Ws

Task

Execute the requested action: $ARGUMENTS

Calling rule: /ws <action> <arguments>.

If the requested action is ambiguous or contradictory, do NOT guess: flag it and ask for clarification before executing.

Core principle: work is done at work-area level only. Workstations and sub-workstations are organizational structure for routines — the same rule work packages carry on the project side (root CLAUDE.md, Hierarchy Protocol). Projects are for temporary activity (done once); workstations are for repeated activity.

Tier check (read axiom-config.md first): in simple tier, every workstation is 2-level — do not ask the depth question, do not mention 3-level structure, and manage numbering silently. In advanced tier, follow the depth rules below in full.

Hierarchy depth (advanced tier — read before any action)

Every workstation is either 2-level or 3-level. The depth is chosen when the workstation is created and recorded in its registry as Levels: **2** or Levels: **3**.

Before any action other than "new WS": read vault/workstations/<workstation>/areas.md, take Levels, and obey it. WA numbers restart at 01 inside each sub-workstation, so at 3 levels a WA is identified only together with its sub-workstation — always address it that way.

The depth is locked. This skill never converts a workstation between 2 and 3 levels. If the user asks for it, refuse and point to /setup new (Setup Protocol): the change is drafted as a setup file, executed once, and archived to setup/done/.

If action is empty

Describe this skill: its purpose and the actions table from "overview". Do not execute anything.

If action is "overview" (or unknown)

If the action was unknown, say so first, then show the table.

If action is "new WS"

1. Ask for anything missing: name and purpose. Derive the kebab-case folder name (Latin alphabet only) and confirm if it differs.

2. Depth. Simple tier: 2-level, silently. Advanced tier: ask for the hierarchy depth (2 or 3 levels) — show the table above and state plainly that the choice is fixed and can only be changed later through a setup file. Do not default silently.

3. Creation mode. Ask how the structure should be built (in simple tier use plain words: "build as we go" vs. "map out all routines now"):

   • Agile (default) — create the workstation shell now; sub-workstations and work areas are added incrementally via new subWS / new area as routines emerge. Continue with the steps below unchanged.
   • Predictive — map the full routine landscape upfront: interview for the complete inventory of recurring activities — what is repeated, how the activities group, cadence per activity (accept a pasted list or build it through questions). Analyze it and map it to the hierarchy — 3-level: groups → sub-workstations, activities → WAs; 2-level: activities → WAs; flag groupings that don't fit the fixed depth and propose merges/splits. Present the full proposed tree with final names (kebab-case, acronym and number prefixes per the naming convention) and wait for approval. Then scaffold everything in one pass: all registry rows allocated in order, all folders, all vault mirror nodes (runs.md per WA, purpose seeded from the inventory). Routine definitions are not written in bulk — after scaffolding, offer new routine area by area.

4. Derive a workstation acronym (2 uppercase letters). Confirm it with the user and check it is globally unique — scan every vault/workstations/*/areas.md (Acronym: line) and every vault/projects/*/ids.md (Acronym: line); workstations and projects share one namespace, so folder prefixes never collide across workstations/ and projects/.

5. Create workstations/<ACR>-<name>/ — the confirmed acronym as an uppercase prefix, then the kebab-case name (e.g. MK-marketing) — containing only CLAUDE.md — sections: Identity (what this workstation is, what routes here — state the depth here too), Goals (link to vault goals page), Work Areas (table: area, routine, cadence — filled as areas are created), Rules (workstation-specific).

6. Vault (same ACR- prefix): create vault/workstations/<ACR>-<name>/ with goals.md, status.md, and areas.md — the registry, the WS analogue of a project's ids.md. Frontmatter + [[wiki links]]. The shape follows the depth:

   2-level — one counter for work areas:

   Acronym: **MK**
   Levels: **2**
   Next area: **01**
   
   | AA | Work area (folder) | Next output |
   | -- | ------------------ | ----------- |
   

   3-level — a sub-workstation counter, plus one area counter per sub-workstation:

   Acronym: **MK**
   Levels: **3**
   Next sub-workstation: **01**
   
   | SS | Sub-workstation | Next area |
   | -- | --------------- | --------- |
   
   | ID | Work area (folder path) | Next output |
   | -- | ----------------------- | ----------- |
   

   Next output is the running number in produced filenames (Output Hygiene & Naming); it starts at 001 in every new work area. There are no task IDs on the workstation side.

7. Add a routing map row to root CLAUDE.md (using the prefixed folder name).

8. Suggest the next structural step — agile mode: a sub-workstation for 3-level workstations, the first work area for 2-level ones; predictive mode: the structure already exists — offer new routine for the first area instead.

If action is "new subWS"

1. Simple tier: explain that sub-workstations belong to advanced mode and offer /axiom tier advanced. Do not create anything.
2. Check $ARGUMENTS: workstation name required; if missing or unknown, list workstations and ask.
3. Check the depth. Read Levels from vault/workstations/<workstation>/areas.md. If the workstation is 2-level, refuse: it has no sub-workstations. Offer the two legitimate paths — create a work area directly under the workstation, or convert to 3 levels via /setup new. Never create it anyway.
4. Ask for anything missing: sub-workstation name (kebab-case) and purpose.
5. Allocate the number first (the folder is named after it): read Next sub-workstation from areas.md, use it as SS, add its row (number, name, Next area: 01), bump the counter (monotonic, never reused).
6. Create workstations/<workstation>/<SS>-<sub>/ — pure structure, no CLAUDE.md, no resources/outputs.
7. Vault: create vault/workstations/<workstation>/<SS>-<sub>/ with goals.md. Update the workstation CLAUDE.md Work Areas table.
8. Suggest creating the first work area inside it.

If action is "new area"

1. Check $ARGUMENTS and read Levels from areas.md. Workstation required; if missing or unknown, list workstations and ask. Then check the form against the depth:

   • 3-level, no sub-workstation given → refuse. Every WA must live in one. List the sub-workstations and ask which, or offer new subWS first.
   • 2-level, a sub-workstation given → refuse. The area goes directly under the workstation.

2. Ask for the area name (kebab-case) and purpose.

3. Ask: are runs dated? (If yes, each run reads from / writes to YYYY-MM-DD/ subfolders.)

4. Allocate the area number first (the folder is named after it), from the counter that matches the depth:

   • 2-level: read Next area from areas.md, use it as AA, add the row (Next output: 001), bump Next area.
   • 3-level: read Next area from the owning sub-workstation's row, use it as AA, add the area row (ID <SS>-<AA>, folder path, Next output: 001), bump that sub-workstation's Next area. Area numbers restart at 01 in every sub-workstation.

   Numbers are monotonic and never reused. Create workstations/<workstation>/[<SS>-<sub>/]<AA>-<area>/ with resources/ and outputs/.

5. Vault: create vault/workstations/<workstation>/[<SS>-<sub>/]<AA>-<area>/ — same numbered folder — with runs.md (empty history). Update the workstation CLAUDE.md Work Areas table.

6. Offer to continue with new routine — without a routine, run has nothing to execute.

If action is "new routine"

Creates or revises the routine definition for a work area. Nothing is executed here. A work area holds exactly one routine — the routine is a document inside the WA, not a level of its own.

1. Check $ARGUMENTS: the work area, addressed per the workstation's depth (<ws> - <area> at 2 levels, <ws> - <sub> - <area> at 3); resolve or ask.
2. Interview, one block at a time, only what is open:
   • What are the steps? (concrete, numbered — tools, sources, checks)
   • Cadence: how often, triggered by user or by schedule later?
   • Parameters: what varies per run?
   • Expected outputs: what is produced, format, where?
   • Comparisons: what should each run be compared against (previous run, baseline, threshold)?
3. Write vault/workstations/<workstation>/[<SS>-<sub>/]<AA>-<area>/routine.md: frontmatter + sections Definition, Steps, Cadence, Parameters, Outputs, Comparisons.
4. If revising an existing routine.md: show the diff, get approval, keep a change note in the file.

If action is "run"

1. Check $ARGUMENTS: the work area, addressed per the depth; resolve or ask. If no routine.md exists: suggest new routine first.
2. Prepare. Read routine.md and the recent entries of runs.md. If runs are dated: create outputs/YYYY-MM-DD/ (and read resources/YYYY-MM-DD/ if inputs are dated); else use the folders directly. The dated folder is the one place a date belongs — files inside it still follow the naming rule (<acr>-<address>-<NNN>-<name>, number from the area's Next output), never a date prefix.
3. Execute the steps as defined. Ask only when a parameter is undefined.
4. Compare against previous runs per the Comparisons section (trends, anomalies).
5. Record:
   • Append to runs.md: date, parameters, result summary, anomalies, link to output folder.
   • Promote durable insights to vault/knowledge/ pages, cross-linked from the run entry.
   • Update workstation status.md.
6. Improve. If the run revealed a better way, propose a change to routine.md — apply only with user approval.

If action is "from project"

1. Check $ARGUMENTS: project name; resolve against projects/ or ask.
2. Clarify: which activity of the project becomes the routine? What carries over?
3. Execute "new WS" — the depth is asked fresh (advanced tier), not inherited from the origin project, and it gets its own acronym (globally unique, so it cannot reuse the origin project's). Then "new area" (and "new subWS" first if 3-level) and "new routine", using the project's vault knowledge (goals, decisions, WP outputs) as input.
4. Cross-link: workstation vault pages reference the origin project's pages. The project itself is not modified or deleted.

If action is "list"

Table: workstation | depth | work areas (with sub-workstation where 3-level) | cadence (from routine.md) | last run (from runs.md) | status note.

After any action

• Append to vault/log.md, update vault/index.md if pages changed.
• Report the created/changed structure as a tree (structure actions) or the run summary (run).

Notes

• Never create resources/ or outputs/ outside a work area.
• routine.md is procedural memory, runs.md episodic, promoted insights semantic (vault/knowledge/). Do not bury durable knowledge in runs.md.
• Workstations are independent of projects; "from project" copies knowledge, never moves it.
• The workstation folder itself carries the acronym prefix — <ACR>-<name> (e.g. MK-marketing), in workstations/ and in the vault mirror. The acronym lives in the workstation's areas.md and is globally unique across projects and workstations. In the actions above, <workstation> means the acronym-prefixed folder name. Only the name part may later be renamed — the acronym prefix is fixed.
• Sub-workstation folders carry the SS- number prefix, work-area folders the AA- prefix, both nested inside the acronym-prefixed workstation folder in workstations/ and in the vault mirror. Only the name part may later be renamed; the prefixes are fixed, and a freed number is never reused.
• In a 3-level workstation, area numbers are not unique on their own (each sub-workstation restarts at 01). Always address a WA together with its sub-workstation.
• There are no tasks and no task IDs on the workstation side — that protocol is project-only.
• All created folder and file names follow the Latin-alphabet kebab-case convention (root CLAUDE.md, Output Hygiene & Naming); the uppercase acronym prefix is the one exception, alongside the numeric SS-/AA- prefixes.