GETTING STARTED / 02
Quick start
Three things to learn: how ordinary tasks behave, how to name a workflow, and what actually counts as approval.
1 · Describe clear work directly
After installing the plugin and opening a new session, describe routine work exactly as you always have. The basic engineering rules are already active: the model inspects project instructions and relevant code, preserves unrelated work, asks only about decisions that materially change the result, and runs scope-appropriate verification before claiming completion.
Add an optional middleName to formatDisplayName and ignore blank values. Preserve the existing export, add the smallest meaningful verification, and do not commit.2 · Name a workflow for deeper work
Send the workflow token together with the task, preferably on the first line. The workflow then owns the whole task — not just that one message.
$engineering-flow:develop
Implement order batch export. Reuse existing permission and query capabilities, add focused tests, and reconcile the authoritative documentation. Do not commit.Invocation format
| Host | Format |
|---|---|
| Codex CLI | $engineering-flow:<workflow> |
| Claude Code | /engineering-flow:<workflow> |
3 · Read the checkpoint, then approve
Develop always returns a checkpoint first — goal, acceptance behavior, out of scope, assumptions, and solution boundary — and then stops, even when the request was already clear. Only action language you send after that checkpoint approves implementation. The initial request, answers to clarification questions, and “got it” do not.
Proceed with the plan above.Staying in the same task
Answers, approval, corrections, and reports of omitted acceptance behavior all stay in the same task without repeating the token. An omitted original item reopens implementation directly. New or changed scope gets its own incremental checkpoint and another approval. An unrelated new task never inherits the old workflow.
If something looks wrong
| Symptom | What to do |
|---|---|
The terminal says $engineering-flow:develop: command not found | The token belongs in the Codex conversation, not the system shell. |
| Nothing seems different after installing | Confirm the plugin is installed and enabled, then close old sessions and restart. |
| No welcome banner on startup | Expected. The Core loads quietly and is not required to announce itself. |
| The workflow did not trigger | Use the complete, exact token, preferably on the first line of the request. |
| Still behaving like the old version after an update | Refresh the marketplace, reinstall the plugin, and open a new session. |