workflow-patterns skill for Claude Code: Conductor TDD workflow

Makes Claude work through a plan.md task by task with test-first steps, a commit per task and phase checkpoints you approve, as part of the Conductor plugin.

Installs: 11.2K; on skills.sh
Stars: 42.1K; on GitHub
Files: 1; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

The skill is Conductor's task routine. For each task in a track's plan.md, Claude marks it in progress, writes failing tests, writes the smallest code that passes, refactors, checks 80% coverage, commits, attaches a git note and records the commit SHA in the plan. At the end of a phase it runs the checks, lists manual checks and waits for you to reply "approved".

It triggers when you implement tasks from a plan.md, follow the red-green-refactor cycle, complete a phase checkpoint or manage task commits. It bundles no scripts. It depends on the rest of the Conductor plugin, because the plan, workflow and track files it refers to come from the plugin's commands.

Good for

Developers who use Conductor tracks and want each task done test-first
Teams that want a commit, a git note and a plan update for every task
Reviewers who want a stop for approval at the end of each phase

Install workflow-patterns

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the workflow-patterns skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

/plugin marketplace add wshobson/agents
/plugin install conductor@claude-code-workflows

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

This skill describes Conductor's workflow and expects the conductor/ folder with a track's plan.md, which the plugin's /conductor:setup and /conductor:new-track commands create. Install the plugin, not the skill alone.

Built from the package data we hold. Not yet tested by us. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Use this skill when implementing tasks according to Conductor's TDD workflow, handling phase checkpoints, managing git commits for tasks, or understanding the verification protocol.

Sections in SKILL.md

When to Use This Skill
Detailed patterns and worked examples
Best Practices

Key facts

Author: Seth Hobson (wshobson), adapted from Conductor by Google for Gemini CLI
Repository: wshobson/agents
Installs on skills.sh: 11,192 as of 2026-11-02
GitHub stars: 42,081 for the whole wshobson/agents repo
License: Apache-2.0 in the Conductor plugin.json and README; the wshobson/agents repo LICENSE is MIT
Last repo commit: 2026-10-30
What is inside: 2 files including SKILL.md: SKILL.md and references/details.md. It bundles no scripts.
Part of: The Conductor plugin: 3 skills, 6 commands and 1 agent, with no hooks or .mcp.json in its folder
Needs: The Conductor files in your repo: conductor/workflow.md and a track's plan.md, made by /conductor:setup and /conductor:new-track
Version: 1.0.0 in SKILL.md frontmatter

What it includes

Select, mark in progress, red, green, refactor, coverage, commit, note, record SHA
Each task edits plan.md, adds tests and code, runs pytest with a coverage check, commits, adds a git note and commits the plan update.
Try: “Implement the next task in the user-auth track.”
Runs code · TDD task lifecycle (11 steps)
Run all tests, build a manual checklist, wait for "approved", then add a checkpoint commit
Claude must not go on without your explicit approval. It then commits a checkpoint and records its SHA in plan.md.
Try: “Finish phase 1 and show me the verification checklist.”
Runs code · Phase completion protocol
Tests, coverage 80%, style, docs, types, linting, mobile, security
All gates are checked before a task is marked complete.
Read · Quality gates (8)
Commit format, git notes and SHA records in plan.md
Commit types are feat, fix, refactor, test, docs and chore. Notes hold the task summary, files changed and decisions.
Runs code · Git integration
Four deviation types, each logged in spec.md, plan.md or tech-stack.md
Scope addition, scope reduction, technical deviation and requirement change.
Write · Deviation handling
What to do when tests fail after green, a checkpoint is rejected or a task is blocked
Error recovery
Red-green-refactor variations for data models, API endpoints, integrations and refactors
TDD by task type
Never skip RED, small commits, wait for approval, document deviations
Best practices (12)

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

The workflow makes git commits in your repo as Claude finishes each task. Work on a branch with a clean tree and read each checkpoint diff before you reply "approved".

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It makes git commits for you, with git add -A
The workflow commits each task and each plan update, and the examples stage everything with git add -A, so unrelated or untracked files can land in a commit. Start from a clean working tree, work on a branch and read each diff. github.com
It pauses at checkpoints, but it does the commits first
The phase protocol says Claude must wait for your reply of "approved" before it continues. The task commits before that point are already made, so review them at the checkpoint. github.com
The Conductor plugin has a command that deletes track folders
/conductor:manage can run rm -rf on a track folder under conductor/tracks, and /conductor:revert uses git revert. These come with the plugin, not the skill, and the plugin's own safeguards apply. github.com
The plugin ships an agent that can run shell commands
conductor-validator lists the tools Read, Glob, Grep and Bash. The plugin's folder holds no hooks or .mcp.json file. github.com

Technical details

Turning on read-only	The skill defines no read-only switch. It bundles no scripts.
Scopes	Edits code, tests and conductor/ plan files in your repo Runs git commands: add -A, commit, notes add, diff, and revert for checkpoints Runs your test suite, coverage, linter and type checker

Questions

What does the workflow-patterns skill do?

It makes Claude follow Conductor's TDD routine for each task in a plan.md. That means failing tests first, a commit and git note per task, and a phase checkpoint where you must approve before work continues.

How do I install workflow-patterns?

Use the install box at the top of this page. It installs the whole Conductor plugin, because this skill relies on the plan and workflow files that the plugin's commands create.

Can I install it without the Conductor plugin?

You can copy the skill folder, but it describes Conductor's workflow and refers to plan.md, workflow.md and track files. Without the plugin's /conductor:setup and /conductor:new-track commands you would write those files yourself.

Does it commit to my git repo?

Yes. The workflow creates a commit for each task, a commit for each plan update and a checkpoint commit per phase, and attaches git notes. Use a branch so you can review or drop them.

Does it need an API key?

The SKILL.md names no API key. It uses git and your own test, coverage and lint commands, such as pytest and ruff in its examples.

Is it safe to use?

It edits your code and plan files and makes git commits, and the plugin also has a command that can delete track folders. Work on a branch with a clean tree, and approve each phase checkpoint only after you read the diff.

What are the other Conductor skills?

The plugin has two more skills, context-driven-development and track-management, and the workflow-patterns skill is the one for implementing tasks and checkpoints.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: wshobson/agents
Folder: plugins/conductor/skills/workflow-patterns

wshobson/agents skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 11

Conductor plugin README · github.com
wshobson/agents README · github.com
wshobson/agents marketplace.json · github.com
conductor codex plugin.json · github.com
workflow-patterns SKILL.md · github.com
workflow-patterns references/details.md · github.com
conductor plugin.json · github.com
conductor commands/manage.md · github.com
conductor commands/revert.md · github.com
conductor-validator agent · github.com
conductor commands/implement.md · github.com