Metadirectives

Build-along · ~12 min at your own keyboard

Once single directives run clean, chain them: a metadirective sequences sub-workflows, passes outputs forward, and reports once at the end. This kills the you-as-glue problem — forgetting to fire step two after step one finished is how an hour disappears.

The long version: Chaining directives ↗

Do this

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Checkpoints

▸You should now see a metadirective file naming two sub-workflows in order.
▸You should now see a line saying what passes from the first to the second.
▸You should now see each input marked required or optional, with what happens when it's missing.
▸You should now see one combined summary printed at the end of a single run.

The three ways this goes wrong

The second workflow starts before the first has finished. — State the order and the handoff file in the metadirective. Step two reads only what step one saved.
A partial output looks just like a complete one. — Require a 'PARTIAL — missing X' label at the top of any output built without an optional input, and stop entirely when a required one is missing.
You still have to start each part yourself. — The metadirective must call the sub-directives by name. Run it with one command and touch nothing else.

Share what happened

Paste the metadirective's sequence, the handoff description, and the end summary from a real run.

Strip API keys, passwords, and tokens before you paste. Swap them for [KEY].

🔒 Don't paste confidential, personal-health, or payment info.