Agent Skills: Workflow Start

[MANDATORY] You MUST ATTENTION use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting. NEVER skip task creation.

Quick Summary

Goal: Activate a workflow by ID, creating tracking tasks and announcing the workflow sequence.

Workflow:

1. Match -- Validate workflow ID against catalog
2. Create -- Set up TaskCreate items for all workflow steps
3. Announce -- Tell user the detected intent and workflow sequence

Key Rules:

• AI MUST ATTENTION always detect nearest workflow and ask user via AskUserQuestion to confirm activation
• Present "Activate [Workflow] (Recommended)" vs "Execute directly without workflow"
• Create workflow-level tasks BEFORE any implementation tasks

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

Workflow Start

Activate a workflow from the injected catalog and initialize step tracking via TaskCreate.

When to Use

• Starting a detected workflow from the injected catalog
• Initializing workflow state for step-by-step execution
• Switching from one active workflow to another

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

Quick Reference

Workflow

1. Read the workflow catalog injected by the hook
2. Validate the workflow ID against available entries
3. Create workflow state via the workflow-step-tracker hook
4. Create TaskCreate items for ALL sequence steps immediately
5. Begin first step, marking it in_progress

Related

• Command: /workflow-start <workflowId>
• Hook: workflow-step-tracker.cjs
• Hook: workflow-router.cjs

Activation Rules

• Call ONLY after reading the workflow catalog injected by the hook
• Use the exact workflow ID shown in the catalog (e.g., feature, bugfix, investigation)
• ALWAYS ask the user via AskUserQuestion to confirm activation before proceeding
• If called while another workflow is active, it will auto-switch (end current, start new)

After Activation — Task Creation Protocol (ZERO TOLERANCE)

Your FIRST action after activation MUST ATTENTION be creating EXACTLY one TaskCreate for EACH entry in the workflow's sequence array from .claude/workflows.json.

How to determine the task list:

1. Read .claude/workflows.json
2. Find the activated workflow by ID
3. Read its sequence array — this is the SOLE source of truth
4. Create one TaskCreate per array entry, IN ORDER

Task format:

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

Rules (NON-NEGOTIABLE):

• 1:1 mapping — Each sequence entry = exactly one task. No consolidation, no summarization, no custom task names.
• Conditional steps still get tasks — Steps that may be skipped at runtime (e.g., /plan, /cook after a PASS review) STILL get created as tasks. Add to description: "Conditional — skip if reviews pass".
• Recursive self-calls get tasks — If the sequence references itself (e.g., workflow-review-changes within review-changes), create a task: [Workflow] /workflow-review-changes — Recursive re-review (conditional).
• Never invent tasks — Do NOT add tasks not in the sequence array (no "Assess results", no "Final review", no "Check output"). Only create what the sequence defines.
• Count verification — After creating all tasks, verify: task count == len(sequence). If mismatch, fix immediately before proceeding.

Create ALL tasks first, then mark the first task in_progress via TaskUpdate.

Step Execution Protocol (applies to ALL workflows)

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

Marking a task completed without invoking its Skill tool is a workflow violation. Validation gates (/plan-validate, /plan-review, /why-review) require AskUserQuestion — never auto-approve or batch-complete them.

To skip a conditional step: TaskUpdate in_progress → add comment "Skipped — {reason}" → TaskUpdate completed. Do NOT delete conditional tasks.

See Also

• planning skill - Creating implementation plans
• feature-implementation skill - Implementing features after planning
• debug-investigate skill - Bug fix workflows

IMPORTANT Task Planning Notes (MUST ATTENTION FOLLOW)

• Always plan and break work into many small todo tasks
• Always add a final review todo task to verify work quality and identify fixes/enhancements

Closing Reminders

• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using TaskCreate BEFORE starting
• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION search codebase for 3+ similar patterns before creating new code
• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cite file:line evidence for every claim (confidence >80% to act)
• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add a final review todo task to verify work quality