Workflows Introduction | Bootspring Docs

Workflows are automated multi-step processes that orchestrate agents, skills, and tasks to accomplish complex goals. Instead of manually coordinating multiple steps, workflows handle the coordination for you.

What Are Workflows?#

Workflows combine multiple Bootspring capabilities into cohesive processes:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         Workflow                                 │
│                                                                  │
│  ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐  │
│  │  Step 1  │───>│  Step 2  │───>│  Step 3  │───>│  Step 4  │  │
│  │  Agent   │    │  Skill   │    │  Agent   │    │  Quality │  │
│  │  Plan    │    │  Code    │    │  Review  │    │  Gate    │  │
│  └──────────┘    └──────────┘    └──────────┘    └──────────┘  │
│                                                                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Why Use Workflows?#

Without Workflows#

Manual coordination of each step:

Ask architecture-expert for planning
Remember the plan and ask database-expert
Remember schema and ask backend-expert
Remember API design and ask frontend-expert
Remember everything and ask testing-expert
Manually run quality checks

With Workflows#

Automated orchestration:

Use the feature-development workflow to build a user dashboard
with usage analytics and billing information.

The workflow:

Plans architecture automatically
Passes context between steps
Coordinates multiple agents
Applies skills as needed
Runs quality gates
Reports progress

Available Workflow Packs#

Launch Pack#

Everything needed to launch a product:

Workflow	Purpose
`launch/pre-launch`	Pre-launch checklist and preparation
`launch/waitlist`	Viral waitlist implementation
`launch/landing-page`	High-converting landing page
`launch/launch-day`	Launch day execution plan
`launch/post-launch`	Post-launch optimization

Example:

Use the launch/pre-launch workflow to prepare for our product launch next week.

Fundraising Pack#

Complete fundraising workflow:

Workflow	Purpose
`fundraising/readiness`	Assess fundraising readiness
`fundraising/materials`	Prepare pitch materials
`fundraising/targeting`	Identify and research investors
`fundraising/pitching`	Pitch meeting framework
`fundraising/closing`	Term sheet and closing

Example:

Use the fundraising/readiness workflow to evaluate if we're ready
to raise a Series A.

Growth Pack#

Data-driven growth strategies:

Workflow	Purpose
`growth/pmf`	Product-market fit measurement
`growth/metrics`	SaaS metrics and dashboards
`growth/acquisition`	User acquisition channels
`growth/retention`	Retention and churn prevention

Example:

Use the growth/metrics workflow to set up MRR, NRR, and churn tracking.

Enterprise Pack#

Enterprise sales and compliance:

Workflow	Purpose
`enterprise/readiness`	Enterprise feature checklist
`enterprise/sales`	Enterprise sales process
`enterprise/security`	Security and compliance
`enterprise/implementation`	Enterprise onboarding

Example:

Use the enterprise/readiness workflow to identify gaps for
enterprise customers.

Development Workflows#

Technical development automation:

Workflow	Purpose
`feature-development`	End-to-end feature building
`database-migration`	Safe database migrations
`security-audit`	Comprehensive security review
`performance-optimization`	Performance improvement

Example:

Use the feature-development workflow to build a notification system
with email, push, and in-app channels.

How Workflows Execute#

1. Initialization#

The workflow loads with your project context:

Starting workflow: feature-development
Project: my-saas-app
Stack: Next.js, Prisma, PostgreSQL

Phase 1: Planning
─────────────────

2. Phase Execution#

Each phase runs in sequence with context passing:

Phase 1: Planning ✓
├── architecture-expert analyzed requirements
├── Recommended: Server components + API routes
└── Created: feature-spec.md

Phase 2: Data Layer ✓
├── database-expert designed schema
├── Created: prisma migration
└── Validated: foreign keys, indexes

Phase 3: Implementation ⟳
├── backend-expert implementing API...

3. Checkpoints#

Workflows save progress and can resume:

Checkpoint saved: phase-2-complete
To resume: bootspring workflow resume feature-dev-abc123

4. Completion#

Summary and artifacts:

Workflow Complete: feature-development
═══════════════════════════════════════

Files Created:
├── prisma/migrations/20240219_notifications/
├── app/api/notifications/
├── components/NotificationCenter/
└── tests/notifications/

Quality Gate: PASSED
├── TypeScript: ✓
├── Tests: 94% coverage
└── Security: No issues

Duration: 12 minutes

Starting Workflows#

Natural Language#

Use the feature-development workflow to build [feature description].

CLI#

# List workflows
bootspring workflow list

# Start a workflow
bootspring workflow start feature-development

# Resume a workflow
bootspring workflow resume <workflow-id>

# Check status
bootspring workflow status

MCP Tool#

Use the bootspring_orchestrator tool to start the security-audit workflow.

Workflow Configuration#

Custom Phases#

Modify workflow behavior in config:

// bootspring.config.js
module.exports = {
  workflows: {
    'feature-development': {
      phases: ['plan', 'database', 'api', 'frontend', 'test', 'review'],
      skipPhases: [],  // Phases to skip
      agents: {
        plan: 'architecture-expert',
        database: 'database-expert',
        api: 'backend-expert',
        frontend: 'frontend-expert',
        test: 'testing-expert',
        review: 'security-expert',
      },
      qualityGates: ['pre-commit'],
    },
  },
};

Workflow Templates#

Create custom workflows:

// bootspring.config.js
module.exports = {
  workflows: {
    'my-custom-workflow': {
      name: 'Custom Feature Workflow',
      description: 'Our team workflow for features',
      phases: [
        {
          name: 'design',
          agent: 'ui-ux-expert',
          prompt: 'Create wireframes and design specs',
        },
        {
          name: 'implement',
          agent: 'frontend-expert',
          prompt: 'Implement the designs',
        },
        {
          name: 'review',
          agents: ['code-review-expert', 'security-expert'],
          prompt: 'Review implementation',
        },
      ],
    },
  },
};

Workflow Composition#

Sequential Workflows#

Run workflows one after another:

Run the database-migration workflow, then the security-audit workflow.

Parallel Execution#

Some workflow phases can run in parallel:

// bootspring.config.js
module.exports = {
  workflows: {
    'parallel-example': {
      phases: [
        { name: 'plan', agent: 'architecture-expert' },
        {
          name: 'parallel-impl',
          parallel: [
            { agent: 'backend-expert', task: 'Build API' },
            { agent: 'frontend-expert', task: 'Build UI' },
          ],
        },
        { name: 'integrate', agent: 'testing-expert' },
      ],
    },
  },
};

Adaptive Workflows#

Workflows can adapt based on results:

{
  phases: [
    { name: 'security-scan', agent: 'security-expert' },
    {
      name: 'fix-issues',
      condition: 'security-scan.issues > 0',
      agent: 'security-expert',
      prompt: 'Fix the identified security issues',
    },
  ],
}

Monitoring Workflows#

Check Status#

bootspring workflow status

Output:

Active Workflows
════════════════

ID: feat-dev-abc123
Name: feature-development
Status: Running
Phase: 3/5 (Implementation)
Started: 5 minutes ago

ID: sec-audit-xyz789
Name: security-audit
Status: Paused (waiting for input)
Phase: 2/4 (Scan)
Started: 1 hour ago

View Logs#

bootspring workflow logs feat-dev-abc123

Pause/Resume#

# Pause a workflow
bootspring workflow pause feat-dev-abc123

# Resume a workflow
bootspring workflow resume feat-dev-abc123

Workflow Artifacts#

Workflows produce artifacts saved in .bootspring/:

.bootspring/
└── workflows/
    └── feat-dev-abc123/
        ├── state.json           # Workflow state
        ├── plan.md              # Architecture plan
        ├── decisions.md         # Decisions made
        ├── artifacts/           # Generated files
        └── logs/                # Execution logs

Best Practices#

1. Start with Existing Workflows#

Before creating custom workflows, try the built-in ones:

What workflows are available for launching a product?

2. Save Checkpoints#

For long workflows, ensure checkpoints are saved:

// bootspring.config.js
module.exports = {
  workflows: {
    checkpointFrequency: 'phase', // Save after each phase
  },
};

3. Review Before Proceeding#

Configure review points:

{
  phases: [
    { name: 'plan', reviewRequired: true },
    { name: 'implement' },
    { name: 'deploy', reviewRequired: true },
  ],
}

4. Use Quality Gates#

Always include quality gates:

{
  phases: [
    // ... implementation phases
    {
      name: 'quality',
      type: 'gate',
      gates: ['pre-commit', 'security'],
    },
  ],
}

Workflow Tiers#

Tier	Workflows Available
Free	Basic development workflows
Pro	Launch, Growth, Fundraising, Enterprise packs
Team	All Pro + Custom workflow templates

Troubleshooting#

"Workflow stuck"#

Check status and logs:

bootspring workflow status
bootspring workflow logs <workflow-id>

Resume or restart:

bootspring workflow resume <workflow-id>
# or
bootspring workflow restart <workflow-id>

"Phase failed"#

Workflows can recover from failures:

bootspring workflow retry <workflow-id> --phase <phase-name>

"Need different agents"#

Customize agent assignments:

// bootspring.config.js
module.exports = {
  workflows: {
    'feature-development': {
      agents: {
        frontend: 'ui-ux-expert',  // Override default
      },
    },
  },
};

Next Steps#

Dashboard Tour - Visual dashboard guide
Workflows Reference - Complete workflow documentation
Composition Guide - Advanced workflow patterns