Rote Using Adapters

rote-using-adapters - Single-Adapter Execution

All rote-<name> references in this document — including every name in the Handoff Contract — are companion skills, never CLI commands (rote-shell is not rote shell). Invoke them through the runtime's skill mechanism; only literal rote … commands run in a terminal.

Use this with the main rote skill. The main skill decides whether a task is single-adapter, multi-adapter, or out-of-scope. This skill gives the execution protocol once one adapter is selected.

Prefer rote-workspace for ordinary single-adapter execution in the main conversation. Use this skill mainly for delegated adapter helpers or runtimes that explicitly select a single-adapter execution specialist. It must still return through the shared workspace/crystallization lifecycle before final presentation.

Handoff Packet

Consume this packet from rote, rote-task-routing, or a generated adapter helper:

• Origin skill: rote, rote-task-routing, rote-workspace, or a generated helper.
• Target skill: rote-using-adapters.
• Adapter: <adapter-id>.
• Task: the user request being delegated.
• Existing workspace: path, only for resumptions.
• Cached responses: @N ids and their meanings, if any.
• Write-guard state: none, or confirmation token + impact + workspace.
• Save gate: not started, pending write done, save approved, or save declined.
• Stop conditions: missing credential, unsafe write, approval needed, or adapter mismatch.
• Return fields: workspace name/path, response IDs, user-visible result, write-guard state, reusable-result decision, next recommended skill.

Core Rules

• Use only rote commands for adapter work. Do not call MCP servers, provider CLIs, raw adapter URLs, or external automation tools directly.
• Run commands sequentially. @N responses and $variables exist only after earlier commands finish.
• If starting fresh, create one workspace with rote init <name> --seq before probing or calling tools.
• If resuming, cd to the supplied workspace and do not run rote init again.
• Always probe before calling. Tool names and input schemas vary by adapter.
• Before returning reusable results, hand the adapter evidence and caller-supplied approval state to rote-flow-crystallization; it owns pending write/save and the save decision. Never run the emitted scaffold from this skill.

Auth Shape Check

If probe/call fails for missing or invalid auth, classify before advising:

rote adapter list <id> --json --health

• Do not assume Bearer means static token. OAuth, OAuth DCR / MCP PRM, and Google Discovery can all appear as bearer at the transport layer.
• Static bearer/API key: hand off to masked credential entry or rote token set <ENV> --stdin only as explicit terminal opt-in.
• OAuth client id/secret or OAuth DCR / MCP PRM: return a blocker recommending rote adapter reauth <id> or rote adapter reauth <id> --scheme <name>.
• Google Discovery: return a blocker recommending rote oauth setup google --adapter <id> --scopes ....
• Unknown bearer: report the health output and route to rote-adapter-config; do not request a pasted token.

Handoff Contract

• Use when: rote or a router selected exactly one installed adapter to satisfy a delegated task, especially in a subagent or adapter-specific helper.
• Preconditions: the caller supplied adapter id, user intent, any existing workspace, and stop conditions; the root local-then-registry Play-search gate has either completed or been explicitly delegated back to rote before new adapter exploration.
• Owns: delegated single-adapter workspace entry, probe/call/query sequence, cached response preservation, write-guard handling, and return summary for the main conversation. Does not own pending stub creation, save decisions, scaffold execution, release, index, search, or cleanup.
• Hands off to: rote when no installed adapter matches or the top-level route must change; rote-workspace when broader multi-adapter workspace orchestration is needed; rote-registry only for an already released artifact that needs sharing; rote-flow-crystallization for reusable evidence and the save gate.
• Returns to: rote or the delegating skill with workspace path, cached response IDs, result, write-guard state, reusable-result state, and next recommended skill.
• Stop when: the task completes, probe shows the adapter cannot satisfy the request, a write guard needs confirmation, a credential is missing, or save/release/publish approval is unresolved.
• Completion signal: handoff summary produced or returned with workspace, response IDs, result, save gate, and blocker or next owner.

Start

Run the protocol check first:

rote start

If this is a delegated subagent task, do not run play search again. The caller already selected the single-adapter route; resume that route and continue directly to sequential workspace commands.

If this is a fresh top-level task, return to the main rote skill and complete its local-then-registry Play-search gate. If a Play matches, stop adapter exploration and run it through rote-flow-run. Create and enter a workspace only when the completed gate returns uncovered adapter work:

rote init <adapter-id>-task --seq
cd ${ROTE_HOME:-$HOME/.rote}/workspaces/<adapter-id>-task
rote model set <model> --provider <provider> --confirmed-current

If the environment cannot provide model/provider identity, continue after rote start; do not invent values.

Probe First

Find the exact operation and input schema:

rote <adapter_id>_probe "<natural language operation>"

Hyphens in the adapter id become underscores in the command name (my-api → my_api_probe). Use the exact operation name from the probe result. Read required parameters, optional parameters, and response shape before making the call.

Then call through rote:

rote <adapter_id>_call <operation_name> '{"param": "value"}' -s

Use -s when the adapter may need session state.

Data Transformation Rules

Do not use Python, Node.js, Ruby, shell scripts, or raw jq subprocesses for filtering, reshaping, or formatting data already captured in rote responses. Use rote-native extraction. Do not pipe rote query output into head, tail, grep, jq, python, node, or temp files. If an external command is truly required, run it through rote proc run so the workspace keeps guidance and provenance.

Start at Tier 1:

rote query @1 '.data[] | select(.status == "active")'
rote query @1 '.items | length'
rote query @1 '.users[] | {name, email}'
rote query @1 '.id' -s item_id

Only escalate when the lower tier cannot express the transformation.

Write-Guard

If a call returns confirmation_required, stop and surface the token and workspace path to the main conversation or user. Do not start over.

Return this shape:

WRITE-GUARD APPROVAL REQUIRED
Tool: <tool_name>
Impact: <impact text>
Confirm token: <token>
Workspace: <workspace field from @@result>

After approval, re-enter the same workspace and retry the blocked call with --confirm <token>. Do not run rote start or rote init on resume.

Task Completion Protocol

For reusable results, return the evidence to rote-flow-crystallization before reusable result text. Carry the user intent, workspace name/path, cached response IDs, adapter id, validated response paths, result shape, caveats, and any caller-supplied save decision. Crystallization owns pending write, pending save, and the accepted, declined, unclear, or pre-approved decision; never infer the decision or execute the emitted scaffold here.

If the caller asks this delegated skill to return before crystallization, mark the save gate pending and stop. On acceptance or pre-approval, rote-flow-authoring owns scaffold execution, implementation, tests, lint, release, index/search verification, and pending cleanup.

Handoff Summary

Return this summary to the caller when delegated adapter work completes, blocks, or needs save-gate follow-up:

# Rote Handoff Summary

- Active skill: `rote-using-adapters`
- Origin skill: `rote` or delegated helper
- Adapter: <adapter-id>
- User intent: ...
- Workspace path: ...
- Commands run: probe/call/query commands
- Cached responses: `@N` ids and what each contains
- Write-guard state: none, approval required with token, or confirmed
- Result or artifact: ...
- Save gate: pending, accepted, discarded, or not applicable
- Next skill: `rote`, `rote-flow-crystallization`, `rote-registry`, or none
- Blockers: missing credential, unsafe write, adapter mismatch, or none
- Completion signal: task result delivered, approval requested, or next owner named

TypeScript Play Boundary

In the default steps + presentation play, registered adapter effects belong in frontmatter steps:. The steps_with_presentation body imports only __ROTE_PRESENTATION_SDK__ and reads typed recorded observations plus ctx.params; it must not call adapters, fetch, Deno file APIs, or subprocesses. An adapter step is endpoint + method + params with $param substitution:

steps:
  fetch_issues:
    endpoint: adapter/github
    method: issues/list-for-repo
    params: { owner: $owner, repo: $repo, per_page: $limit }

Step syntax quick reference: rote grammar steps; complete worked example: rote guidance typescript play-creation.

Only inside an explicitly scaffolded --legacy-body with no steps: use these imperative APIs:

No Adapter Match

If no installed adapter can handle the task, return to the main rote skill's catalog search and out-of-band fallback protocol. Do not silently bypass rote.