/create-skills-workflow

The /create-skills-workflow skill guides the creation of professional multi-step workflow skills like APEX.

Usage: /create-skills-workflow <workflow name> [description]

What are Workflow Skills?

Workflow skills use:

Progressive step loading to minimize context usage
State persistence across steps via frontmatter
Interactive decision points with AskUserQuestion
Optional/conditional steps for flexibility

When to Use

Use this skill when building:

Multi-phase workflows (3+ distinct steps)
Skills that need state persistence across steps
Interactive workflows with user decision points
Skills with optional/conditional steps
Workflows that save outputs for review

Don't use for:

Simple single-action skills
Skills that complete in one step
Pure research/exploration skills

Quick Start

Define your steps and their dependencies
Create the folder structure
Copy and customize SKILL.md template
Create step-00-init.md for initialization
Create each step using the step template
Test the workflow end-to-end

Workflow Creation Process

Phase 1: Design the Workflow

1.1 Identify Workflow Steps

What are the distinct phases of this workflow?
What must complete before the next step can start?
Which steps are optional or conditional?
Where do users need to make decisions?

1.2 Map Dependencies

Step 1 ──► Step 2 ──► Step 3 ──┬──► Step 4a (if condition)
                               └──► Step 4b (else)

1.3 Define State Variables

YAML

state_variables:
  - task_description: string   # What to do
  - task_id: string            # Unique identifier
  - auto_mode: boolean         # Skip confirmations
  - results: object            # Accumulated results

Phase 2: Create Structure

Folder Structure

Path	Purpose
`SKILL.md`	Main entry point with state variables
`steps/step-00-init.md`	Initialization (parse flags, setup)
`steps/step-01-{name}.md`	First step
`steps/step-02-{name}.md`	Second step
`references/`	Optional: templates, patterns

Naming Conventions

Steps: step-NN-{descriptive-name}.md
NN = two-digit number (00, 01, 02...)
Use kebab-case for names
Keep names short but descriptive

Critical Patterns (BMAD-Inspired)

1. Micro-File Architecture

✅ ALWAYS: Each step is a self-contained file
✅ ALWAYS: Load one step at a time (progressive loading)
❌ NEVER: Load all steps upfront
❌ NEVER: Assume knowledge from future steps

2. Every Step Must Have

Section	Purpose
MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES	Critical boundaries with 🛑✅📋💬🚫 emojis
EXECUTION PROTOCOLS	How to execute this step
CONTEXT BOUNDARIES	What's in scope, what's not
YOUR TASK	One clear sentence describing purpose
EXECUTION SEQUENCE	Numbered list of actions
SUCCESS METRICS	✅ What success looks like
FAILURE MODES	❌ What to avoid
NEXT STEP	Where to go next

3. User Decisions with AskUserQuestion

CRITICAL: Never use plain text prompts like "[C] Continue". Always use AskUserQuestion tool.

YAML

questions:
  - header: "Continue"
    question: "Ready to proceed to the next step?"
    options:
      - label: "Continue (Recommended)"
        description: "Proceed to next phase"
      - label: "Review first"
        description: "I want to review before continuing"
    multiSelect: false

Auto Mode: Check auto_mode before ANY AskUserQuestion call to skip user interaction.

4. Frontmatter State Tracking

Track progress in document frontmatter:

YAML

---
stepsCompleted: [1, 2, 3]
task_description: "Add auth middleware"
selected_approach: "jwt"
---

5. Critical Tags

Use <critical> tags for essential reminders:

MARKDOWN

<critical>
Remember: This step is ONLY about analysis - don't plan or implement!
</critical>

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake	Solution
Loading all steps at once	Use micro-file architecture, one step at a time
Plain text prompts "[C] Continue"	ALWAYS use AskUserQuestion tool
Missing MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES	Every step MUST start with rules using emojis
No CONTEXT BOUNDARIES section	Always define what's in scope and what's not
Vague YOUR TASK statement	Must be ONE clear sentence
Forgetting state handoff	Document available variables from previous steps
Missing SUCCESS METRICS	Every step needs ✅ success criteria and ❌ failure modes
Not handling auto_mode	Check auto_mode before ANY AskUserQuestion call
No frontmatter state tracking	Track `stepsCompleted` array in document
Hardcoding paths	Use relative paths and state variables

Success Criteria

A well-designed workflow skill has:

Structure:

Micro-file architecture - each step self-contained
Clear step progression with dependencies
State variables documented and persisted in frontmatter

Each Step Has:

MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES section with emojis
EXECUTION PROTOCOLS section
CONTEXT BOUNDARIES section
YOUR TASK - one clear sentence
Numbered EXECUTION SEQUENCE
SUCCESS METRICS with ✅ checkmarks
FAILURE MODES with ❌ marks
NEXT STEP routing section
<critical> reminder at the end

User Interaction:

ALL user decisions use AskUserQuestion (never plain text)
Auto mode skips AskUserQuestion calls
Save mode outputs to files with frontmatter

State Management:

stepsCompleted array tracked in frontmatter
Resume detection checks existing documents
State variables passed between steps

Templates

The skill includes reference templates:

Step Template - Base structure for any step
Ask Patterns - AskUserQuestion patterns
State Management - Persisting data across steps
Workflow Patterns - Common workflow designs
Prompt Engineering - Best practices for prompts

The /create-skills-workflow skill guides the creation of professional multi-step workflow skills like APEX.

Usage: /create-skills-workflow <workflow name> [description]

What are Workflow Skills?

Workflow skills use:

Progressive step loading to minimize context usage
State persistence across steps via frontmatter
Interactive decision points with AskUserQuestion
Optional/conditional steps for flexibility

When to Use

Use this skill when building:

Multi-phase workflows (3+ distinct steps)
Skills that need state persistence across steps
Interactive workflows with user decision points
Skills with optional/conditional steps
Workflows that save outputs for review

Don't use for:

Simple single-action skills
Skills that complete in one step
Pure research/exploration skills

Quick Start

Define your steps and their dependencies
Create the folder structure
Copy and customize SKILL.md template
Create step-00-init.md for initialization
Create each step using the step template
Test the workflow end-to-end

Workflow Creation Process

Phase 1: Design the Workflow

1.1 Identify Workflow Steps

What are the distinct phases of this workflow?
What must complete before the next step can start?
Which steps are optional or conditional?
Where do users need to make decisions?

1.2 Map Dependencies

Step 1 ──► Step 2 ──► Step 3 ──┬──► Step 4a (if condition)
                               └──► Step 4b (else)

1.3 Define State Variables

YAML

state_variables:
  - task_description: string   # What to do
  - task_id: string            # Unique identifier
  - auto_mode: boolean         # Skip confirmations
  - results: object            # Accumulated results

Phase 2: Create Structure

Folder Structure

Path	Purpose
`SKILL.md`	Main entry point with state variables
`steps/step-00-init.md`	Initialization (parse flags, setup)
`steps/step-01-{name}.md`	First step
`steps/step-02-{name}.md`	Second step
`references/`	Optional: templates, patterns

Naming Conventions

Steps: step-NN-{descriptive-name}.md
NN = two-digit number (00, 01, 02...)
Use kebab-case for names
Keep names short but descriptive

Critical Patterns (BMAD-Inspired)

1. Micro-File Architecture

✅ ALWAYS: Each step is a self-contained file
✅ ALWAYS: Load one step at a time (progressive loading)
❌ NEVER: Load all steps upfront
❌ NEVER: Assume knowledge from future steps

2. Every Step Must Have

Section	Purpose
MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES	Critical boundaries with 🛑✅📋💬🚫 emojis
EXECUTION PROTOCOLS	How to execute this step
CONTEXT BOUNDARIES	What's in scope, what's not
YOUR TASK	One clear sentence describing purpose
EXECUTION SEQUENCE	Numbered list of actions
SUCCESS METRICS	✅ What success looks like
FAILURE MODES	❌ What to avoid
NEXT STEP	Where to go next

3. User Decisions with AskUserQuestion

CRITICAL: Never use plain text prompts like "[C] Continue". Always use AskUserQuestion tool.

YAML

questions:
  - header: "Continue"
    question: "Ready to proceed to the next step?"
    options:
      - label: "Continue (Recommended)"
        description: "Proceed to next phase"
      - label: "Review first"
        description: "I want to review before continuing"
    multiSelect: false

Auto Mode: Check auto_mode before ANY AskUserQuestion call to skip user interaction.

4. Frontmatter State Tracking

Track progress in document frontmatter:

YAML

---
stepsCompleted: [1, 2, 3]
task_description: "Add auth middleware"
selected_approach: "jwt"
---

5. Critical Tags

Use <critical> tags for essential reminders:

MARKDOWN

<critical>
Remember: This step is ONLY about analysis - don't plan or implement!
</critical>

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake	Solution
Loading all steps at once	Use micro-file architecture, one step at a time
Plain text prompts "[C] Continue"	ALWAYS use AskUserQuestion tool
Missing MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES	Every step MUST start with rules using emojis
No CONTEXT BOUNDARIES section	Always define what's in scope and what's not
Vague YOUR TASK statement	Must be ONE clear sentence
Forgetting state handoff	Document available variables from previous steps
Missing SUCCESS METRICS	Every step needs ✅ success criteria and ❌ failure modes
Not handling auto_mode	Check auto_mode before ANY AskUserQuestion call
No frontmatter state tracking	Track `stepsCompleted` array in document
Hardcoding paths	Use relative paths and state variables

Success Criteria

A well-designed workflow skill has:

Structure:

Micro-file architecture - each step self-contained
Clear step progression with dependencies
State variables documented and persisted in frontmatter

Each Step Has:

MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES section with emojis
EXECUTION PROTOCOLS section
CONTEXT BOUNDARIES section
YOUR TASK - one clear sentence
Numbered EXECUTION SEQUENCE
SUCCESS METRICS with ✅ checkmarks
FAILURE MODES with ❌ marks
NEXT STEP routing section
<critical> reminder at the end

User Interaction:

ALL user decisions use AskUserQuestion (never plain text)
Auto mode skips AskUserQuestion calls
Save mode outputs to files with frontmatter

State Management:

stepsCompleted array tracked in frontmatter
Resume detection checks existing documents
State variables passed between steps

Templates

The skill includes reference templates:

Step Template - Base structure for any step
Ask Patterns - AskUserQuestion patterns
State Management - Persisting data across steps
Workflow Patterns - Common workflow designs
Prompt Engineering - Best practices for prompts