Docs / Workflows

Workflows & recipes

A workflow is more than one scheduled duty across one or more Specialists, where each step produces input for the next — editorial calendars, research-to-report briefs, competitor monitors, or SEO audit pipelines. Single-thread chat is fine for ad-hoc work; workflows are for work that should repeat on a cadence with handoffs.

Prerequisites: comfortable with getting started, scheduled tasks, and Specialist limits on your plan (pricing).

Three ways to build a workflow

1. Preset recipes — one-click deploy from the dashboard Workflows tab. The gallery lists recipes from the product catalog (Content Pipeline, Research & Report, Monitor & Alert, SEO Audit Pipeline). Each shows steps, cadence, and minimum plan before you confirm.
2. Workflow Architect — chat with Cloudia (or the Architect flow) to draft a custom multi-Specialist plan. The UI surfaces a Deploy this workflow button when the assistant returns a structured plan — you still confirm before anything is hired.
3. Manual chaining — hire Specialists yourself and wire duties with Run next (next_job_id) on the Team Task Board. Best when you already have a working single duty and want to add one downstream step.

How handoffs work

Chains use two layers:

• Within one Specialist — multiple duties on the same role run in creation order when each finishes successfully.
• Across Specialists — the last duty of Specialist A triggers the first duty of Specialist B. Recipe deploy sets this wiring for you; manual edits are on the board.

Reliable pipelines almost always share a state file under ~/files/ (for example content-pipeline/state.json) so each stage reads status, writes artifacts, and sets flags like planned → generated → published. Details: chaining tasks safely.

Preset recipes (catalog)

• Content Pipeline — Scout plans topics, Analyst drafts, Publisher finalizes; weekday cron. Minimum plan: Growth.
• Research & Report — Scout gathers sources weekly, Analyst writes the brief. Minimum plan: Growth.
• Monitor & Alert — Watchdog on a tight schedule for site or competitor changes. Minimum plan: Growth.
• SEO Audit Pipeline — five SEO Specialists (Mapper, Forge, Quill, Shield, Atlas) chained for on-demand audits. Minimum plan: Max.

Deploy creates Specialists, duties, cron schedules, and cross-step links in one confirmation. Failed mid-deploy rolls back hires already created.

Where to manage workflows

• Dashboard → Team → Workflows tab — deploy recipes or add another workflow when pipelines already exist.
• Team Task Board — upstream/downstream badges show chain position; edit Run next without opening deep settings.
• Specialist settings → Workflow membership — see which graph a role belongs to.

Free accounts: 2 Specialists and 2 cron jobs — most preset recipes need Growth or higher because they hire multiple roles. Validate caps before deploy: limits FAQ.

Guides in this section

Related docs

• Cloudia (Team Builder) — proposes teams and custom workflow plans.
• Scheduled tasks — cron syntax, thread targeting, delivery.
• Threads & memory — keep recurring jobs on a dedicated thread per duty.
• Troubleshooting — when a chain stops mid-pipeline.