Phase 1: Parse — Semantic Intent Extraction

Objective

Extract structured semantic steps and context variables from the user's natural language workflow description.

Workflow

Step 1.1 — Read Input

Parse $ARGUMENTS as the workflow description. If empty or ambiguous, AskUserQuestion:

"Describe the workflow you want to automate. Include: what steps to run, in what order, and what varies each time (inputs)."

Step 1.2 — Extract Steps

Scan the description for sequential actions. Each action becomes a candidate node.

Signal patterns (not exhaustive — apply NL understanding):

Signal	Candidate Node Type
"analyze", "review", "explore"	analysis step (cli --mode analysis)
"plan", "design", "spec"	planning step (skill: workflow-lite-plan / workflow-plan)
"implement", "build", "code", "fix", "refactor"	execution step (skill: workflow-execute)
"test", "validate", "verify"	testing step (skill: workflow-test-fix)
"brainstorm", "ideate"	brainstorm step (skill: brainstorm / brainstorm-with-file)
"review code", "code review"	review step (skill: review-cycle)
"save", "checkpoint", "pause"	explicit checkpoint node
"spawn agent", "delegate", "subagent"	agent node
"then", "next", "after", "finally"	sequential edge signal
"parallel", "simultaneously", "at the same time"	parallel edge signal

Step 1.3 — Extract Variables

Identify inputs that vary per run. These become context_schema entries.

Variable detection:

Direct mentions: "the goal", "the target", "my task", "user-provided X"
Parameterized slots: {goal}, [feature], <scope> patterns in the description
Implicit from task type: any "feature/bugfix/topic" is goal

For each variable: assign name, type (string|path|boolean), required flag, description.

Step 1.4 — Detect Task Type

Use ccw-coordinator task detection logic to classify the overall workflow:

bugfix | feature | tdd | review | brainstorm | spec-driven | roadmap |
refactor | integration-test | greenfield | quick-task | custom

custom = user describes a non-standard combination.

Step 1.5 — Complexity Assessment

Count nodes, detect parallel tracks, identify dependencies:

simple = 1-3 nodes, linear
medium = 4-7 nodes, at most 1 parallel track
complex = 8+ nodes or multiple parallel tracks

Step 1.6 — Write Output

Create session dir: .workflow/templates/design-drafts/WFD-<slug>-<date>/

Write intent.json:

{
  "session_id": "WFD-<slug>-<date>",
  "raw_description": "<original user input>",
  "task_type": "<detected type>",
  "complexity": "simple|medium|complex",
  "steps": [
    {
      "seq": 1,
      "description": "<extracted step description>",
      "type_hint": "analysis|planning|execution|testing|review|checkpoint|agent|cli",
      "parallel_with": null,
      "variables": ["goal"]
    }
  ],
  "variables": {
    "goal": { "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "<inferred description>" }
  },
  "created_at": "<ISO timestamp>"
}

Success Criteria

intent.json exists with at least 1 step
All referenced variables extracted to variables map
task_type and complexity assigned

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