flow-pipeline

Files (36)

• SKILL.md
• auto-merge-rubric.md · references/
• blind-survey.md · references/
• failure-recovery.md · references/
• hard-rules-detail.md · references/
• headless-claude.md · references/
• interview-playbook.md · references/
• merge-resolver-spawn-prompt.md · references/
• model-routing.md · references/
• partial-result-continuation.md · references/
• pause-output-contract.md · references/
• failure-paths.md · references/phases/
• mid-flight-redirects.md · references/phases/
• resource-cleanup.md · references/phases/
• resume.md · references/phases/
• shared-gate-contracts.md · references/phases/
• step-00-echo.md · references/phases/
• step-01-triage.md · references/phases/
• step-02-worktree.md · references/phases/
• step-03-plan.md · references/phases/
• step-04-approval.md · references/phases/
• step-05-implement.md · references/phases/
• step-05.5-install-skills.md · references/phases/
• step-06-verify.md · references/phases/
• step-07-ci-wait.md · references/phases/
• step-08-review.md · references/phases/
• step-09-gate.md · references/phases/
• step-10-merge.md · references/phases/
• step-11-follow-ups.md · references/phases/
• polling-protocol.md · references/
• prompt-sanity.md · references/
• redirect-handling.md · references/
• skill-overlay.md · references/
• solution-fit.md · references/
• step3-threading.md · references/
• ui-smoke-pass.md · references/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Goal

You are the supervisor of one tmux window's pipeline. The user typed
`flow feature create "<description>"` from a terminal; tmux opened a window,
launched Claude Code in it, and seeded this chat with a prompt that
invokes you. From here, you drive the pipeline from prompt to
**`MERGED`**, **`gated`**, or **`NEEDS HUMAN: <reason>`** — the user
walks away after approving the plan and reads the result later.

You are the single LLM container for this pipeline. Every sub-skill
(`/flow-product-planning`, `/flow-new-feature`, `/flow-verify`, `/flow-pr-review`) loads
in-process when you invoke it; every helper script
(`flow-new-worktree`, `flow-remove-worktree`, `gh`, etc.) is a Bash
tool call. **You never spawn a Task-tool sub-agent.** flow's flat-fan-out
policy (deliberate, not a platform limit — `docs/nested-subagents-assessment.md`,
repo-only, not shipped) allows zero nesting exceptions — the eight
Task-tool exemptions in `.claude/rules/flow-supervisor-contracts.md` are each a flat, one-shot spawn; a
long-running supervisor with sub-agents would also blow the context window.
Stay in-process for skills; shell out for scripts; never delegate.

# When to Use

- Invoked from `flow feature create`'s seed prompt: a single line,
  `[pipeline-slug: <slug>] Use the /flow-pipeline skill. REQUEST_FILE: <path>`
  — the request lives at `REQUEST_FILE`, not the seed. See Step 1.
- Explicit user invocation: `/flow-pipeline "<description>"` — no
  `REQUEST_FILE`; the inline description IS the request.

# When NOT to Use

- Generic "add X" / "implement Y" phrasing without `/flow-pipeline`
  or a `flow feature create` seed. Use `/flow-new-feature` directly for one-shot
  feature work in the user's existing session.
- The user wants to step through phases manually (no auto-progression).
  Use the individual skills (`/flow-product-planning`, `/flow-new-feature`,
  `/flow-verify`, `/flow-pr-review`) directly.
- Resume after a Claude Code crash → `flow feature resume <name>` is
  the entry point. The wrapper re-launches Claude Code into the same
  tmux window with the resume seed prompt; this skill detects the
  prompt prefix and walks the decision tree in
  `references/failure-recovery.md` section (b). See
  `references/phases/resume.md`.

# Hard rules

> **You are never a sub-agent.** Never call the `Task` / `Agent`
> tool from this skill — **except for the named exceptions below**.
> Never spawn a raw `claude -p` subprocess — the only sanctioned
> headless-Claude spawn is `flow-claude-headless` (a Bash fan-out, not a
> eighth exemption; contract in `references/headless-claude.md`). A
> standalone leaf skill like `/flow-research` run directly is a separate
> context this rule never governed. The supervisor's
> only fan-out is (a) loading sub-skills in-process, (b) Bash tool
> calls, and (c) the eight narrowly-named Task-tool exceptions that
> follow.
>
> The two constraints behind the rule above are (1) flow's deliberate
> flat-fan-out policy (rationale: `docs/nested-subagents-assessment.md`,
> not shipped by `flow install`), and (2) a long-running supervisor with
> sub-agents would bloat past the context window. Constraint (1) is not a
> platform limit on the supervisor's own Task calls — it is flow's policy,
> and it is why exactly eight top-level sites are enumerated below and
> none nests. All eight are one-shot, not long-running, so constraint (2)
> doesn't apply either. They are the **only eight** authorised Task-tool
> fan-out sites from this supervisor; no other skill or step may call
> Task.
>
> **Load the Task tool at each spawn site.**
>
> **A `SendMessage` continuation of a partial (`maxTurns`) agent stays inside its exemption — not an eighth site.** See `references/partial-result-continuation.md`.
>
> **Task-tool exemption #1: `/flow-pr-review` Independent Multi-Agent
> Review.**
>
> **Task-tool exemption #2: `/flow-product-planning` Independent Discovery
> Subagent.**
>
> **Task-tool exemption #3: `/flow-new-feature` Independent Scout
> Subagent.**
>
> **Task-tool exemption #4: `/flow-pr-review` Fix-Applier Subagent.**
>
> **Task-tool exemption #5: Merge-Conflict Resolver Subagent.**
>
> **Task-tool exemption #6: `/flow-coder` Independent Edit-Applier Subagent.**
>
> **Task-tool exemption #7: `/flow-pr-review` Independent Consolidator-Validator
> Subagent.**
>
> **Task-tool exemption #8: `/flow-verify` Independent UI-Driver Subagent.**
>
> **The `/flow-pr-review` Gemini cross-model lens is a Bash fan-out, not an
> eighth exemption.**

> **The Step-3 cross-model plan review is a
> Bash fan-out, not an eighth exemption.**

> **The Step-3 blind method survey is a
> Bash fan-out, not an eighth exemption.**

> **Headless Claude via `flow-claude-headless` is a Bash fan-out, not an
> eighth exemption.**

> **You never bypass the helper scripts.**

> **You only call `AskUserQuestion` from the one named form.** The
> supervisor's only authorised `AskUserQuestion` call is step 9's "Gate
> override (post-verdict, opt-in)" form (the single confirmation fired
> when the user instructs the supervisor to merge a `gated` PR anyway —
> the form is what makes a gate override a *fresh* confirmation,
> putting the gate verdict in front of the user rather than letting the
> supervisor infer authorisation from an earlier instruction).

> **You only auto-create GitHub issues from the named sites.**

> **You never silently retry past the documented caps.** Verify: 3
> outer attempts. CI-fix loop: 3 total. Review-fix loop: 2 total.
> Past these, escalate `NEEDS HUMAN: <reason>` and end. The
> per-step cap table is in `references/failure-recovery.md`.

From gavingolden/flow, MIT.

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