uipath-rpa-legacy

Legacy RPA Workflow Architect

Preview — skill is under active development; surface and behavior may change.

Legacy UiPath RPA projects: .NET Framework 4.6.1, VB.NET expressions, classic activities (no "X" suffix). Uses uip rpa-legacy CLI (standalone, no Studio IPC needed).

Critical Rules

1. Discover before writing — for built-in activities (If, Assign, TryCatch, LogMessage, etc.), use XAML from _BUILT-IN-ACTIVITIES.md directly. For all others, run find-activities + type-definition first.
2. Validate frequently — for Sequences with well-known activities, write the full XAML then validate once. For Flowcharts/StateMachines/unfamiliar activities, validate after each addition. Always validate after edits to existing files.
3. Absolute paths only — store {projectRoot} as an absolute path at Phase 0. Pass it to every CLI command. Never use cd.
4. Fix by category — Package → Structure → Type → Properties → Logic. This order prevents cascading errors.
5. Activity docs for gotchas, CLI for precision — read package docs (Excel.md, Mail.md) for gotchas before using those packages. Run find-activities only for activities not in _BUILT-IN-ACTIVITIES.md.
6. Always use --output json — for any CLI output you need to parse. Never suppress stderr (2>/dev/null) — error details are in the JSON output.
7. Never guess enum values or property names — always use find-activities + type-definition. CLI discovery is mandatory for valid XAML.
8. Never use modern assemblies — use assembly=mscorlib (not System.Private.CoreLib). Use [bracket] expressions in VB.NET projects, <mca:CSharpValue> in C# projects.
9. Never generate Flowchart/StateMachine without ViewState — Studio stacks all nodes at (0,0) without it.
10. Never retry failing CLI commands blindly — diagnose the root cause before retrying.

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Request Router

Request	Action	Key Reference
Choose architecture	Sequence vs REFramework vs Dispatcher/Performer	project-organization-guide.md
Create workflow	Phase 0 → Discovery → Generate	xaml-basics-and-rules.md
Edit workflow	Phase 0 → Discovery → Edit	xaml-basics-and-rules.md
Validate file	uip rpa-legacy validate "{projectRoot}/File.xaml" --output json	validation-and-fixing.md
Validate project	uip rpa-legacy validate "{projectRoot}" --output json	validation-and-fixing.md
Package (optional)	uip rpa-legacy package "{projectRoot}" -o "{dir}"	cli-reference.md
Debug	uip rpa-legacy debug "{projectRoot}/File.xaml"	cli-reference.md
Create new project	Create project.json with right packages	project-structure.md
Create test data	Generate Excel/CSV/JSON/types for testing	test-data-guide.md
Organize project	Folder structure, naming, libraries	project-organization-guide.md
Add error handling	TryCatch, Retry Scope, exception classification	error-handling-guide.md
Fix/build selectors	Selector anatomy, dynamic selectors, anchors	selector-guide.md
Create tests	Test design, mock testing, verification	testing-guide.md

If unclear which file to edit, ask the user.

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Phase 0: Environment

1. Find project.json → establish {projectRoot} as absolute path
2. Read project.json → verify targetFramework: "Legacy" (or absent = Legacy)
3. Note expressionLanguage (VB.NET or C#)
4. Note project shape: count .xaml files, list dependencies keys and versions — use this to avoid re-discovering packages and activities already explored earlier in conversation
5. Run uip rpa-legacy validate "{projectRoot}" --output json to trigger package restore (required before find-activities works)

No Studio needed. See environment-setup.md for details.

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Phase 1: Discovery

Start with the minimum. Add more only as needed.

1. Read _BUILT-IN-ACTIVITIES.md — complete XAML for If, Assign, Sequence, TryCatch, ForEach, While, Switch, Throw, LogMessage, InvokeCode, ForEachRow, etc. No CLI calls needed for these.

2. Read xaml-basics-and-rules.md — XAML structure, baseline assembly references, safety rules.

3. Only if you need non-built-in activities (Excel, Mail, HTTP, PDF, etc.):

   • Run find-activities "{projectRoot}" --query "..." --output json for each — use returned XamlSnippet
   • Run type-definition for any enums in the results
   • Read the relevant package doc (Excel.md, Mail.md, etc.) for gotchas

4. Only if Flowchart/StateMachine: read _XAML-GUIDE.md for ViewState layout

Stop here. Don't read more files unless you hit a problem during validation. Additional references if needed: _PATTERNS.md (VB.NET expressions), common-pitfalls.md (gotchas), _INVOKE-CODE.md (InvokeCode details), _REFRAMEWORK.md (REFramework), uip docsai ask "..." (official docs), WebSearch (community).

5. If the task involves design decisions, read the relevant guide on demand:
   • Error handling strategy → error-handling-guide.md
   • UI selectors → selector-guide.md
   • Project structure / libraries → project-organization-guide.md
   • Advanced data manipulation (RegEx, LINQ, JObject) → data-manipulation-guide.md
   • Orchestrator integration (queues, assets, triggers) → orchestrator-guide.md
   • Test design / debugging → testing-guide.md

See discovery-workflow.md for the full step-by-step procedure.

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Phase 2: Generate or Edit

Before Writing ANY XAML

• Read relevant activity doc (behavioral context)
• Run find-activities for every activity — use returned XamlSnippet + XmlnsDeclaration as starting point
• Run type-definition for every enum/complex type (exact values)
• Read xaml-basics-and-rules.md for XAML structure
• Read common-pitfalls.md for gotchas

Choose Workflow Type

Pattern	Use When
Sequence	Linear step-by-step, no branching
Flowchart	Branching decisions, loops with conditions, complex control flow
StateMachine	Distinct states with transitions (REFramework, approval workflows)

Flowchart/StateMachine: Plan Layout FIRST

Before writing XAML for Flowchart or StateMachine:

1. List all nodes and connections
2. Assign coordinates per layout guide in _XAML-GUIDE.md
3. Map True/False branch paths (Flowchart) or transition routes (StateMachine)

ViewState is MANDATORY — without it, Studio stacks all nodes at (0,0).

CREATE Checklist

• Root <Activity> has mva:VisualBasic.Settings="{x:Null}" (VB projects)
• xmlns uses assembly=mscorlib (not System.Private.CoreLib)
• VB.NET: [bracket] notation for expressions
• Classic activity names (no "X" suffix)
• All 16 baseline assembly references present (see xaml-basics-and-rules.md)
• All 21 baseline namespace imports present
• Package-specific assembly refs + namespace imports added for every activity package used
• Flowchart/StateMachine: xmlns:av declared, ViewState on every node
• Scope activities: ActivityAction<T> body pattern (see common-pitfalls.md)

EDIT Checklist

• Read current XAML content before editing
• Use Edit tool with exact old_string match
• Flowchart/StateMachine: read existing ViewState positions, place new nodes with ≥110px vertical / ≥200px horizontal clearance
• Validate after every edit

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Phase 3: Validate & Fix

LOOP (per-file during iteration):
  validate "{projectRoot}/File.xaml" → 0 errors? → next activity
                                     → errors?   → categorize → fix → validate again

FINAL (before completing):
  validate "{projectRoot}" → 0 errors across entire project? → DONE

Fix order: Package → Structure → Type → Properties → Logic

Category	Fix Strategy
Package	Ask user to install in Studio (no CLI install command)
Structure	Read XAML around error → Edit to fix XML
Type	type-definition for exact enum/type values
Properties	find-activities --include-type-definitions for exact property names
Logic	Check expression language, consult _PATTERNS.md, use debug

When stuck: docsai ask → WebSearch → ask user.

See validation-and-fixing.md for detailed procedures and common error scenarios.

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Phase 4: Debug

Only when the user asks to test/run the workflow. Do not auto-trigger. Suggest it after completing validation: "Would you like me to run the workflow to test it?"

Always validate before debugging — don't debug a file with compilation errors.

# Basic execution
uip rpa-legacy debug "{projectRoot}/Main.xaml"

# With input arguments
uip rpa-legacy debug "{projectRoot}/Main.xaml" -i '{"in_FilePath": "C:\\data.xlsx", "in_Count": 5}'

# Capture result to file
uip rpa-legacy debug "{projectRoot}/Main.xaml" -i '{"in_FilePath": "C:\\data.xlsx"}' --result-path /tmp/result.json --log-level error

Reading results:

• Exit code 0 → success: read Data.Output for out-argument values
• Exit code 1 → failure: read Data.Error for diagnostics:
  • Error.ActivityDisplayName + Error.XamlFile → locate the problem
  • Error.ExceptionType + Error.Message → understand it
  • Error.StackTrace → full call chain
  • Data.ErrorLog → all error-level robot log entries for context

Fix-and-retry loop: edit XAML → validate → debug again.

See cli-reference.md for all options.

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Phase 5: Response Checklist

• File path of created/edited workflow
• Brief description of what the workflow does
• Key activities and logic
• Packages required (note manual installs)
• Per-file validation passed during development
• Whole-project validation passed (validate "{projectRoot}")
• Limitations and next steps
• Manual actions needed (package install, connection setup)

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Quick Reference

CLI Commands

Command	Purpose
uip rpa-legacy find-activities <path> --query "..." [--exact] --output json	Find activities, class names, arguments, XAML snippet, xmlns
uip rpa-legacy type-definition <path> --type "..." --output json	Inspect types, enum values, properties
uip rpa-legacy validate <file-or-project-path> --output json	Validate single file or entire project
uip rpa-legacy find-package --query "..." --output json	Search NuGet feeds for packages
uip rpa-legacy package <path> -o <dir>	Package into .nupkg (optional)
uip rpa-legacy debug <xaml-path> -i '...'	Execute via UiRobot
uip docsai ask "question" --output json	Search UiPath documentation

Full reference: cli-reference.md

Reference Files

File	Content
cli-reference.md	All CLI commands, parameters, error recovery
discovery-workflow.md	Detailed discovery steps, troubleshooting
environment-setup.md	Project root detection, legacy verification
project-structure.md	Legacy project layout, project.json schema
xaml-basics-and-rules.md	XAML anatomy, expressions, safety rules
common-pitfalls.md	Dangerous defaults, scope patterns, gotchas
validation-and-fixing.md	Validate & fix loop, error scenarios
test-data-guide.md	Excel, CSV, JSON, top 10 file types and UiPath types
error-handling-guide.md	Exception classification, TryCatch patterns, Retry Scope, ContinueOnError
selector-guide.md	Selector anatomy, dynamic selectors, anchors, validation checklist
project-organization-guide.md	Folder conventions, naming, Config.xlsx, libraries, single responsibility
data-manipulation-guide.md	RegEx, advanced LINQ, JObject/JArray, StringBuilder, type conversions
orchestrator-guide.md	Queue lifecycle, asset types, logging levels, triggers, environments
testing-guide.md	Test design, verification activities, mock testing, debugging strategy

Activity Docs (references/activity-docs/)

File	Content
_BUILT-IN-ACTIVITIES.md	Top 20 activities with complete XAML — no find-activities needed
_INDEX.md	Master index with adoption rankings
_PATTERNS.md	VB.NET cheat sheet, DataTable ops, error handling
_XAML-GUIDE.md	XAML internals, Flowchart/StateMachine layout guides
_COMMON-PITFALLS.md	Real-world gotchas by package
_INVOKE-CODE.md	InvokeCode: properties, templates, compilation
_REFRAMEWORK.md	REFramework template structure and customization
_DU-PROCESS.md	Document Understanding pipeline template
AllActivities.md	Complete legacy activity catalog
{Package}.md	Per-package docs (Excel, Mail, System, UIAutomation, etc.)