/workflow

name: workflow
description: Orchestrate a MULTI-PHASE, dependent, or resumable run over many provider subagents from a JS script, off the main context (`cc-fleet workflow`). Use for fan-out→barrier→synthesis, per-item pipelines, loop-until-dry, or a run that must survive a kill and `--resume` from its journal. NOT a flat fan-out of independent tasks (that is /cc-fleet:subagent — cheaper, no script); NOT interactive collaboration (that is /cc-fleet:team); NOT trivial single-shot work for the main session.

workflow — multi-phase JS orchestration over provider subagents

**Wrong lane?** A flat one-shot fan-out of independent tasks → /cc-fleet:subagent; interactive collaboration you message back and forth → /cc-fleet:team; arbitration in cc-fleet-shared/routing.md.

When this skill cites `cc-fleet-shared/<file>.md`, OPEN it with the Read tool at `../cc-fleet-shared/<file>.md` relative to this SKILL.md — the cited content is load-bearing, not optional background.

> **Execution environment — check before running anything.** Confirm your shell tool executes on the host where cc-fleet is installed. In sandboxed or remote agent sessions, a tool named Bash may run on an isolated machine with a different filesystem, PATH, processes, and tmux server — `command not found`, a healthy-looking `doctor` whose leaves can't reach your files, or a wrong working directory should prompt you to verify whether you are in a sandbox shell, not conclude that cc-fleet is broken. If so, route commands through a host-executing bridge tool (for example, desktop-commander) and pass host paths for any files you reference; do not retry the same Bash call expecting different results. If no host-executing tool is available, stop and explain that cc-fleet must run on its installation host.

A **workflow** is a JavaScript script that fans out provider `cc-fleet subagent` leaves and runs in a **cc-fleet process, OFF the main session's context**. You write the script; `cc-fleet workflow run` executes it. The orchestration plan lives in script variables (CPU, ~0 of your tokens) — you are invoked only when *authoring* the script, not on every scheduling decision. The API mirrors the native Claude Code Workflow tool — write the script exactly as you would a native workflow; the only addition is the `provider` option on `agent()`.

When to use it

• **Multi-phase or dynamic** orchestration over many provider subagents: fan-out + barrier, per-item pipeline, loop-until-dry, branch-on-result, with a board run-tree.
• A single flat batch of independent one-shots is **not** a workflow — that's /cc-fleet:subagent. Don't write a script for it.

The provider ask ladder (ask at most once per task)

1. The user named a provider or model → use it. 2. Else run `cc-fleet default --json`: if it returns a provider (source "configured" or "auto"), use it and STATE it in your kickoff line (e.g. "using glm (default)"). 3. Else (several providers, none default) ask the user ONCE which to use — list the enabled providers from `cc-fleet list --json` (name + default_model + the one-line note in cc-fleet-shared/providers.md). After they pick, run `cc-fleet default <chosen>` so you never ask again. (`cc-fleet default <p>` is user-layer; only run it to FILL a blank default, never with --force.) 4. A mid-task provider failure (insufficient balance / rate limit / auth) → STOP, tell the user what happened, propose the next provider, and WAIT for their confirmation. Never switch providers silently.

Model tier within a provider: fan-out / leaf work → omit `--model` (or `--model fast`); judge / synthesis / sustained work → `--model strong`. The provider's roster decides the actual model — see cc-fleet-shared/providers.md.

In a script, `agent()`'s `opts.provider` is **optional**: omitted, the leaf uses the run's default provider, resolved ONCE at launch and recorded with the run — so `--resume` stays stable even if the default changes later. A script meant to be shared or reproducible should still pin `provider` explicitly.

The script API (mirrors the native Workflow tool)

• `const meta = {name, description, whenToUse?, model?, phases?: [{title, detail?}]}` — a top-level **pure literal** (no calls/vars/spreads; the native `export const meta` form is also accepted). `name` + `description` are **required**; `model` is the default for agents that omit it. Read statically before the run → the board shows the named, phase-skeletoned run immediately.
• `agent(prompt, opts) → Promise<string|object>` — runs ONE provider subagent leaf. `opts.provider` is optional (omitted → the run's default provider, above); `provider: "claude"` runs the official `claude` CLI on the user's OWN Claude Code login (subscription OAuth) instead of a configured provider — a literal `model` id (`fable`/`opus`/`sonnet`/a full id, omitted → claude's login default, typically the costliest tier so name one), no roster keywords, no key material. The rest are optional: `model`, `schema`, `label`, `phase`, `timeout` (seconds), `max_budget_usd`, `max_turns`, `isolation: "worktree"`, `profile` ("slim" default / "slim-ro" / "full"), `tools`, `skills`, `mcp`. An unknown option key throws (typos fail loudly). On a leaf failure the promise **rejects** — an un-caught top-level `await agent()` aborts the run; inside `parallel`/`pipeline` a failed element degrades to `null`. Leaf failures classify like subagent failures — dispatch table in "Leaf failures" below.
• **`schema`** (a plain object) goes to the claude child via `--json-schema`: claude injects a forced `StructuredOutput` tool and enforces that it is CALLED (the native mechanism — no JSON instruction is added to the prompt); the promise resolves with the parsed structured payload. The three rules:
• a validation failure — or a result envelope without a structured payload — FAILS the leaf; there is NO automatic retry;
• the forced `StructuredOutput` call costs turns — give a schema'd leaf `max_turns` ≥ 3 (a budget of 1