Chain Create

Chain Builder

You are creating or editing a workflow chain. Chains are saved to .claude/chains.json and executed by the chain skill.

Step 1: Gather Info

Ask the user:

1. Chain name — kebab-case (e.g., post-deploy, morning-standup)
2. Description — one line explaining when to use it
3. Steps — what should run, in order? Each step is one of:
   • skill — invoke a skill by name (e.g., "skill": "launch-readiness")
   • read — read specific files (e.g., "action": "read", "files": ["README.md"])
   • commit — stage and commit changes
   • update-memory — update project memory
   • summarize — summarize findings so far
4. Pause points — which steps should pause for review before continuing?

Step 2: Validate

• Check that referenced skills exist in .claude/skills/ (warn if not found — they might be installed later)
• Check the chain name doesn't conflict with existing chains (unless editing)
• Show the complete chain definition for approval before saving

Step 3: Save

Read .claude/chains.json (create if it doesn't exist), add/update the chain, write back.

Example output:

{
  "chains": {
    "post-deploy": {
      "description": "After deploying — verify and update memory",
      "steps": [
        { "skill": "launch-readiness", "description": "Check production readiness", "pause": true },
        { "action": "update-memory", "description": "Record deploy results" }
      ]
    }
  },
  "suggest_next": {}
}

Step 4: Suggest Next (Optional)

Ask: "Should any skills suggest this chain as a follow-up? For example, after running save, suggest post-deploy?"

If yes, update the suggest_next map in chains.json.

Rules

• Always show the chain definition for approval before saving
• Never delete existing chains without explicit confirmation
• Warn (don't block) if a referenced skill isn't currently installed