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Switch workflow lanes (FAST / STANDARD / DEEP)

Lane selection governs how many phases run (spec writing, analyser, QA-only passes, cross-cutting review lenses, etc.) and therefore token spend (/guides/team-setup/). The concrete markdown lives in parallel workflow files such as:

  • workflows/job-fast/workflow.md
  • workflows/job/workflow.md (STANDARD)
  • workflows/job-deep/workflow.md

Coro plan mode on New Run also picks an initial lane when shaping the brief (lightest lane that fits — STANDARD by default). That choice is advisory; the Planner may still call switch_workflow after inspecting the repo. See /guides/coro-plan-mode/.

switch_workflow tool

The Planner (and occasionally Coder when scope explodes) calls switch_workflow with:

  • workflowPath — destination workflow relative path (must exist in some intelligence layer; resolver validates presence, not an allowlist).
  • reason — human-auditable string stored in job.workflowPathHistory[].
  • Optional toPhase when you must land on a specific entry phase.

The tool is a first-class MCP primitive — other automation (convert_to_campaign, reroute hooks) should funnel through it so history stays coherent (/reference/workflow-extension/).

Risk heuristics (STANDARD baseline)

From the base Planner agent’s matrix (paraphrased — always read your tenant copy):

SignalFAST biasDEEP bias
Change touches public API / schema / cross-service contractRequire all “small change” checksAny single strong signal can justify DEEP
Migration or durable state changeUsually not FASTUsually DEEP (pair with db-migrations-safe skill)
Observability / security sensitive code pathsDowngrade only with evidencePrefer DEEP when uncertain
Single repo, single reviewer, ≤ few filesCandidate for FAST—

FAST requires all FAST signals; any DEEP signal moves you to DEEP (or at least STANDARD). When in doubt, escalate via add_insight so future jobs learn the pattern (/guides/manage-memory/).

Lane-specific agent behaviour

Examples:

  • Code reviewer skips heavy L3/L4 lenses on FAST but runs full cross-cutting review on STANDARD/DEEP (/guides/add-skill/ for cross-cutting-review).
  • DEEP introduces dedicated Analyser + QA phases separating design notes from verification.

Custom lanes

Tenants may ship additional workflows/job-*.md files (for example compliance-heavy industries). So long as switch_workflow can resolve the path, the runner executes it — document your local naming scheme in tenant memory so operators know which lane id maps to which file.