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set-workflow-state

Productivity
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Coordinator and retrospective workflow-state protocol. Use only when the current agent has permission to call sgai_update_workflow_state; Task subagents should return STATUS or REVIEW_STATUS envelopes instead.

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai/blob/HEAD/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/set-workflow-state/SKILL.md

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Set Workflow State

State File Protocol

CRITICAL: Use sgai_update_workflow_state only from agents that have permission to call it, primarily coordinator and retrospective. Developer, reviewer, verifier, deployer, writer, and hidden role subagents should return their STATUS or REVIEW_STATUS envelopes to the caller instead.

State Schema

{
  "status": "working" | "agent-done" | "complete",
  "message": "Status message describing current state",
  "task": "Current task description or null",
  "progress": ["note1", "note2", "note3"]
}

Field Meanings

status - Overall workflow status

  • "working" - Actively working, may need another iteration
  • "agent-done" - Current primary workflow agent finished its turn and SGAI should return control to coordinator or the next workflow phase.
  • "complete" - Work is done successfully

message - Status message

  • Brief description of current state
  • When complete, provide a summary of what was accomplished
  • Be clear and specific

task - Current task being worked on (required)

  • Set to describe your current task: "Writing tests for login endpoint"
  • Set to empty string ("") when no specific task or when complete
  • Helps human understand your progress in real-time

progress - Progress log (array of strings)

  • Append entries as you work - this is your audit trail
  • Document major steps completed
  • Note decisions made and why
  • Track issues encountered and how you resolved them
  • This helps humans understand your thought process

How to Update State File

IMPORTANT: Use the sgai_update_workflow_state tool to update the state file. Do NOT use bash/jq commands directly.

Tool: sgai_update_workflow_state

Available parameters:

  • status (required): "working" | "agent-done" | "complete"
  • task (required): Current task being worked on. Use empty string to clear.
  • addProgress (required): Add a progress note (appended to progress array). Document your steps frequently.

Examples:

Update task and add progress note:
Tool: sgai_update_workflow_state
Parameters: {
  "task": "Writing tests for authentication endpoints",
  "addProgress": "Created User model with bcrypt password hashing"
}

Mark as complete:
Tool: sgai_update_workflow_state
Parameters: {
  "status": "complete",
  "task": "",
  "addProgress": "All 15 tests passing, feature verified working"
}

Signal work is done for this agent:
Tool: sgai_update_workflow_state
Parameters: {
  "status": "agent-done",
  "task": "",
  "addProgress": "Review complete, ready for next step"
}

Update frequency:

  • After completing each major step
  • When changing tasks
  • Before requesting another iteration
  • Before marking complete
  • At least every few turns of work

Human Communication

Use ask_user_question to present structured multi-choice questions to the human partner. This is the sole channel for human communication.

Coordinator Handoffs

Workflow handoffs are driven by durable notes in .sgai/PROJECT_MANAGEMENT.md plus sgai_update_workflow_state({status: "agent-done"}) to yield control when the current agent is a workflow owner. Task subagent handoffs are driven by their final envelope response.

How Handoffs Work

  1. Record the handoff: Append the work request, blocker, or decision to .sgai/PROJECT_MANAGEMENT.md only if the current agent has permission and the prompt explicitly owns that ledger write.

  2. Yield control when done: Set status: "agent-done" after recording durable handoff notes in .sgai/PROJECT_MANAGEMENT.md.

  3. Default to coordinator: When no messages are pending, control returns to the coordinator.

  4. Default handoff target: If no explicit next agent is requested, control returns to the coordinator to inspect the ledger and decide the next delegation.

Key Points

  • .sgai/PROJECT_MANAGEMENT.md is the durable coordination ledger
  • Only coordinator can set status: "complete" to end the entire workflow
  • The current handoff and available-agent list provide context for coordinator delegation
  • Agents never route to themselves
  • The coordinator should record its own status with sgai_update_workflow_state or .sgai/PROJECT_MANAGEMENT.md

Task Subagent Return Protocol

If you are a Task subagent, do not call sgai_update_workflow_state unless your prompt explicitly permits it. Load and follow subagent-return-protocol skill; implementation, deployment, writing, and cleanup agents return its Execution Envelope, while reviewer, verifier, safety-review, and project-critic agents return its Review Envelope.