workflow-tools (工具)#

Unified skill for workflow utilities including open loop detection, parallel/serial decision framework, MCE file analysis, and subworkflow spawning. Consolidates 4 skills.

Trigger: 明示呼出 (explicit invocation)

Source skills: loop-closer, parallel-decision, MCE (minimal-context-engineering), subworkflow-spawner

Removed: pbd-strength-classifier (redundant with /fm classify)

Installation#

bash

openclaw install leegitw/workflow-tools

Dependencies:

• leegitw/failure-memory (for loop context)
• leegitw/constraint-engine (for enforcement context)

bash

# Install with dependencies
openclaw install leegitw/context-verifier
openclaw install leegitw/failure-memory
openclaw install leegitw/constraint-engine
openclaw install leegitw/workflow-tools

Standalone usage: Loop detection, parallel decisions, and MCE analysis work independently. Full integration provides constraint-aware workflow recommendations.

Data handling: This skill operates within your agent's trust boundary. When triggered, it uses your agent's configured model for workflow analysis and decision support. No external APIs or third-party services are called. Results are written to output/ subdirectories in your workspace.

⚠️ File access: This skill reads user-specified directories and files for analysis:

• /wt loops [path] scans the specified directory (default: current working directory)
• /wt mce <file> reads the specified file for size analysis The metadata declares only config and output paths. See Security Considerations for details.

What This Solves#

Workflows accumulate friction — loops that never close, decisions about parallel vs serial execution, files that grow too large. This skill provides utilities for common workflow problems:

1. Loop detection — find DEFERRED, PLACEHOLDER, and TODO markers before marking work complete
2. Parallel decisions — 5-factor framework for when to parallelize vs serialize
3. MCE analysis — identify files exceeding size thresholds, suggest splits

The insight: Small tools that do one thing well. Don't overthink the workflow — detect, decide, analyze, move on.

Usage#

text

/wt <sub-command> [arguments]

Sub-Commands#

CommandCJKLogicTrigger/wt loops循環scan(DEFERRED∨PLACEHOLDER∨TODO)→openloop[]Explicit/wt parallel並列5因子→serial∨parallelExplicit/wt mce極限file.lines>200→split_suggestions[]Explicit/wt subworkflow副流task→spawn(clawhub.skill)Explicit

Arguments#

/wt loops#

ArgumentRequiredDescriptionpathNoDirectory to scan (default: current)--patternNoCustom patterns to detect (comma-separated)--excludeNoPaths to exclude (comma-separated)

/wt parallel#

ArgumentRequiredDescriptiontaskYesDescription of task to evaluate--factorsNoSpecific factors to evaluate (default: all 5)

/wt mce#

ArgumentRequiredDescriptionfileYesFile to analyze--thresholdNoLine threshold (default: 200)--suggestNoGenerate split suggestions

/wt subworkflow#

ArgumentRequiredDescriptiontaskYesTask description--skillNoSpecific ClawHub skill to use--backgroundNoRun in background

Configuration#

Configuration is loaded from (in order of precedence):

1. .openclaw/workflow-tools.yaml (OpenClaw standard)
2. .claude/workflow-tools.yaml (Claude Code compatibility)
3. Defaults (built-in)

yaml

# .openclaw/workflow-tools.yaml
loops:
  patterns:                  # Patterns to detect as open loops
    - "TODO:"
    - "FIXME:"
    - "HACK:"
    - "XXX:"
    - "DEFERRED:"
    - "PLACEHOLDER:"
  exclude:                   # Paths to exclude from scanning
    - "vendor/"
    - "node_modules/"
mce:
  threshold: 200             # Line threshold for MCE compliance
  warning_threshold: 300     # Line threshold for warning
parallel:
  default_factors: 5         # Number of factors to evaluate

Core Logic#

Open Loop Detection#

Scans for unclosed work items:

PatternTypeExampleDEFERRED:Postponed work// DEFERRED: handle edge case``PLACEHOLDER:Temporary code// PLACEHOLDER: implement auth``TODO:Task marker// TODO: add error handling``FIXME:Bug marker// FIXME: race condition``HACK:Technical debt// HACK: workaround for bug``XXX:Attention needed// XXX: review this logic

Parallel vs Serial Decision Framework#

Five factors determine parallel suitability:

FactorQuestionParallel IfSerial IfTeamCan different people work on parts?Independent partsShared expertise neededCouplingHow connected are the tasks?Loose couplingTight couplingInterfaceAre boundaries clear?Well-definedFluid/evolvingPatternIs approach consistent?Divergent explorationConvergent refinementIntegrationHow complex is merging?Simple mergeComplex coordination

Decision matrix:

Factors favoring parallelRecommendation5/5Strongly parallel4/5Parallel with coordination checkpoints3/5Consider case-by-case2/5Serial with parallel sub-tasks0-1/5Serial

MCE (Minimal Context Engineering)#

File size thresholds for context efficiency:

LinesStatusAction≤200✓ MCE compliantNo action needed201-300⚠ Approaching limitConsider refactoring>300✗ Exceeds MCESplit recommended

Split suggestions based on:

• Function/method boundaries
• Logical groupings
• Import dependencies
• Test coverage boundaries

Subworkflow Spawning#

Delegate tasks to specialized ClawHub skills:

text

Task → Skill Selection → Spawn → Monitor → Collect Results

Available skill categories:

• research-*: Investigation and analysis
• generate-*: Content generation
• validate-*: Verification and testing
• transform-*: Data transformation

Example: Deployment Workflow Analysis#

text

/wt parallel "Deploy new payment service to production"
[PARALLEL VS SERIAL ANALYSIS]
Task: "Deploy new payment service to production"

Factor Analysis:
1. Team: ✗ Serial - Single SRE team handles deploys
2. Coupling: ✗ Serial - Payment depends on auth service
3. Interface: ✓ Parallel - Clear API contracts defined
4. Pattern: ✗ Serial - Requires sequential rollout (canary → staging → prod)
5. Integration: ✗ Serial - Payment gateway integration must be verified

Score: 1/5 factors favor parallel
Recommendation: SERIAL deployment
Rationale: High-risk service requiring careful sequential verification.

Example: Infrastructure Loop Detection#

text

/wt loops infra/ --pattern "MANUAL:,HARDCODED:"
[OPEN LOOPS DETECTED]
Scanned: ./infra
Files checked: 23

Infrastructure Issues (5):
  infra/terraform/main.tf:45  HARDCODED: AWS region
  infra/k8s/deployment.yaml:78  MANUAL: replica count
  infra/docker/Dockerfile:12  TODO: multi-stage build
  infra/scripts/deploy.sh:34  FIXME: rollback not implemented
  infra/helm/values.yaml:56  PLACEHOLDER: production secrets

Summary: 2 high, 2 medium, 1 low priority
Action: Address HARDCODED and FIXME before next release.

Output#

/wt loops output#

text

[OPEN LOOPS DETECTED]
Scanned: ./src
Files checked: 47

Open loops found (12):

High Priority (FIXME, XXX):
  src/auth/handler.go:45  FIXME: race condition in token refresh
  src/api/client.go:123   XXX: review error handling

Medium Priority (TODO):
  src/handlers/user.go:78  TODO: add input validation
  src/db/queries.go:234    TODO: optimize query
  src/utils/hash.go:12     TODO: add caching

Low Priority (DEFERRED, PLACEHOLDER):
  src/config/loader.go:89  DEFERRED: support YAML config
  src/templates/email.go:34 PLACEHOLDER: email templates
  ...

Summary: 2 high, 5 medium, 5 low priority loops
Action: Address high priority loops before release.

/wt parallel output#

text

[PARALLEL VS SERIAL ANALYSIS]
Task: "Implement authentication and authorization"

Factor Analysis:

1. Team (独立性):
   ✓ Parallel - Auth and authz can be assigned separately

2. Coupling (結合度):
   ✗ Serial - Authz depends on auth tokens

3. Interface (境界):
   ✓ Parallel - Clear token interface between them

4. Pattern (手法):
   ✓ Parallel - Both follow established patterns

5. Integration (統合):
   ✗ Serial - Token format must match exactly

Score: 3/5 factors favor parallel

Recommendation: SERIAL with parallel sub-tasks
Rationale: Core dependency between auth and authz, but sub-components
           within each can be developed in parallel.

Suggested approach:
1. Define token interface (serial, required first)
2. Implement auth + authz (parallel, once interface stable)
3. Integration testing (serial, final step)

/wt mce output#

text

[MCE ANALYSIS]
File: src/handlers/user.go
Lines: 347

Status: ✗ EXCEEDS MCE THRESHOLD (200 lines)

Complexity Analysis:
  Functions: 12
  Avg function length: 29 lines
  Max function length: 67 lines (HandleUserUpdate)
  Import groups: 4

Split Suggestions:

1. Extract CRUD handlers (lines 45-180):
   → src/handlers/user_crud.go (~135 lines)
   - CreateUser, GetUser, UpdateUser, DeleteUser

2. Extract validation (lines 181-250):
   → src/handlers/user_validation.go (~70 lines)
   - ValidateUserInput, ValidateEmail, ValidatePassword

3. Keep orchestration (remaining):
   → src/handlers/user.go (~142 lines)
   - Handler setup, middleware, routing

After split: 3 files, all ≤200 lines ✓

/wt subworkflow output#

text

[SUBWORKFLOW SPAWNED]
Task: "Research competitor authentication implementations"
Skill: research-web-analysis
Status: Running in background

Job ID: SW-20260215-001
Monitor: /wt subworkflow --status SW-20260215-001

Expected completion: ~5 minutes
Results will be written to: output/subworkflows/SW-20260215-001/

Integration#

• Layer: Extensions
• Depends on: failure-memory (for loop context), constraint-engine (for enforcement context)
• Used by: governance (for loop detection), review-orchestrator (for parallel decisions)

Failure Modes#

ConditionBehaviorInvalid sub-commandList available sub-commandsFile not foundError: "File not found: {path}"No patterns foundInfo: "No open loops detected"Skill not availableError: "Skill not found: {skill}"

Next Steps#

After invoking this skill:

ConditionActionLoops foundPrioritize and address high-priority loopsParallel recommendedCreate parallel work streamsMCE exceededApply split suggestionsSubworkflow completeReview and integrate results

Workspace Files#

This skill reads/writes:

text

output/
├── loops/
│   └── scan-YYYY-MM-DD.md    # Loop scan results
├── parallel-decisions/
│   └── task-YYYY-MM-DD.md    # Decision records
├── mce-analysis/
│   └── file-YYYY-MM-DD.md    # MCE analysis results
└── subworkflows/
    └── SW-YYYYMMDD-XXX/      # Subworkflow outputs
        ├── status.json
        └── results.md

Security Considerations#

What this skill accesses:

• Configuration files in .openclaw/workflow-tools.yaml and .claude/workflow-tools.yaml
• User-specified directories via /wt loops [path] — scans for patterns (read-only)
• User-specified files via /wt mce <file> — reads for size analysis (read-only)
• Its own output directories (write):
  • output/loops/ — loop scan results
  • output/parallel-decisions/ — decision records
  • output/mce-analysis/ — file analysis results
  • output/subworkflows/ — subworkflow outputs

⚠️ IMPORTANT: The metadata declares only config and output paths. However, /wt loops and /wt mce read arbitrary user-specified paths beyond the declared metadata. This is by design — analysis requires reading the files/directories you want to analyze.

What this skill does NOT access:

• System environment variables
• Network resources or external APIs

What this skill does NOT do:

• Send data to external services
• Execute arbitrary code
• Modify source files (analysis is read-only)

⚠️ Path scanning ( /wt loops): The /wt loops command accepts an arbitrary directory path argument. It will recursively scan the specified directory for loop patterns (TODO, FIXME, etc.). This is a read-only operation but can scan any directory you have filesystem access to. The skill does NOT restrict which paths can be scanned — use caution with sensitive directories. Consider using --exclude to skip sensitive paths.

Subworkflow spawning ( /wt subworkflow): The /wt subworkflow command spawns other ClawHub skills installed in your environment.

• Scope: Can invoke any skill installed via openclaw install
• Permissions: Spawned skills execute with their own declared permissions (not elevated)
• Categories: Typically research-*, generate-*, validate-*, transform-* skills
• Risk: The effective permission footprint is the union of this skill plus any spawned skills

Review your installed skills ( openclaw list) to understand the combined permission scope when using subworkflow spawning.

Provenance note: This skill is developed by Live Neon ( https://github.com/live-neon/skills) and published to ClawHub under the leegitw account. Both refer to the same maintainer.

Acceptance Criteria#

• /wt loops detects all standard loop patterns
• /wt loops categorizes by priority (high/medium/low)
• /wt parallel evaluates all 5 factors
• /wt parallel provides clear recommendation with rationale
• /wt mce identifies files exceeding threshold
• /wt mce --suggest generates actionable split suggestions
• /wt subworkflow spawns ClawHub skills correctly
• /wt subworkflow supports background execution
• Results written to workspace files

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Consolidated from 4 skills as part of agentic skills consolidation (2026-02-15).