Distribution Strategy

Distribution Strategy

Shipped (v0.1.78): published to npm as cool-workflow — zero runtime dependencies, dist/ committed, bins cw / cool-workflow, MCP server at dist/mcp-server.js. npm i -g cool-workflow or npx cool-workflow …. The npm registry is now the primary front door alongside the per-vendor plugin manifests.

Shipped (Homebrew): a brew install channel that uses only this one repo — no separate homebrew-cool-workflow tap repo. The formula Formula/cool-workflow.rb lives at the repo root; users tap it by URL: brew tap coo1white/cool-workflow https://github.com/coo1white/cool-workflow then brew install coo1white/cool-workflow/cool-workflow. It pins its source with url …git, tag: "v<version>", so the git tag is the integrity pin — no sha256 and no post-publish checksum step. Homebrew reads the version from the tag, so the tag is the one version surface, auto-bumped by bump-version.js and gated by version:sync.

Cool Workflow should be MCP-first, CLI-backed, skill-packaged, and runtime-compatible.

The universal product is not the skill file.

The universal product is:

workflow engine + CLI + MCP server + adapter manifests

Skills are distribution wrappers. They teach an agent host when and how to use CW, but they should not own core workflow logic.

Architecture Boundary

Do not let core logic grow inside one platform's skill, plugin, app wrapper, or manifest.

Core logic should stay in:

• the workflow engine
• the CLI
• the MCP server

Claude, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, and ChatGPT-style apps should be front doors into the same runtime.

Layers

cool-workflow runtime
  TypeScript workflow engine
  state machine
  pipeline contracts
  verifier gates
  scheduler

CLI
  list / plan / dispatch / result / report / schedule / routine

MCP
  tools
  resources
  prompts

skills and adapters
  Codex plugin
  Claude skill
  Cursor / VS Code / Windsurf MCP config
  future app wrappers

CLI As Baseline

Every serious coding agent can run shell commands.

npx cool-workflow list                  # installed: cw list
cw plan architecture-review --repo /path/to/repo --question "Is this architecture sound?"
cw dispatch <run-id> --limit 6
cw report <run-id>

MCP As Cross-App Protocol

MCP should remain the main structured integration surface:

• tools for actions
• resources for run state and reports
• prompts for reusable workflow entry points

Runtime Target

CW is Node-compatible TypeScript compiled to CommonJS runtime JavaScript.

Bun can be supported as a fast development/runtime option, but CW should not be Bun-only while broad host compatibility is the goal.

Product Principle

One kernel.
Many front doors.
No duplicated workflow logic.