Durable Workflow Control

Keep enough state to resume the user's objective without reconstructing the conversation. Use this for work that needs a persistent cursor; ordinary notes, one-turn research, and goal-only requests do not need queue machinery.

Working Contract

• Follow the user's current request and existing authorization. A control file records that scope; it does not grant additional authority. Reconcile new instructions and resolved blockers before applying an older stop state.
• Continue useful, authorized work until the requested outcome, an explicit checkpoint, or a concrete blocker is reached. Answer side questions and then resume unless the user pauses, cancels, or redirects the work.
• Keep the current cursor compact and link evidence separately. Read supporting artifacts only when the next decision needs them or their inputs changed.
• Record what was verified and the exact next action. Row-level done does not mean workflow complete; exhausted budgets and plausible conclusions do not prove completion.
• Recheck passing work only when changed inputs, a failure, an unresolved concern, or the user's request makes it necessary. Repeated verification and state maintenance alone are not progress.
• Create platform goals only when explicitly requested by the user or required by higher-priority instructions. A goal does not supply a scheduler or expand the workflow's authorization.

Persistent State

Use .agents/workflows/<skill-name>/<objective-slug>/control.md. This skill's owner name is durable-workflow-control; an extension owns a sibling directory. Keep independent objectives separate and preserve existing objective paths when resuming. Do not fall back to .orchestration or another state root.

Current State holds the active status and next action. Link evidence.md, history.md, sources.md, or work.md only when the workflow needs them; do not create empty support files. Preserve an extension's routing fields and ownership.

Read As Needed

• To initialize, resume, or resolve scope and stop conditions, read the lifecycle protocol.
• To create state, copy the primary control template; add modules only when they affect execution or substantiate a claim.
• For research or broad review, read source scope and coverage.
• For shared writes or delegated slices, read write discipline and concurrency.
• For repeated attempts, read action and observation discipline.
• To improve a workflow from observed results, read human review learning.
• Before declaring the objective complete, use the closure criteria.