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:
```
workflow_spec_path
```
(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
Workflow spec template (SSOT): references/workflow-spec-template.md
Example generated workflow skill: references/example-workflow-skill.md
Example workflow spec (valid): references/example-workflow-spec.md

Process

0) Resolve skills root (deterministic)

Resolve

skills_root

using this priority:

If user provides
```
repo_root
```
, use it.
Else search upward from the current working directory for:
- ```
<dir>/skills/manifest.json
```
  (monorepo layout) ->
```
skills_root = <dir>/skills/
```
- ```
<dir>/manifest.json
```
  (skills-repo layout) ->
```
skills_root = <dir>/
```

1) Create or load

workflow_spec.md

(SSOT)

workflow_spec_path

is not provided:

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
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)
| Skill | Relevance | Notes |
|-------|-----------|-------|
| tool-xxx | HIGH | ... |
| review-yyy | MEDIUM | ... |

### External Skills (skills.sh)
| Skill | Installs | Source | Relevance |
|-------|----------|--------|-----------|
| skill-name | 10K | owner/repo | ... |

**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.

Write a

workflow_spec.md

using the template in

references/workflow-spec-template.md

2) Validate spec (deterministic)

Run:

bash

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

Fix any validation errors before generating.

3) Resolve skill dependencies

Read
```
required_skills
```
/
```
optional_skills
```
from the spec.
Check which skills exist locally under
```
skills_root
```
.
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>/

Create
```
workflow-<slug>/
```
under
```
skills_root
```
if missing.

Write SSOT:

workflow-<slug>/references/workflow-spec.md

(copy from the validated spec).

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:

bash

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.

workflow-creator

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content