workflow-authoring

---
name: workflow-authoring
description: Reference for writing a Workflow tool script (script API and gotchas, pipeline-vs-barrier rules, quality patterns, worked examples). Load before authoring a script for a workflow the user already opted into; it does not itself authorize running one.
---

# Workflow authoring reference

A workflow structures work across many subagents — to be comprehensive
(decompose and cover in parallel), to be confident (independent perspectives
and adversarial checks before committing), or to take on scale one context
can't hold (migrations, audits, broad sweeps). The script is where you encode
that structure: what fans out, what verifies, what synthesizes.

When you do call the Workflow tool, the right move is often **hybrid**: scout
inline first (list the files, scope the diff, find the modules) to discover
the work-list, then call Workflow to pipeline over it, passing the list via
`args`. You don't need to know the shape before the *task* — only before the
*orchestration step*.

Common single-phase workflows you can chain across turns:
- **Understand** — parallel readers over relevant subsystems → structured map
- **Design** — judge panel of N independent approaches → scored synthesis
- **Review** — dimensions → find → adversarially verify
- **Research** — multi-modal sweep → deep-read → synthesize
- **Migrate** — discover sites → transform each → verify

For larger work, run several in sequence — read each result before deciding
the next phase. You stay in the loop; each workflow is one well-scoped
fan-out.

Every script must begin with `export const meta = {...}`:

    export const meta = {
      name: 'find-flaky-tests',                       // kebab-case, required
      description: 'Find flaky tests and propose fixes',  // required
      phases: [                                       // one entry per phase() call
        { title: 'Scan', detail: 'grep test logs for retries' },
        { title: 'Fix', detail: 'one agent per flaky test' },
      ],
    }
    // script body starts here — use agent()/parallel()/pipeline()/phase()/log()

The `meta` object must be a PURE LITERAL — no variables, function calls,
spreads, or template interpolation.

## What a subagent is

Every `agent()` call is one agent-free ephemeral conversation linked to the
invoking parent agent (`is_subagent: true`, named after the call's `label`).
It starts with nothing but its prompt: no memory, no conversation context, no
skills. Put ALL context a stage needs in the prompt — file paths, the rule it
should apply, what shape to return.

Subagents are told their final text IS the return value (not a human-facing
message), so they return raw data. Workers inherit the invoking session's tools
and permission mode; use `allowedTools` to restrict a workflow or stage. For
stages whose input is entirely in the prompt (synthesis, judging, scoring)
pass `allowedTools: []` — a model that can still read files tends to wander,
and a subagent that re-issues an identical tool call three times is stopped
and rejects with the failure detail.

Their model defaults to the invoking conversation's model. `opts.model` (or
the tool's `model` input) accepts any handle or alias listed by
`letta model list`; an unknown value rejects that call. Use a
cheaper model for mechanical stages only when you know a valid handle.

Use the invoking backend for workflow workers. Local execution requires an Agent
SDK and App Server with local conversation support; `decide()` still uses the
Cloud decisions service.

## Script body hooks

- `agent(prompt, opts?)` → Promise. Spawn one subagent. Resolves to its final
  text, or with `schema` (JSON Schema) to a validated object. Prefer `schema`
  for shaped results: invalid or missing output is retried, then rejects
  with validation detail in the error and journal. `json: true` still parses
  without validating; `schema` wins if both are set. Await each call; failures
  reject with the cause, `callIndex`, and `conversationId` when available.
  Catch errors explicitly to recover. Options: `label` (display name),
  `phase` (progress group — use this inside concurrent stages), `schema`,
  `json`, `model`, `effort` (`'low'` for mechanical stages, higher for the
  hardest verify/judge stages), `allowedTools`, `systemPrompt` (extra system
  prompt for this subagent), `timeoutMs` (default 10 minutes), `maxToolCalls`
  (positive safe integer; default 1000 unique tool calls for this subagent),
  `conversationId` (resume a worker — see "Diagnosing a run").
- `pipeline(items, stage1, stage2, ...)` → run each item through all stages
  independently, NO barrier between stages. Item A can be in stage 3 while
  item B is still in stage 1. This is the DEFAULT for multi-stage work.
  Wall-clock = slowest single-item chain, not sum-of-slowest-per-stage. Every
  stage callback receives `(prevResult, originalItem, index)` — use
  originalItem/index in later stages to label work without threading context
  through stage 1's return value. A stage that throws skips that item's
  remaining stages; siblings finish, then the helper rejects.
- `parallel(thunks)` → run zero-arg functions concurrently. This is a
  BARRIER: it awaits all thunks, then rejects if any threw. For best-effort
  processing, catch errors inside each thunk and return explicit success/error
  results. Use ONLY when you genuinely need all results together.
- `phase(title)` — start a new phase; subsequent agent() calls are grouped
  under this title in progress output.
- `log(message)` — emit a progress message to the user.
- `decide(state, questions, opts?)` → Promise; not a subagent call. Ask a
  calibrated Jev model (chosen internally — no model option) questions about
  `state`. `questions` is a non-empty OBJECT keyed by question id — never an
  array. Each question needs `instructions` and a `type`: `choice` (criteria
  map of id → description, ≤255), `score` (criteria array of strings, unlike
  `questions`), `noul` (no criteria). Returns a response whose `answers` are
  keyed by the same ids and calibrated, or `null` after one retried invalid
  answer — guard `if (!call)`; API errors throw.

      const call = await decide(evidence, {
        behavior: { type: 'choice', instructions: 'Is this behavior a bug?',
          criteria: { bad: 'Wrong or harmful', not_bad: 'Expected or harmless' } },
      })
      const verdict = call?.answers?.behavior?.choice  // 'bad' | 'not_bad'

- `tools.mcp__server__tool(args?)` → Promise; not a subagent call. Calls one
  of the invoking agent's MCP tools directly (find names with
  `letta mcp search` / `letta mcp tools` before writing the script). Each call
  goes through the same permission rules as a normal MCP tool call; a tool
  that would ask for approval throws instead, so the user must allow it first.
  Resolves to the tool's `structuredContent`, else its text output (parsed
  when it is JSON), else the raw `content` array. Throws when the tool is
  unavailable, not allowed, or reports an error; `parallel()` and `pipeline()`
  propagate that rejection. Use it for deterministic fetches and
  writes whose arguments the script already knows; use `agent()` when a step
  needs judgment.

      const issues = await tools.mcp__linear__list_issues({ team: 'LET', limit: 20 })

- `args` — the value passed as the tool's `args` input, verbatim. Pass
  arrays/objects as actual JSON values, NOT as a JSON-encoded string.

`decide()` sees only the `state` you pass; it cannot read files. When compact,
bounded items are already prepared, pass them via `args` and call `decide()`
on each directly — don't spawn `agent()` readers just to relay inputs. Raw
large traces don't belong in `args`: prepare bounded state that preserves the
user instruction, observed action, and outcome, and mark what was omitted.

Scripts are plain JavaScript, NOT TypeScript — type annotations, interfaces,
and generics fail to parse. The script body runs in an async context — use
`await` directly and `return` the final result. Standard JS built-ins (JSON,
Math, Array, etc.) are available; the hooks are the only globals provided.
The script runs inside the CLI process with the CLI's own privileges (the
`vm` context is a scope, not a security boundary), and the user approves it
by reading it. Keep the script to orchestration: decide what runs and combine
results. Direct MCP calls belong in `tools.mcp__*()`; other reading, searching, and
writing belongs in subagents, where the tool allowlist applies.

## Pipeline vs barrier

DEFAULT TO pipeline(). Only reach for a barrier (parallel between stages)
when stage N needs cross-item context from all of stage N−1:
- Dedup/merge across the full result set before expensive downstream work
- Early-exit if the total count is zero ("0 bugs found → skip verification")
- Stage N's prompt references "the other findings" for comparison

A barrier is NOT justified by:
- "I need to flatten/map/filter first" — do it inside a pipeline stage:
  `pipeline(items, stageA, r => transform([r]).flat(), stageB)`
- "The stages are conceptually separate" — that's what pipeline() models.
  Separate stages ≠ synchronized stages.
- "It's cleaner code" — barrier latency is real. If 5 finders run and the
  slowest takes 3× the fastest, a barrier wastes 2/3 of the fast finders'
  idle time.

`agent()` and `decide()` share one pool of concurrent slots per run
(`maxConcurrent`, default 16) — excess calls queue and run as slots free up,
so passing 100 items is fine. Each has its own 1000-call lifetime backstop.
A single parallel()/pipeline() call accepts at most 4096 items.

When a barrier IS correct — dedup across all findings before expensive
verification:

    const all = await parallel(DIMENSIONS.map(d => () => agent(d.prompt, {json: true})))
    const deduped = dedupeByFileAndLine(all.filter(Boolean).flatMap(r => r.findings ?? []))  // needs ALL at once
    const verified = await parallel(deduped.map(f => () => agent(verifyPrompt(f), {json: true})))

Loop-until-count pattern — accumulate to a target:

    const bugs = []
    let rounds = 0
    while (bugs.length < 10 && rounds++ < 5) {
      const result = await agent('Find bugs in this codebase. Reply {"bugs": [{file, line, summary}]}', {json: true})
      bugs.push(...(result?.bugs ?? []))
      log(`${bugs.length}/10 found`)
    }

Always bound a loop with a round counter as well as the target: a subagent
that keeps returning nothing would otherwise run to the 1000-agent cap.

Composing patterns — exhaustive review (find → dedup vs seen → diverse-lens
panel → loop-until-dry):

    const seen = new Set(), confirmed = []
    let dry = 0
    while (dry < 2) {                                              // loop-until-dry
      const found = (await parallel(FINDERS.map(f => () =>          // barrier: collect all finders this round
        agent(f.prompt, {phase: 'Find', json: true})))).filter(Boolean).flatMap(r => r.bugs ?? [])
      const fresh = found.filter(b => !seen.has(key(b)))           // dedup vs ALL seen — plain code, not an agent
      if (!fresh.length) { dry++; continue }
      dry = 0; fresh.forEach(b => seen.add(key(b)))
      const judged = await parallel(fresh.map(b => () =>           // every fresh bug judged concurrently...
        parallel(['correctness','security','repro'].map(lens => () =>   // ...each by 3 distinct lenses
          agent(`Judge "${b.desc}" via the ${lens} lens — real? Reply {"real": boolean}`, {phase: 'Verify', json: true, allowedTools: []})))
          .then(vs => ({ b, real: vs.filter(Boolean).filter(v => v.real).length >= 2 }))))
      confirmed.push(...judged.filter(v => v.real).map(v => v.b))
    }
    return confirmed
    // dedup vs `seen`, NOT `confirmed` — else judge-rejected findings reappear every round and it never converges.

## Quality patterns — pick by task and compose freely

- **Adversarial verify**: spawn N independent skeptics per finding, each
  prompted to REFUTE. Kill if ≥majority refute. Prevents plausible-but-wrong
  findings from surviving.

      const votes = await parallel(Array.from({length: 3}, () => () =>
        agent(`Try to refute: ${claim}. Default to refuted=true if uncertain. Reply {"refuted": boolean}`, {json: true})))
      const survives = votes.filter(Boolean).filter(v => !v.refuted).length >= 2

- **Perspective-diverse verify**: when a finding can fail in more than one
  way, give each verifier a distinct lens (correctness, security, perf,
  does-it-reproduce) instead of N identical refuters — diversity catches
  failure modes redundancy can't.
- **Judge panel**: generate N independent attempts from different angles
  (e.g. MVP-first, risk-first, user-first), score with parallel judges,
  synthesize from the winner while grafting the best ideas from runners-up.
  Beats one-attempt-iterated when the solution space is wide.
- **Loop-until-dry**: for unknown-size discovery (bugs, issues, edge cases),
  keep spawning finders until K consecutive rounds return nothing new.
  Simple counters (while count < N) miss the tail.
- **Multi-modal sweep**: parallel agents each searching a different way
  (by-container, by-content, by-entity, by-time). Each is blind to what the
  others surface; useful when one search angle won't find everything.
- **Completeness critic**: a final agent that asks "what's missing —
  modality not run, claim unverified, source unread?" What it finds becomes
  the next round of work.
- **No silent caps**: if a workflow bounds coverage (top-N, no-retry,
  sampling), `log()` what was dropped — silent truncation reads as "covered
  everything" when it didn't.

Scale to what the user asked for. "find any bugs" → a few finders,
single-vote verify. "thoroughly audit this" or "be comprehensive" → larger
finder pool, 3–5 vote adversarial pass, synthesis stage. When unsure, lean
toward thoroughness for research/review/audit requests and toward brevity for
quick checks.

## Diagnosing a run

Every run persists its script, args, and a `journal.jsonl` with one line per
completed subagent call (prompt, outcome, conversation id) under
`~/.letta/workflows/executions/<id>/`; the tool result names the paths. Before
diagnosing why a workflow returned an empty or unexpected result, read that
journal — it records each agent's actual return value and failure detail.
A failed run is not resumable: fix the script and launch it again.

The script is never replayed, but one worker can continue:
`agent(prompt, {conversationId})` re-prompts it with history and model intact,
using a journal ID and only once its last Run is terminal. Local workers can
only continue inside the same workflow execution that observed their completed
turn. Tools inherit the invoking session unless `allowedTools` is supplied;
`schema` and `effort` are chosen per turn. Needs
SDK 0.8.20+.

From letta-ai/letta-code at c1033d9, shown as plain text under its license: Apache-2.0 (permissive). The license text is in LICENSE.

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