Action Runner

Action Runner Skill

The library is great at recommending work. This skill executes it — the action layer of the Professional Brain (Phase 2). A skill says "open a ticket per checklist item"; this turns that into real GitHub/Linear/Slack actions, safely: previewed, risk-rated, approved, then recorded. The cardinal rule: nothing acts silently.

What This Skill Produces

1. A dry-run actions plan — every proposed action with its target, operation, and risk.
2. After approval, the executed actions (via the connected action MCP) — outbound/destructive ones gated individually.
3. A record back to the brain of what was actually done, with provenance.

Required Inputs

Ask for (if not already provided):

• The recommendations to act on (a launch checklist, PRD requirements, postmortem follow-ups…).
• The connected action MCP and targets — which GitHub repo / Linear project / Slack channel. Scope is limited to what the user names; never act outside it.
• Approval posture — what may run with a single OK vs. what needs per-action confirmation.

How it works

recommend → build an actions plan (JSON) → preview + risk-gate → approve → execute → record

1. Build the plan — express each action as JSON: {"target","op","args","why","risk?"}.
2. Preview + gate — run the helper; it prints a dry-run, classifies risk (🟢 low / 🟡 medium / 🔴 high), and refuses to proceed while any 🔴 outbound/destructive action is unapproved:

   echo '<plan json>' | python3 scripts/action_preview.py -
   # after the user approves the risky ones:
   echo '<plan json>' | python3 scripts/action_preview.py - --allow-high
   

3. Approve — low/medium can run on a single confirmation; every 🔴 (post, send, delete, deploy, merge, charge…) needs explicit per-action approval. Default is do nothing until told.
4. Execute — only approved actions, only via the connected action MCP (e.g. Composio/GitHub create_issue). One target at a time; stop and report on the first failure.
5. Record — append what was actually done to the brain so the loop closes:

   python3 ../professional-brain/scripts/brain_write.py ./brain decisions "Filed launch tickets" \
     --tag external --body "Opened 7 issues in acme/app from the launch checklist" --commit
   

Safety rules (non-negotiable)

• Dry-run by default. The plan is shown before anything runs.
• Approval-gated. No execution without a yes; 🔴 actions are confirmed one by one.
• Scope-limited. Only the repos/channels/projects the user named.
• Logged. Every executed action is recorded to the brain with an [external] tag and a link.
• No silent retries, no bulk outbound. If a step fails, stop and surface it.

The contract for other skills

An action-aware skill adds a short "Proposes Actions" section: after producing its artifact, it lists the actions it could take (target · op · why), then hands off to action-runner — which previews, gates, executes, and records. The skill never executes directly.

Output Format

1. Proposed actions — a table: # · target · operation · why · risk.
2. Gate result — the preview output; the 🔴 actions needing approval called out explicitly.
3. Executed (after approval) — what ran, with links/IDs returned by the MCP.
4. Recorded to the brain — the line(s) appended, with provenance.

Quality Checks

• A dry-run plan is shown before anything executes
• Every action has a risk level; 🔴 actions are individually approved
• Execution stays within the named scope and uses only the connected MCP
• Each executed action is recorded back to the brain with an [external] tag
• On failure, it stops and reports rather than retrying blindly

Anti-Patterns

• Executing anything without showing the dry-run plan first
• Treating an outbound/destructive action (post, email, delete, deploy) as low-risk
• Acting outside the scope the user named, or fanning out to many targets
• "Helpfully" doing more than was approved
• Forgetting to record what was done — the brain must reflect reality