Repair Canvas Workflow

Repair Canvas Workflow

Use this skill when a workflow is malformed, outdated, invalid, hard to load, or inconsistent with the Agent Canvas schema.

Repair Flow

1. Read the workflow JSON.
2. Run validation:

agent-canvas validate <workflow.json>

3. Identify whether the problem is syntax, schema, missing fields, invalid connections, unsupported node type, progress/evidence semantics, or docs drift.
4. Identify the workflow's design pattern (see Pattern → Example Reference below) and skim the matching example. The example shows what a healthy version of this pattern looks like — repair toward that shape, not toward generic validity.
5. Make the smallest correction that preserves user intent.
6. Validate again.
7. Summarize what changed and why.

Repair Rules

• Preserve node IDs whenever possible.
• Preserve labels, instructions, and graph structure unless they are the cause of the failure.
• Preserve pattern intent. A trycatch wrapping a high-risk node is not the same as a branch with two outputs; do not normalize one into the other to satisfy validation.
• Do not silently convert unsupported semantics into generic behavior without reporting it.
• Do not mark progress completed as part of schema repair.
• Keep workflow files inside the workspace.
• Keep output JSON readable and stable.

Pattern → Example Reference

When repairing, identify the workflow's pattern key and use the matching example as the reference for "what this should look like when healthy." Repair toward the shape of the matching example, not toward an abstract notion of validity.

All examples live under workflows/examples/. Sizes are nodes / connections.

Pattern key	Example file	Size	What it demonstrates
single-full	single-full_dinner-party.json	16 / 17	Compact "one of each" — start, parallel, merge, loop, wait, end across 7 phases.
single-loops	single-loops_monthly-dining.json	19 / 21	Iteration-heavy: 3 loops + 3 wait gates over a month-long plan with split owners.
multi-islands	multi-islands_multi-platform-publishing.json	22 / 18	Four genuinely independent chains, 4 starts → 4 ends, no shared merge.
multi-ideation	multi-ideation_syllabus-redesign.json	15 / 12	Three ideation lenses on the same problem, 3 starts → 3 ends, comparison off-canvas.
multi-merge (small)	multi-merge_landing-page.json	19 / 18	Three-start collab converging at a single merge — minimum viable multi-merge.
multi-merge (large)	multi-merge_ai-future-of-work-presentation.json	64 / 83	6 starts, 5 phases, 7 parallels + 8 merges + a trycatch. Major program shape.
branch-decision	branch-decision_paper-submission.json	9 / 9	Minimal binary branch (READY vs. REVISE) with rejoin at a merge.
trycatch-escalation	trycatch-escalation_grant-application.json	10 / 9	Trycatch wrapping a funder decision — funded path activates, rejected path escalates.
subflow-composition	subflow-composition_course-launch.json	10 / 10	Four subflow markers signaling "this step is its own workflow."
pipeline (full)	greenwashing.json	66 / 91	Real working lit-review pipeline — 9 phases, parallel fan-outs, loops, human-in-the-loop wait.
pipeline (compact)	greenwashing-literature-review-multi-start.json	13 / 13	Slim multi-start lit-review variant.
cop (legacy)	cop.json	—	Original community-of-practice reference example.

Useful References

• skills/plan/SKILL.md — design contract (full pattern catalog, design recipe, gate semantics)
• SCHEMA.md — JSON schema reference
• schemas/agent-canvas.schema.json — formal JSON schema
• scripts/canvas-schema.mjs — runtime validation logic
• AGENT-CANVAS.md — agent operating handbook