Upwork Submit

Submit an Upwork Proposal

Take a proposal the user already reviewed in JobPilot and submit it to Upwork. This spends the user's Connects. Never submit without showing the cost and getting an explicit yes in this conversation.

Setup

1. Follow ../_shared/setup.md.
2. Follow ../_shared/upwork-mcp.md: confirm the tools are connected and resolve ORG_UID.

Step 1: Load the draft

PROPOSAL=$(curl -fsS -H "authorization: Bearer $JOBPILOT_API_TOKEN" "$JOBPILOT_API/api/upwork/proposals/$ARG")

Require .status == "draft". Anything else → stop and say what the status is; a submitted proposal must not be sent twice.

Require a non-empty .proposalText and a .jobUrl. Missing either → tell the user to draft it first with the upwork-proposal skill, then stop.

Step 2: Check for an existing invitation or proposal

Mandatory. Never skip. Upwork rejects a create on a job the user was invited to or already applied to, with error VJ-JA-10, and the turn is wasted.

1. list_freelancer_proposals action invitations - is there an invitation for this job?
2. list_freelancer_proposals action list - is there already a proposal for it?

An existing proposal → stop and tell the user; do not submit again. An invitation → use manage_proposals action accept_invitation with the invitation's id instead of create, and confirm with type proposal_accept_invitation.

Step 3: Build the preview

manage_proposals action create with:

• job_reference - the numeric job id, not the ~02… ciphertext. Resolve it from the proposal's jobUrl via find_jobs action get if the id is not already in the digest.
• cover_letter - the proposal's proposalText. Max 5000 characters; if it is longer, stop and ask the user to shorten it rather than truncating their words.
• charged_amount - the bid, as a number.
• answers - the proposal's screeningAnswers. The preview lists the job's screening_questions; if it asks something the stored answers do not cover, stop and ask the user rather than inventing an answer.

This returns a preview. It does not submit.

Step 4: Present and confirm

Show the user, always including the first two:

• connects_cost - what this application spends.
• connects_balance - what they have.
• unmet_preferred_qualifications, when present. Advisory only, it does not block submission.
• The boost block, unless boost.available is false or boost.recommendation is skip. Boosting is a Connects bid for a top slot, not a flat fee. Show boost.current_top_bids as the real competing bids and boost.recommended_connects as the smallest bid that takes a top slot. Let the user pick the number. Never exceed boost.max_boost_connects, and pass what they chose as boost_connects.

Ask whether they want to attach files or highlight portfolio projects and certificates (get_profile action list_highlights). Both are optional but must be offered.

Then get an explicit yes. A silent or ambiguous reply is a no.

Step 5: Submit and record

confirm_preview type proposal with the preview_id.

On success:

NOW=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
curl -fsS -H "authorization: Bearer $JOBPILOT_API_TOKEN" -X PATCH "$JOBPILOT_API/api/upwork/proposals/$ARG" \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' -d "$(jq -n --arg t "$NOW" '{status:"submitted", submittedAt:$t}')"

Then refresh the Connects balance so the web app shows what is left:

curl -fsS -H "authorization: Bearer $JOBPILOT_API_TOKEN" -X PUT "$JOBPILOT_API/api/upwork/account" \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{"connectsBalance": <new balance>}'

Read the new balance from get_profile action connects_balance, not by subtracting.

If the user declines, leave the proposal as draft, say nothing was submitted and no Connects were spent, and stop. Do not start a second preview: a new one silently replaces the pending one.

If Upwork returns an error, leave the proposal as draft and report the error text verbatim. An insufficient-Connects error carries a purchase URL - pass it on.

Rules

1. Never submit without an explicit yes in this conversation, naming the Connects cost.
2. One submission per proposal. Status must be draft going in.
3. Never invent a screening answer or a bid. Both come from the stored proposal or the user.
4. Never boost by default. It is a separate Connects spend and a separate decision.
5. A submitted boost cannot be edited or withdrawn here. Verify what Upwork stored with list_freelancer_proposals action get and report terms.connectsBid as the real figure.