Workflow Creator

Create a new workflow-<slug>/ skill package that chains existing skills with Ship Faster-standard artifacts.

Hard rules (do not skip)

• Compose skills, don't copy them: a workflow's job is orchestration. Do not paste long best-practice content from other skills into the workflow. Instead: map each step to a single existing skill and point to it.
• One step = one skill: every step in workflow_spec.md must map to exactly one skill (or a tiny, verifiable manual action).
• Missing required skill = stop: do not approximate a missing skill by rewriting its logic. When a required skill is missing locally, you must look up candidates on https://skills.sh/, suggest 2-3 options + install commands, and wait for the user.
• Artifact-first, resumable: state lives in proposal.md, tasks.md, context.json under run_dir/.
• Plan-then-confirm execution: generated workflows must write a plan first, then ask the user to confirm execution; the confirmation must be recorded under tasks.md -> ## Approvals.

Defaults (Ship Faster standard)

• Artifact store: runs/ by default, OpenSpec when openspec/project.md exists (unless overridden in context.json).
• Required run files: proposal.md, tasks.md, context.json.
• Execution model: plan first, then ask the user to confirm execution; on confirmation, record approval in tasks.md.

Inputs (paths only)

• Optional: repo_root (skills repository root)
• Optional: workflowspecpath (if the user already wrote a spec)

Outputs

• New or updated workflow skill folder:

- workflow-<slug>/SKILL.md - workflow-<slug>/references/workflow-spec.md (SSOT)

References

• Prompt pack (verbatim prompts): [references/prompt-pack.md](references/prompt-pack.md)
• Workflow spec template (SSOT): [references/workflow-spec-template.md](references/workflow-spec-template.md)
• Example generated workflow skill: [references/example-workflow-skill.md](references/example-workflow-skill.md)
• Example workflow spec (valid): [references/example-workflow-spec.md](references/example-workflow-spec.md)

Process

0) Resolve skills root (deterministic)

Resolve skills_root using this priority:

1. If user provides repo_root, use it.
2. Else search upward from the current working directory for:

- <dir>/skills/manifest.json (monorepo layout) -> skillsroot = <dir>/skills/ - <dir>/manifest.json (skills-repo layout) -> skillsroot = <dir>/

1) Create or load workflow_spec.md (SSOT)

If workflowspecpath is not provided:

1. Call workflow-brainstorm first to converge on:

- core goal (1 sentence) - acceptance criteria (3-7 bullets) - non-goals (1-5 bullets) - constraints (risk preference, timeline) - 5-10 real trigger phrases the user would say

1. Skill Discovery (REQUIRED) - before finalizing required_skills:

a) Local skills scan: List all potentially relevant skills under skills_root: ``bash ls -1 ~/.claude/skills/ | grep -E "(tool-|review-|workflow-)" `` Identify which local skills could serve steps in the workflow.

b) skills.sh lookup (MANDATORY): Fetch the leaderboard from https://skills.sh/ and identify relevant skills: - Search for keywords related to the workflow goal - Note top skills by install count in relevant categories - Identify 3-5 potentially useful external skills

c) Present findings to user: ``` ## Skill Discovery Results

### Local Skills (available)

### External Skills (skills.sh)

Want to inspect any external skills before deciding? (list numbers or "none") ```

d) If user wants to inspect: fetch skill details from skills.sh page, show SKILL.md content, then ask again.

e) User confirms final skill selection: only then proceed to write spec.

1. Write a workflow_spec.md using the template in references/workflow-spec-template.md.

2) Validate spec (deterministic)

Run:

python3 scripts/validate_workflow_spec.py /path/to/workflow_spec.md

Fix any validation errors before generating.

3) Resolve skill dependencies

1. Read requiredskills / optionalskills from the spec.
2. Check which skills exist locally under skills_root.
3. If any required skill is missing:

- Stop. - Use the prompt in references/prompt-pack.md to do a skills.sh lookup. - Suggest 2-3 candidates (links + why) and provide install command suggestions, but do not auto-install.

4) Generate/update workflow-<slug>/

1. Create workflow-<slug>/ under skills_root if missing.
2. Write SSOT:

- workflow-<slug>/references/workflow-spec.md (copy from the validated spec).

1. Generate/update workflow-<slug>/SKILL.md:

- Frontmatter name must match directory name (workflow-<slug>). - Frontmatter description must embed the spec triggers (routing fuel). - Include Ship Faster artifact backend selection rules (runs/ vs OpenSpec). - Include the plan-then-confirm execution policy: - Plan stage writes checklist to tasks.md. - Ask user to confirm start. - On confirmation, append an approval record under tasks.md -> ## Approvals (timestamp + scope) and start execution. - Map each chain step to one skill. - Keep the workflow concise: link to other skills for deep details.

5) Basic validation (required)

Run:

python3 scripts/validate_skill_md.py /path/to/workflow-<slug>

If it fails, fix frontmatter/name/line endings until it passes.

Note: The repo also includes skill-creator/scripts/quick_validate.py, but it may require extra Python deps. Use the validator in this skill as the default.