# Circleci Automation > Implements intelligent circleci automation with multi-factor skill selection, fallback chains, and adherence to the 5 Laws of Elegant Defense - Skill: `paulpas/circleci-automation` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add paulpas/circleci-automation` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/paulpas/circleci-automation/raw - Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - License: MIT - Author: paulpas (https://skillmd.com/u/paulpas) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/paulpas/circleci-automation --- # Circleci Automation Orchestrates intelligent skill selection and execution for circleci automation workflows. Applies the 5 Laws of Elegant Defense to guide data naturally through the orchestration pipeline, preventing errors before they occur. Selects optimal skills based on multi-factor scoring including text similarity, historical performance, and system availability. ## TL;DR Checklist - [ ] Parse all inputs at boundary before processing (Law 2) - [ ] Handle edge cases with early returns at function top (Law 1) - [ ] Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states (Law 4) - [ ] Return new data structures, never mutate inputs (Law 3) - [ ] Implement minimum 2-level fallback chain for all skill executions - [ ] Log all skill selections with context for full audit trail - [ ] Validate skill metadata and dependencies before selection - [ ] Update confidence scores after each execution for learning ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Orchestration Flow │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ User Request ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Parse Request │ │ & Extract │ │ Features │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Evaluate Available Skills │ │ │ │ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │ │ │ Skill A │ │ Skill B │ │ Skill C │ │ │ │ - Match Score│ │ - Match Score│ │ - Match Score│ │ │ │ - Confidence │ │ - Confidence │ │ - Confidence │ │ │ │ - History │ │ - History │ │ - History │ │ │ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─────────────────┴─────────────────┘ │ │ ↓ │ │ Select Best Skill │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Execute Skill │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Handle Result │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Error Handling & Fallback │ │ │ │ Success? ────────► Return Result │ │ │ │ Fail? ────────┐ │ │ ↓ │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Fallback Chain │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 1. Retry with adjusted parameters │ │ │ │ 2. Try Alternative Skill (if available) │ │ │ │ 3. Defer to Human Operator (if critical) │ │ │ │ 4. Log & Return Error │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ## When to Use Use this skill when: - Orchestrating multi-step workflows that require skill delegation - Implementing adaptive skill routing based on confidence scores - Building fallback mechanisms for failed skill executions - Creating intelligent task decomposition and parallel execution - Designing skill dependency graphs with automatic resolution - Implementing skill selection with historical performance weighting - Building agent systems that need to self-organize around tasks ## When NOT to Use Avoid this skill for: - Direct task execution without orchestration needs - use individual skills instead - High-frequency trading scenarios where latency must be minimized - the selection overhead may be prohibitive - Simple linear workflows without branching or fallback requirements - Cases where skill metadata is unavailable or unreliable ## Core Workflow 1. **Parse and Analyze Request** - Extract intent, entities, and constraints from user input. **Checkpoint:** All required parameters must be present and in valid format before proceeding. 2. **Score Available Skills** - Calculate match scores using multi-factor algorithm: - Text similarity between request and skill triggers - Historical success rate for similar tasks - Skill availability and health status - Required dependencies and their availability **Checkpoint:** Skip to fallback if no skill scores above threshold. 3. **Select Optimal Skill** - Choose skill with highest score that meets minimum confidence. **Checkpoint:** Verify skill has not been disabled or deprecated. 4. **Execute with Fallback** - Run skill execution wrapped in retry and fallback logic. **Checkpoint:** Log all execution attempts for audit trail. 5. **Return or Fallback** - Either return successful result or apply fallback chain: - Retry with adjusted parameters - Try alternative skill from `related-skills` - Defer to human operator for critical tasks **Checkpoint:** Record outcome with timing and confidence metadata. ## Implementation Patterns ### Pattern 1: Skill Selection Logic ```python def select_circleci_workflow( project_slug: str, branch: str, workflow_config: Dict, min_confidence: float = 0.7 ) -> Optional[Dict]: """Select optimal CircleCI workflow configuration for a given project and branch. Uses multi-factor scoring based on: - Branch protection rules and workflow compatibility - Historical pipeline success rates for similar configurations - CircleCI API availability and rate limit status - Required orbs and executor compatibility Args: project_slug: CircleCI project slug (e.g., github/owner/repo) branch: Target branch for pipeline execution workflow_config: Proposed workflow configuration dict min_confidence: Minimum confidence threshold (0.0-1.0) Returns: Validated workflow configuration with execution metadata or None """ # Guard clause - Early Exit (Law 1) if not project_slug or not branch: raise ValueError("Project slug and branch are required") # Parse input - Make Illegal States Unrepresentable (Law 2) validated_config = _validate_circleci_config(workflow_config) api_status = _check_circleci_api_health() if not api_status.get("available"): return None best_workflow = None best_score = 0.0 for workflow in _get_available_workflows(project_slug, branch): score = _calculate_workflow_match(validated_config, workflow) if score > best_score and score >= min_confidence: best_score = score best_workflow = workflow if best_workflow is None: return None # Atomic Predictability (Law 3) - Return new dict, don't mutate result = dict(best_workflow) result["selected_confidence"] = best_score result["trigger_timestamp"] = time.time() result["project_slug"] = project_slug return result ``` ### Pattern 2: Execution with Fallback ```python def execute_circleci_pipeline( workflow: Dict, project_slug: str, branch: str, max_retries: int = 2 ) -> Dict: """Execute a CircleCI pipeline with CI/CD-specific fallback chain. Implements Fail Fast, Fail Loud principle (Law 4): - Invalid workflow configs halt immediately - API rate limits trigger exponential backoff - Workflow failures trigger artifact inspection and manual review fallback Args: workflow: Selected workflow configuration project_slug: Target CircleCI project branch: Target branch max_retries: Maximum retry attempts for transient API errors Returns: Pipeline execution result with status, logs URL, and confidence """ # Guard clause - validate workflow (Early Exit) if not _is_workflow_valid(workflow): raise SkillExecutionError(f"Invalid workflow config: {workflow.get('name', 'unknown')}") # Parse context - Ensure trusted state (Law 2) validated_params = _validate_pipeline_params(project_slug, branch, workflow) for attempt in range(max_retries + 1): try: # Trigger pipeline via CircleCI API response = circleci_api.trigger_pipeline( project_slug=project_slug, branch=branch, config=workflow ) pipeline_id = response.get("id") # Monitor pipeline status with timeout status = _wait_for_pipeline_completion(pipeline_id, timeout=1800) # Success - Atomic Predictability (Law 3) return { "success": True, "pipeline_id": pipeline_id, "status": status, "logs_url": f"https://app.circleci.com/pipelines/{pipeline_id}", "attempts": attempt + 1, "latency_ms": _calculate_latency() } except RateLimitError as e: # Transient API error - retry with backoff if attempt == max_retries: return _apply_circleci_fallback(workflow, project_slug, branch) time.sleep(2 ** attempt) except WorkflowFailureError as e: # Workflow failed - inspect artifacts and logs artifacts = _fetch_pipeline_artifacts(pipeline_id) if artifacts.get("critical_failure"): raise SkillExecutionError( f"Pipeline {pipeline_id} failed critical checks: {e}" ) from e # All retries exhausted - Fail Loud (Law 4) raise SkillExecutionError( f"Failed to execute CircleCI pipeline after {max_retries + 1} attempts" ) ``` ### MUST DO - Always validate skill metadata before selection (Early Exit) - Implement fallback chain with at least 2 levels (Fallback Skill + Human) - Log all skill selections with full context for auditability - Return new data structures instead of mutating inputs (Atomic Predictability) - Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states - Update confidence scores after each execution for adaptive routing - Reference `code-philosophy` (5 Laws of Elegant Defense) in all logic ### MUST NOT DO - Select skills based on a single factor (e.g., only confidence score) - Disable fallback mechanisms "temporarily" - this creates fragile systems - Skip validation of skill dependencies before execution - Return partial results - either complete success or clear failure - Use magic numbers for confidence thresholds - make them configurable - Cache skill selections without considering context changes ## TL;DR Checklist - [ ] Parse all inputs at boundary before processing (Law 2) - [ ] Handle edge cases with early returns at function top (Law 1) - [ ] Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states (Law 4) - [ ] Return new data structures, never mutate inputs (Law 3) - [ ] Implement minimum 2-level fallback chain for all skill executions - [ ] Log all skill selections with context for full audit trail - [ ] Validate skill metadata and dependencies before selection - [ ] Update confidence scores after each execution for learning ## TL;DR for Code Generation - Use guard clauses - return early on invalid input before doing work - Return simple types (dict, str, int, bool, list) - avoid complex nested objects - Cyclomatic complexity < 10 per function - split anything larger - Handle null/empty cases explicitly at function top (Early Exit) - Never mutate input parameters - return new dicts/objects - Fail fast with descriptive errors - don't try to "patch" bad data - Reference code-philosophy laws in comments for complex logic - Include timing and confidence metadata in all return values ## Output Template When applying this skill, produce: 1. **Selected Skills** - List of skill names with confidence scores 2. **Selection Rationale** - Why each skill was chosen (match score, history, availability) 3. **Execution Plan** - Order of execution with dependencies 4. **Fallback Strategy** - Which fallback skills will be tried and in what order 5. **Risk Assessment** - Any potential failure points and their impact 6. **Timing Estimates** - Expected latency including fallback scenarios --- ## Constraints ### MUST DO - Implement idempotent automation triggers: running the same automation twice should not create duplicate resources or actions - Validate all trigger conditions with explicit allowlists before executing automated actions - Include rollback procedures in every automation workflow — every CREATE should have a corresponding DELETE capability - Log all automation executions with input state, output state, duration, and any errors for monitoring and debugging ### MUST NOT DO - Do not create circular automation loops where trigger A causes action B which triggers A again - Avoid using automations that modify production data without explicit human approval gates - Never embed API keys or credentials directly in automation workflows — use vaulted secrets with rotation - Do not assume external service availability; implement retry logic with exponential backoff and dead-letter queues ## Related Skills | Skill | Purpose | |