Structured Workflow for OpenClaw

structured-workflow is a TaskFlow-backed OpenClaw plugin that adds a thin, owner-scoped workflow layer on top of the built-in tasklist tools.

It is designed for explicit ultrawork-style sessions where the user opts into a workflow by using ulw or ultrawork in the request. Once a workflow is active, the plugin injects a short, deterministic phase banner on meaningful turns so the agent can keep its place without adding large, volatile prompt blocks.

What It Does

• Registers tasklist_create, tasklist_update, tasklist_status, and

tasklist_permission

• Stores workflow state in TaskFlow, scoped to this plugin's own controller
• Injects a compact active-workflow banner only when a structured workflow is

already active

• Skips injection on volatile turns such as reminders, internal runtime context,

queued-message wrappers, and async command notices

• Offers workflow bootstrap guidance only for explicit ultrawork triggers
• Requests a one-time visible acknowledgement (ULW enabled.) when explicit

ultrawork bootstrap is triggered

What It Does Not Do

• Force continuation after every assistant turn
• Replace OpenClaw compaction or context pruning
• Provide its own state store outside TaskFlow
• Orchestrate sub-agents by itself

Trigger Model

By default, workflow bootstrap is keyword-only.

That means the plugin suggests or starts a structured workflow only when the incoming prompt explicitly includes one of these activation keywords:

• ulw
• ultrawork

Complex-looking requests without those keywords do not trigger workflow bootstrap by default.

When bootstrap is triggered by ulw or ultrawork, the plugin asks the agent to begin its first visible reply with:

ULW enabled.

This keeps the opt-in state visible without adding a noisy banner on every subsequent turn.

Installation

openclaw plugins install ~/openclaw-structured-workflow
openclaw gateway restart

Required OpenClaw Tool Access

{
  "tools": {
    "profile": "coding",
    "alsoAllow": [
      "browser",
      "tasklist_create",
      "tasklist_update",
      "tasklist_status",
      "tasklist_permission"
    ]
  }
}

Plugin Configuration

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "structured-workflow": {
        "enabled": true,
        "config": {
          "permissionMode": "bypass",
          "flowDetectionMode": "keyword-only",
          "activationKeywords": ["ultrawork", "ulw"]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Config Fields

• permissionMode

Permission mode used for task execution state.

• flowDetectionMode

keyword-only means workflow bootstrap is only triggered by activation keywords. auto is still supported for experiments, but is no longer the default.

• activationKeywords

Keywords that opt the session into structured workflow bootstrap.

• forceContinuation

Deprecated compatibility field. Accepted but ignored.

• cancelKeywords

Deprecated compatibility field. Accepted but ignored.

Tools

tasklist_create

Creates a structured task list for the current session.

{
  "title": "Implement Feature X",
  "tasks": [
    { "id": "investigate", "title": "Investigate requirements", "decisionPolicy": "auto" },
    { "id": "design", "title": "Design the approach", "decisionPolicy": "deliberate" },
    { "id": "implement", "title": "Implement the change", "decisionPolicy": "auto" },
    { "id": "verify", "title": "Verify behavior", "decisionPolicy": "auto" }
  ]
}

tasklist_update

Updates task state for the latest active workflow owned by this plugin.

{
  "taskId": "implement",
  "status": "running",
  "assignedAgent": "worker-coder",
  "sessionKey": "agent:worker-coder:subagent:abc123"
}

Valid statuses:

• running
• completed
• skipped
• blocked

tasklist_status

Returns the latest structured workflow for the current session. If an active workflow exists, it is preferred. Otherwise the latest terminal workflow is returned.

{}

tasklist_permission

Updates the workflow permission mode.

{ "mode": "allow-after-first" }

Valid modes:

• bypass
• allow-after-first
• confirm-each

Active Workflow Guidance

When a structured workflow is active, the plugin injects a short phase banner in

before_prompt_build.

The banner is intentionally small and deterministic. It includes:

• workflow title
• current phase (plan, execute, verify, or fix)
• current task
• next task
• blocked summary
• compact references for the current task
• short execution rules

The plugin does not inject that banner on volatile turns, including:

• scheduled reminders
• <<<BEGIN_OPENCLAW_INTERNAL_CONTEXT>>>
• [Queued messages while agent was busy]
• conversation metadata wrappers
• async exec completion notices
• heartbeat and tasklist reminder wrappers

This is deliberate: the plugin keeps workflow guidance available without adding avoidable prompt-cache churn.

Development

This repo should point at the shared ~/.codex/skills library used by polku. The repo also exposes those skills through .agent/skills/ symlinks and keeps repo-local IDs in docs/service-map.md. For shared external-service ops, use the library entries

external-service-ops, linear-demand-routing, sentry-signal-routing,

openclaw-chatops-routing, and github-review-automation rather than repo-local copies. Repo-local pointers live in docs/agents/README.md.

npm install
npx ultracite fix src/index.ts README.md docs/DESIGN.md openclaw.plugin.json package.json
npx tsc --noEmit
openclaw plugins install ~/openclaw-structured-workflow
openclaw gateway restart

License

MIT