arbazkhan971/automate

Automate -- Task Automation & Workflow Orchestration

Activate When

• User invokes /godmode:automate
• User says "automate this", "create a cron job", "set up a webhook"
• User says "write a Makefile", "create GitHub Action", "schedule this task"
• Project lacks automation for common tasks (lint, test, build, deploy)

Workflow

Step 1: Discover Context

Detect existing: task runner (Make, Task, Justfile, npm scripts), CI/CD (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI), scheduler (crontab, k8s CronJob), scripts.

Step 2: Classify Type

| Type | Best For | Tool | |--|--|--| | Cron/Schedule | Nightly builds, cleanup, reports | crontab, k8s CronJob, GH Actions schedule | | Event/Webhook | Deploy on push, notifications | GitHub Actions on:, webhooks | | Task Runner | Build, test, lint, dev setup | Make, Task, Justfile, npm scripts | | Script | Data processing, migration | Bash, Python, Node.js | | CI/CD | Test on PR, deploy on merge | GitHub Actions, GitLab CI |

Step 3: Cron Jobs

Format: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week. Every cron script: set -euo pipefail, lock file, logging, failure notification, cleanup trap.

# Validate cron syntax and test scripts
crontab -l
bash -n scripts/my-cron.sh
make ci-test

IF job runtime > 80% of interval: increase interval or optimize. WHEN job fails > 3 times consecutively: alert and disable.

Step 4: Webhooks

Verify signature (HMAC-SHA256). Route by event type. Return 200 within 5 seconds.

Step 5: GitHub Actions

Pin action versions (@v4). Set permissions. Set timeout. Release automation, PR automation, scheduled tasks.

Step 6: Makefile/Taskfile

Targets: help, setup, dev, lint, format, typecheck, test, build, deploy-staging, deploy-production (with confirmation), clean, ci-lint, ci-test, ci-build.

Step 7: Script Template

Every script: set -euo pipefail, logging, --help, --dry-run, --verbose, prerequisites check, main function.

Step 8: Report

AUTOMATION REPORT:
Task: <description> | Type: <cron | webhook | workflow | script>
Trigger: <schedule | event | manual> | Error handling: <present>

# Validate Makefile and list targets
make -n ci-test
crontab -l
bash -n scripts/*.sh

# Validate automation scripts and Makefile targets
make -n ci-test
crontab -l
bash -n scripts/*.sh

# Validate automation scripts
crontab -l
git status
make -n test

Key Behaviors

1. Detect before generating. Add to existing Makefile, don't create competing files.
2. Error handling is mandatory. Log, notify, exit non-zero.
3. Lock files prevent overlap. No concurrent duplicate execution.
4. Idempotency required. Safe to run twice.
5. Dry-run for destructive ops. --dry-run is non-negotiable.
6. Secrets injected, never hardcoded.
7. Logging required. Start, actions, completion.
8. Timeouts prevent runaway jobs.

Flags & Options

| Flag | Description | |--|--| | (none) | Interactive workflow | | --cron <expr> | Scheduled job | | --webhook <event> | Webhook handler | | --workflow <name> | GitHub Actions workflow | | --script <name> | Standalone script | | --makefile | Generate/update Makefile | | --hook <git-hook> | Git hook | | --audit | Audit existing automation |

HARD RULES

Never ask to continue. Loop autonomously until all automation artifacts pass dry-run and have error handling.

1. NEVER automate without error handling.
2. NEVER hardcode secrets.
3. EVERY scheduled job MUST have a lock file.
4. EVERY script MUST support --dry-run.
5. EVERY task MUST log start/actions/completion.
6. EVERY CI workflow MUST have a timeout.
7. EVERY scheduled GH Actions MUST have workflow_dispatch.
8. NEVER duplicate existing automation.
9. NEVER schedule at midnight UTC.

Output Format

AUTOMATION RESULT:
Type: <cron | webhook | workflow | script> | Trigger: <schedule | event | manual>
Error handling: present | Dry-run: supported | Timeout: set

Auto-Detection

1. ls Makefile Taskfile.yml justfile Rakefile build.gradle
2. ls .github/workflows/*.yml .gitlab-ci.yml
3. ls package.json pyproject.toml go.mod
4. ls scripts/ bin/ tools/

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Platform Fallback

Run sequentially: scripts, then CI workflows, then scheduler configuration.

TSV Logging

Append to .godmode/automate-results.tsv:

timestamp	task	type	trigger	frequency	file	error_handling	timeout	status

One row per automation artifact. Never overwrite previous rows.

Error Recovery

| Failure | Action | |--|--| | Task runner not detected | Check for ALL known runners before creating new. If none exist, ask user preference: Make, Task, or npm scripts. | | Cron syntax invalid | Validate with crontab.guru. Common mistake: */5 means every 5 minutes, not the 5th minute. | | GitHub Actions workflow fails | Check runner OS, secrets exist in repo settings, actions versions pinned (@v4 not @latest), timeout set. | | Script fails in CI but works locally | Check PATH, working directory, missing deps in lockfile, env vars not set in CI. Add env dump in debug mode. |

Quality Targets

• Target: <10s for task runner cold start
• Target: >95% automation success rate over 30 days
• Webhook response: <5s acknowledgment
• Cron job max runtime: <80% of schedule interval

Success Criteria

1. Automation script runs with --dry-run without side effects.
2. Error handling present: set -euo pipefail (bash) or try/catch with meaningful messages.
3. Logging captures start time, actions taken, completion status.
4. Concurrency guard exists for scheduled jobs (lock file or flock).

Keep/Discard Discipline

After EACH automation artifact:
  KEEP if: dry-run passes AND error handling present AND logging captures start/actions/completion
  DISCARD if: no error handling OR secrets hardcoded OR no dry-run support for destructive ops
  On discard: revert. Fix error handling before retrying.

Stop Conditions

STOP when ALL of:
  - Script runs with --dry-run without side effects
  - Error handling present with meaningful messages
  - Logging captures start, actions, and completion
  - Concurrency guard exists for scheduled jobs