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Composable Workflows & Custom Agents

Build and automate with reusable skills and workflow packs

Overview

Vault Copilot enables you to build, share, and automate workflows using reusable skills, custom agents, and extension modules. Rather than repeating the same instructions to the AI, you can package domain-specific knowledge into composable units that enhance Copilot’s capabilities.

Key Concepts

Agent Skills

Skills are reusable workflows that teach the AI how to perform specific tasks:

  • Task management: Create, track, and organize tasks
  • Meeting notes: Generate structured meeting summaries
  • Project tracking: Monitor project status and milestones
  • Documentation: Auto-generate technical documentation
  • Research: Compile and synthesize research notes

Custom Agents

Custom agents are specialized AI personas with:

  • Specific instructions: Tailored system prompts for domain tasks
  • Pre-loaded skills: Access to relevant workflow skills
  • Focused behavior: Optimized for particular use cases

Workflow Packs

Collections of related skills and templates:

  • Engineering workflows: Sprint planning, retrospectives, ADRs
  • Content workflows: Blog post drafts, social media, newsletters
  • Academic workflows: Literature reviews, citation management
  • Business workflows: OKRs, project charters, status reports

How Skills Work

Skills are defined in YAML or Markdown with:

name: weekly-review
description: Generate a weekly review summary
instructions: |
  1. Search for notes created this week
  2. Extract key accomplishments and decisions
  3. Identify open tasks and blockers
  4. Create summary note with sections:
     - Accomplishments
     - Decisions Made
     - Open Tasks
     - Next Week Focus
tools:
  - search_vault
  - read_note
  - create_note
  - update_frontmatter

The AI uses these instructions and available tools to execute the workflow.

Creating Custom Agents

Define agents with specific roles:

name: meeting-notes-agent
description: AI assistant specialized in meeting documentation
system_message: |
  You are a meeting notes expert. When asked to document meetings:
  - Use structured templates
  - Extract action items with owners
  - Link to related projects
  - Follow company meeting note standards
skills:
  - meeting-notes-template
  - task-extraction
  - project-linking

Extension Marketplace

Discover and install pre-built workflows:

  • Browse catalog: Explore community-contributed extensions
  • One-click install: Add skills and agents to your vault
  • Automatic updates: Keep extensions up to date
  • Version control: Roll back if needed
  • Daily Journal Agent: Automated daily notes with prompts
  • Weekly Review Agent: Structured weekly reflections
  • Meeting Notes Agent: Standardized meeting documentation
  • Task Management Prompts: GTD and task workflow helpers

Building Your Own Workflows

Step 1: Identify Repetitive Tasks

Look for tasks you perform regularly:

  • Creating specific note types
  • Updating project statuses
  • Compiling information from multiple notes
  • Generating reports or summaries

Step 2: Define the Workflow

Break down the task into steps:

  1. What information is needed?
  2. What operations should be performed?
  3. What format should the output have?

Step 3: Package as a Skill

Create a skill YAML file:

name: project-status-update
description: Update project status across all active projects
instructions: |
  For each project tagged #project/active:
  1. Read the project note
  2. Check for recent updates
  3. Update status field in frontmatter
  4. Create summary in project overview note

Step 4: Test and Refine

  • Run the workflow on test data
  • Adjust instructions based on results
  • Add error handling
  • Document usage and examples

Step 5: Share (Optional)

Submit to the Extension Marketplace:

  • Package with metadata
  • Include examples and documentation
  • Test on fresh vault
  • Submit PR to extension catalog

Example Workflows

Engineering Runbook

"Create a runbook for our deployment process including steps, rollback procedures, and contact info"

Literature Review

"Review all notes tagged #research/papers and create a summary organized by theme"

Sprint Planning

"Generate sprint planning notes for next sprint with goals from roadmap and team capacity"

Benefits

  • Consistency: Ensure workflows are followed correctly every time
  • Reusability: Build once, use many times
  • Collaboration: Share workflows with your team
  • Efficiency: Automate repetitive documentation tasks
  • Knowledge capture: Package expertise into executable workflows

Best Practices

  1. Start simple: Begin with single-step workflows
  2. Be specific: Clear instructions produce better results
  3. Test thoroughly: Validate on real data before relying on workflows
  4. Version control: Track changes to your workflow definitions
  5. Document well: Explain purpose, usage, and examples
  6. Fail gracefully: Handle edge cases and errors

Getting Started

  1. Browse the Extension Marketplace for pre-built workflows
  2. Install a few skills to understand the pattern
  3. Identify a repetitive task in your workflow
  4. Create a simple skill YAML file
  5. Test and refine the workflow
  6. Share with the community if helpful