Ao Workflow Runner

Multi-Role Workflow Runner

When the user asks to run a workflow (YAML file) or a multi-role collaboration task, follow these steps:

1. Parse Workflow

Read the specified YAML file. Extract name, inputs, steps, depends_on, conditions, and loops.

2. Collect Inputs

• required: true inputs must be provided by the user
• Optional inputs with default use the default value
• Optional inputs without default are set to empty string

3. Build Execution Order

Topological sort by depends_on. Steps without dependencies belong to the same level and can run in parallel.

4. Execute Steps

For each step:

1. Read agency-agents-zh/{role}.md (search order: YAML's agents_dir → ./agency-agents-zh/ → ../agency-agents-zh/ → node_modules/agency-agents-zh/)
2. Extract all markdown content after the frontmatter (---) as the role personality
3. Replace {{variables}} in the task with context values (from inputs or previous step outputs)
4. Evaluate conditions: if condition is set, evaluate it. Skip the step if the condition is not met. Operators: contains, equals, not_contains, not_equals
5. Fully embody the role — use that role's expertise, frameworks, and communication style. Output should be substantive.
6. Store the step's output text into the context variable (if step has an output field)
7. Check loops: if loop is set and exit_condition is not met, jump back to loop.back_to step (max: loop.max_iterations rounds)

Label each step: ### Step N/Total: step_id (Role Name)

5. Save Results

Save all outputs to files:

ao-output/{workflow-name}-{date}/
├── steps/
│   ├── 1-{step_id}.md
│   └── ...
├── summary.md          # Final step's full output
└── metadata.json       # Step states, timing, token counts

6. Suggest Iteration

After completion, always tell the user:

To improve a specific step, ask me to re-run from that step. I'll reuse all upstream outputs. For CLI: ao run <workflow> --resume last --from <step-id>

Important Rules

• Each step must genuinely embody the assigned role — no generic responses
• Never skip or merge steps; execute strictly in topological order
• If a role file is missing, tell the user to install agency-agents-zh
• If a condition is not met, mark the step as "skipped" and continue
• For depends_on_mode: "any_completed", proceed when ANY upstream step completes (not all)