startups"

I create:

general-purpose:"Create Python script using PRAW library:
1. Authenticate with Reddit API (client_id, client_secret)
2. Fetch 10 hot posts from r/startups
3. Extract: title, url, score, selftext
4. Return JSON array
5. Save as temp-scripts/reddit_fetcher.py
6. Execute and return results":reddit_posts

Proactive Detection

I scan your request for keywords:

• "API", "fetch", "scrape", "get data from"
• "Reddit", "Twitter", "ProductHunt", "GitHub"
• "analyze", "process", "calculate"
• Numbers like "10 posts", "100 records"

If found → I'll suggest temp scripts and ask for your confirmation

When Uncertain

If I'm not sure whether you need a temp script, I'll ask:

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "How should I handle this data processing?",
    header: "Approach",
    multiSelect: false,
    options: [
      {label: "Built-in tools", description: "Use Read/Grep for simple operations"},
      {label: "Create temp script", description: "Python script for complex processing"},
      {label: "External API", description: "Fetch from service with authentication"}
    ]
  }]
})

For complete guide, see: docs/TEMP-SCRIPTS-DETECTION-GUIDE.md

Custom Syntax

Sometimes you need syntax beyond the basics. I can design custom syntax elements like:

• New operators (=> for merge-with-dedup)
• Checkpoints (@security-gate)
• Conditions (if security-critical)
• Loops (retry-with-backoff)

I follow a reuse-first approach: I check existing syntax before creating new.

See custom-syntax.md for syntax design process.

Examples

Real workflow examples to inspire you:

See examples.md for complete catalog with explanations.

Quick examples:

TDD Implementation:

# Test-Driven Development workflow
general-purpose:"Write failing test":test_file ->
implement:"Make test pass":implementation ->
code-reviewer:"Review {implementation}":review ->
(if review.approved)~> commit:"Commit changes" ~>
(if review.needs_changes)~> implement:"Fix issues"

Bug Investigation:

# Parallel investigation with consolidation
[
  explore:"Find related code":related_files ||
  general-purpose:"Search for similar bugs":similar_issues ||
  general-purpose:"Check recent changes":recent_commits
] ->
general-purpose:"Consolidate findings into root cause analysis":analysis ->
implement:"Fix bug based on {analysis}":fix ->
general-purpose:"Run relevant tests":test_results

Security Audit:

# Security scanning with manual gate
$security-scanner:"Scan codebase for vulnerabilities":findings ->
@security-review:"Review {findings}. Approve if no critical issues." ->
(if approved)~> deploy:"Deploy to production"

Workflow Templates

After creating your workflow, I'll offer to save it as a template for reuse.

Templates include:

• Descriptive name and metadata
• Parameter placeholders for customization
• Complete workflow syntax
• Usage instructions

Templates are saved in examples/ directory as .flow files.

What Happens Next

After I create your workflow:

1. Review: I show you the generated syntax with explanation
2. Customize: You can ask for modifications
3. Save: I offer to save as template
4. Execute: Use /orchestration:run to execute it

Tips for Best Results

• Be specific: More details = better workflow
• Ask questions: I'm here to help refine your ideas
• Start simple: We can add complexity later
• Review examples: Check examples.md for inspiration

Technical Details

• Namespace: All plugin agents use orchestration: prefix
• Temp agents: Auto-prefixed with orchestration:
• Variable binding: Use :variable_name to capture outputs
• Error handling: Use (if failed)~> for error branches

For complete syntax reference, see executing-workflows skill or syntax reference.

Related Skills

• executing-workflows: Run workflows with visualization and steering
• managing-agents: Create and manage custom agents
• designing-syntax: Design custom syntax elements
• using-templates: Use and customize workflow templates

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Ready to create a workflow? Just describe what you want to automate!