Dynamic Workflow Mode

When To Activate

• The user mentions dynamic workflows, custom harnesses, harness-per-task, adaptive workflows, or Claude Code dynamic workflow mode.
• A task needs a custom loop, evaluator, crawler, fixture generator, watcher, or local dashboard.
• Multiple agents need the same repeatable process but the process is not yet captured as a shared skill.
• A workflow needs durable handoff artifacts, eval evidence, or operator approval before merge.

Core Contract

• Objective: the outcome it owns and the outcome it explicitly does not own.
• Inputs: files, URLs, prompts, data sources, credentials policy, and user-provided constraints.
• Outputs: commits, reports, screenshots, status files, or control pane snapshots.
• Eval: at least one pass/fail check tied to the task, not only "it ran".
• Handoff: a short artifact that tells the next operator what happened, what is blocked, and how to resume.

Dynamic Harness Decision Tree

1. One-shot task: keep it inline. Do not invent a harness.
2. Repeated task with changing inputs: create a task-local harness and keep it under a temp or project-local working area.
3. Repeated task across teammates or repos: extract the pattern into a shared skill.
4. Task with external state, queueing, or approvals: add control pane visibility before adding more automation.
5. Task with safety risk: add an eval gate and a human merge gate before autonomous execution.

Task-Local Harness Template

# Dynamic Workflow Harness

Objective:
- Ship:
- Do not ship:

Inputs:
- Repo or workspace:
- External systems:
- Credentials policy:

Loop:
1. Discover current state.
2. Generate or update the smallest useful artifact.
3. Run eval checks.
4. Record status and handoff.
5. Stop on failed gate, unclear ownership, or unsafe external action.

Eval:
- Command:
- Expected pass signal:
- Failure owner:

Handoff:
- Status:
- Evidence:
- Next action:

Shared Skill Extraction

• The same workflow appears in multiple sessions, repos, teams, or launches.
• The workflow needs specific language, tool, or safety sequencing.
• Failures repeat because operators skip a gate or lose context.
• The workflow has a stable input/output contract.
• The workflow benefits from a control pane, status board, or team handoff.

skills/<name>/SKILL.md

Control Pane Checkpoints

• Plan: objective, owner, acceptance criteria, and risky external systems.
• Queue: work items, assigned agent role, branch/worktree, and dependency edges.
• Run: active harness, current loop step, recent eval result, and token/cost signal if available.
• Gate: test results, browser screenshots, security review, and merge readiness.
• Handoff: what is done, what failed, what needs a human decision.

Eval Gates

Anti-Patterns

• Generating scripts that hide the real decision logic from the operator.
• Treating dynamic workflow mode as permission to skip tests.
• Creating one-off docs when a shared skill or status artifact is the real product.
• Running multiple agents without ownership, merge gate, or conflict policy.
• Letting raw private research data leak into public docs.

Output Standard

• The harness or skill path.
• The eval commands and results.
• The control pane or handoff artifact path.
• The next reusable extraction candidate.