hmbown--codewhale/docs/AUTOMATIC_WORKFLOWS.md

Automatic Workflows

You do not need to write a .workflow.js file to coordinate agents. In Operate, ordinary messages can use direct tools or background workers; workers are preferred for independent, parallel, background, or long-running work. Workflow is reserved for ordered phases, gates, shared budgets, replay, or deterministic fan-in. Act/Agent can still use the optional soft-auto policy described below.

Related docs:

• Workflow Authoring — checked-in scripts and IR
• Fleet + Workflow Tutorial — manual Fleet paths
• Configuration — [workflow] knobs
• Sandbox — what the Workflow VM cannot do

Soft-auto in Act/Agent

1. You ask naturally — “audit every crate for unsafe,” “scout then implement,” “compare these two providers in parallel.”
2. Codewhale decides in Act/Agent — broad, independent, or staged work can trigger Workflow; one-file edits, simple commands, and pure Q&A do not.
3. It tells you first — e.g. “This looks set up for a Workflow — three scouts then one verifier.”
4. Optional setup — if one or two facts would change the plan (read-only vs writes, scope, child count), it opens the request_user_input modal (structured multiple choice, not a long free-form interview).
5. Launch — structured plan JSON (goal / phases / children) or a short inline script. Parallel branches use parallel() partial-success semantics.

In Operate, those same asks prefer one or more direct background workers when the split improves throughput, isolation, or context focus. Small or tightly coupled work can stay in the parent under the active tool and approval policy. You can always type /workflow to request orchestration explicitly.

Read-only auto-start vs write approval

[workflow] config (see config.example.toml):

Knob	Default	Meaning
automatic	true	Soft-auto orchestration is enabled
auto_start_read_only	true	Read-only plans may start without a write-approval card
require_approval_for_writes	true	Writes / elevated plans need explicit approval
auto_start_child_limit	8	Soft cap on automatic child count
max_children / max_depth	64 / 2	Hard ceilings
default_token_budget	120000	Shared admission hint; not an exact mid-stream cutoff
persist_completed_activity	true	Keep completed panel/history activity

Elevated work (writes, shell beyond read-only, network, secrets, worktrees, high budget) should surface an approval card with goal, child summary, capability flags, and budget before launch (#4126).

Worktree isolation and write ownership are separate. A write-capable task() declares writeAuthority: "workspace_write" or "worktree_write" plus at least one repo-relative writeRoots, exactFiles, or coordinationContracts value. worktree: true selects isolation but does not silently grant mutation authority. A prompt-only general task is read-only. dependencies and acceptance carry bounded child-specific prerequisites and observable completion checks; they are not a parent-transcript copy.

When a workflow runs from a workspace containing multiple repositories, a child that needs shell or file access must set cwd to the repository-relative directory it should use. The host validates that the directory exists inside the parent workspace before dispatch. Use worktree: true for isolated writes; cwd selects an existing checkout and does not grant write authority or isolation by itself.

What you see while it runs

• Workflow panel — phases, children, status, budget
• Compact history card — one calm row that expands for detail
• One artifact per delegated unit — no duplicate “delegate + tool card”
• Typed child identity — labels/roles; no “unknown child” in the default UI

Cancel stops the run and child agents. Completed activity can persist across the session (and across restarts when configured).

Sandbox guarantees

The Workflow JS VM has no filesystem, shell, network, env, imports, clock, or randomness. Allowed host calls: task, parallel, pipeline, phase, log, budget, args. Real work happens in sub-agents / Fleet under normal tool and approval policy. See Sandbox.

Synthesis and compatibility

• Prefer responseSchema on children that must return structured fields.
• Ordinary failed parallel slots become null (partial success); filter them before synthesizing one operator-facing summary. A responseSchema mismatch is a contract failure and intentionally fails the run instead of being silently converted to null.
• Workflow token budgets govern admission and aggregate accounting. Once exhausted they reject later or descendant spawns, but children already running in parallel can reconcile aggregate usage above the hint because providers report usage only at response boundaries.
• Compatibility paths remain: script, source_path (checked-in .workflow.js / .workflow.ts), and structured plan.

When automatic stays off

Automatic Workflow is suppressed for:

• One-file edits and tiny one-step asks
• Simple commands / factual questions
• Highly interactive design conversations
• Risky writes without a clear decomposition
• Estimated children above auto_start_child_limit (ask or shrink first)

In those cases Codewhale uses direct tools or a single agent instead.

Example scenarios (#4131)

Checked-in example workflows cover four automatic-Workflow scenarios:

1. Read-only repo audit
2. Staged bug fix with worktree implementer + verifier
3. Partial failure and synthesis
4. Cancellation mid-run

Fixtures: docs/examples/dogfood-automatic/. Panel regression tests use the dogfood_ prefix in crates/tui/src/tui/widgets/workflow_panel.rs.