Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Dynamic workflows are in research preview. They require Claude Code v2.1.154 or later and are available on all paid plans, with Anthropic API access, and on Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI, and Microsoft Foundry. On Pro, turn them on from the Dynamic workflows row in
/config.- Decide when to use a workflow instead of subagents or skills
- Run a bundled workflow with
/deep-research - Have Claude write a workflow for your task and save it
- Understand how a workflow runs and manage runs
When to use a workflow
Subagents, skills, and workflows can all run a multi-step task. The difference is who holds the plan:| Subagents | Skills | Workflows | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A worker Claude spawns | Instructions Claude follows | A script the runtime executes |
| Who decides what runs next | Claude, turn by turn | Claude, following the prompt | The script |
| Where intermediate results live | Claude’s context window | Claude’s context window | Script variables |
| What’s repeatable | The worker definition | The instructions | The orchestration itself |
| Scale | A few delegated tasks per turn | Same as subagents | Dozens to hundreds of agents per run |
| Interruption | Restarts the turn | Restarts the turn | Resumable in the same session |
Run a bundled workflow
The quickest way to see a workflow in action is to run/deep-research, the built-in workflow Claude Code includes for investigating a question across many sources. You’ll see agents work through a set of phases in the background while your session stays free, and get one report at the end instead of a turn-by-turn transcript.
Run the workflow
Run
/deep-research with a question you want investigated. It fans out web searches across several angles, fetches and cross-checks the sources it finds, and synthesizes a cited report.Allow workflows
Claude Code asks whether to allow the workflow. Select Yes to continue. The exact prompt depends on your permission mode. See Approve the plan before it runs for the per-mode options.
Watch progress
The run starts in the background. Run The view shows each phase with its agent count, token total, and elapsed time. Drill into any phase to see its agents and what each one found. See Watch the run for the full set of controls.You can also watch from the task panel below the input box: a one-line progress summary appears there while the run is going. Press the down arrow to focus it, then Enter to expand.
/workflows, use the arrow keys to select the run, and press Enter to open its progress view:Bundled workflows
Claude Code includes/deep-research as a built-in workflow:
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/deep-research <question> | Fans out web searches on a question across several angles, fetches and cross-checks the sources it finds, votes on each claim, and returns a cited report with claims that didn’t survive cross-checking filtered out. Requires the WebSearch tool to be available |
/ autocomplete alongside the bundled ones.
Watch the run
Workflows run in the background, so the session stays responsive while agents work. Run/workflows at any time to list running and completed workflows, then select one to open its progress view.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
↑ / ↓ | Select a phase or agent |
Enter or → | Drill into the selected phase, then into an agent to read its prompt, recent tool calls, and result |
Esc | Back out one level |
j / k | Scroll within the agent detail when it overflows |
p | Pause or resume the run |
x | Stop the selected agent, or stop the whole workflow when focus is on the run |
r | Restart the selected running agent |
s | Save the run’s script as a command |
Have Claude write a workflow
You can have Claude write a workflow for your task in two ways:- Ask for a workflow in your prompt with the word
workflow, and Claude writes one for the task. - Let Claude decide with ultracode: set
/effort ultracodeand Claude plans a workflow for every substantive task in the session.
/deep-research, or one you’ve saved.
Ask for a workflow in your prompt
To run a single task as a workflow without changing the session’s effort level, include the wordworkflow anywhere in your prompt.
alt+w to ignore it for this prompt.
Let Claude decide with ultracode
Ultracode is a Claude Code setting that combinesxhigh reasoning effort with automatic workflow orchestration. With it on, Claude plans a workflow for each substantive task instead of waiting for you to ask.
/effort high when you return to routine work. It’s available on models that support xhigh effort; on other models the /effort menu doesn’t offer it.
Approve the plan before it runs
In the CLI, the per-run prompt shows the planned phases and these options:- Yes, run it: start the run
- Yes, and don’t ask again for
<name>in<path>: start, and skip this prompt for this workflow in this project from now on - View raw script: read the script before deciding
- No: cancel
Ctrl+G opens the script in your editor. Tab lets you adjust the prompt before the run starts.
Whether you see this prompt depends on your permission mode:
| Permission mode | When you’re prompted |
|---|---|
| Default, accept edits | Every run, unless you’ve selected Yes, and don’t ask again for that workflow in this project |
| Auto | First launch only. Any Yes records consent in your user settings, and later launches start without prompting. Skipped entirely when ultracode is on |
Bypass permissions, claude -p, Agent SDK | Never. The run starts immediately |
acceptEdits mode and inherit your tool allowlist, regardless of your session’s mode. File edits are auto-approved.
Shell commands, web fetches, and MCP tools that aren’t in your allowlist can still prompt you mid-run. To avoid this on a long run, add the commands the agents need to your allowlist before starting.
In claude -p and the Agent SDK there is no one to prompt, so tool calls follow your configured permission rules without interactive confirmation.
Save the workflow for reuse
When Claude writes a workflow for a task you’ll repeat, you can save that run’s script as a command. A process like a review you run on every branch then runs the same orchestration each time. Run/workflows, select the run you want to keep, and press s. In the save dialog, Tab toggles between the two save locations:
.claude/workflows/in your project: shared with everyone who clones the repo~/.claude/workflows/in your home directory: available in every project, visible only to you
/<name> in future sessions from either location.
If a project workflow and a personal workflow share a name, the project one runs.
How a workflow runs
The workflow runtime executes the script in an isolated environment, separate from your conversation. Intermediate results stay in script variables instead of landing in Claude’s context. The runtime tracks each agent’s result as the run progresses, which is what makes a run resumable within the same session.Behavior and limits
The runtime applies the following constraints:| Constraint | Why |
|---|---|
| No mid-run user input | Only agent permission prompts can pause a run. For sign-off between stages, run each stage as its own workflow |
| No direct filesystem or shell access from the workflow itself | Agents read, write, and run commands. The script coordinates the agents |
| Up to 16 concurrent agents, fewer on machines with limited CPU cores | Bounds local resource use |
| 1,000 agents total per run | Prevents runaway loops |
Manage runs
Once a run starts, you manage it from the/workflows view, or by expanding its progress line in the task panel below the input box.
Resume after a pause
If you stop a run, you can resume it: agents that already completed return their cached results, and the rest run live. Resume a paused run from/workflows by selecting it and pressing p, or ask Claude to relaunch the workflow with the same script.
Resume works within the same Claude Code session. If you exit Claude Code while a workflow is running, the next session starts the workflow fresh.
Cost
A workflow spawns many agents, so a single run can use meaningfully more tokens than working through the same task in conversation. Runs count toward your plan’s usage and rate limits like any other session. You can stop a running workflow from/workflows at any time without losing completed work.
Every agent in a workflow uses your session’s model unless the script routes a stage to a different one. To control the model cost:
- Check
/modelbefore a large run if you usually switch to a smaller model for routine work - Ask Claude to use a smaller model for stages that don’t need the strongest one when you describe the task
Turn workflows off
Workflows are available in the CLI, the Desktop app, the IDE extensions, non-interactive mode withclaude -p, and the Agent SDK. The same disable settings apply on every surface.
To turn workflows off for yourself:
- Toggle Dynamic workflows off in
/config. Persists across sessions. - Set
"disableWorkflows": truein~/.claude/settings.json. Persists across sessions. - Set
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_WORKFLOWS=1. Read at startup, so it applies wherever you set it.
"disableWorkflows": true in managed settings, or use the toggle on the Claude Code admin settings page.
When workflows are disabled, the bundled workflow commands are unavailable, the workflow keyword no longer triggers a run, and ultracode is removed from the /effort menu.
Related resources
- Run agents in parallel: compare subagents, agent view, agent teams, and workflows
- Create custom subagents: the worker primitive workflows orchestrate
- Manage costs: how multi-agent runs count toward usage limits