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variants

Coding & development

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Updated 10-15 22:14

About this skill

WT Variants

Use this skill when one wt problem is clear enough to implement, but the best approach is uncertain and worth comparing through multiple agent runs.

Model

variant is skill shorthand only. Do not add a persisted variant concept to wt state.

Object model and TaskRun semantics: see ../autopilot/references/task-lifecycle.md. Variants are represented as:

  • one shared local TaskDocument
  • one mode = "matrix" workflow
  • one named profile per variant
  • one profile-specific TaskRun/worktree/branch per variant

The workflow TOML stores profiles = [...] and [[tasks.runs]] mappings. The variant instructions live in <repo-root>/.wt/config/profiles/<name>/profile.toml or prompts/workflow.append.md, not in the workflow file.

Boundaries

Phase Where
problem still vague ready idea capture
prepare variants + matrix workflow this skill
launch, monitor, PR review, bot feedback, complete work
land selected branch land

Do not use variants for dependent slices. If tasks depend on each other, use a stack. If tasks are independent but not competing answers to the same question, use batch or separate workflows.

First Read

Inspect local truth before writing variant artifacts:

git status --short --branch
find . -maxdepth 2 -name AGENTS.md -o -name AGENTS.override.md
sed -n '90,115p' docs/consistency.md 2>/dev/null || true
repo_root="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
find "$repo_root/.wt/execution/tasks" "$repo_root/.wt/execution/workflows" -maxdepth 1 -type f 2>/dev/null | sort
wt config show 2>/dev/null || ./target/debug/wt config show 2>/dev/null || true

Preparation

Capture the experiment shape before creating files:

  • common problem and acceptance checks
  • 2-4 variant hypotheses
  • evaluation criteria: correctness, diff size, test coverage, risk, review feedback, and fit with docs/consistency.md
  • non-goals and risks

Prefer focused variants that test genuinely different approaches. Do not create three profiles that only reword the same instruction.

TaskDocument

Create one shared task in <repo-root>/.wt/execution/tasks/<key>.toml.

The task body should include:

  • the common goal
  • known evidence
  • files or modules to inspect
  • acceptance checks
  • an instruction that each profile should follow its own hypothesis
  • the standard Agent Completion Report format

Do not put profile-specific instructions in the TaskDocument except to say that each run must follow its selected profile.

Profiles

Create one profile per variant under <repo-root>/.wt/config/profiles/<profile>/profile.toml.

Each matrix profile must include an explicit [agent] section copied from the current effective config or chosen deliberately for the run. Do not rely on a prompt-only profile overlay; it can accidentally resolve to agent.cli = "none".

Use [agent.prompt.append].workflow for the variant-specific hypothesis:

[agent]
cli = "codex"
args = ["--yolo"]
timeout = 30
send_after = 2

[agent.prompt.append]
workflow = ["""Matrix hypothesis: prefer the smallest sufficient change.

Focus on ...
Report whether this hypothesis is sufficient, weaker than another approach, or
too broad for the observed bug.
"""]

Keep profile names short and hypothesis-shaped, for example:

  • <task>-minimal
  • <task>-gate
  • <task>-parser
  • <task>-model

Avoid default as a profile name.

Validate Profiles

Before preparing the workflow, verify every profile resolves to an agent and the intended workflow prompt:

for profile in <profiles>; do
  ./target/debug/wt config show --profile "$profile"
done

Check that each output includes:

  • [agent]
  • cli = "..."
  • the profile-specific workflow = [...] prompt

Prepare Workflow

Use a matrix workflow with exactly one task and the selected profile list:

./target/debug/wt workflow task \
  --mode matrix \
  --profiles <profile-a>,<profile-b>,<profile-c> \
  --base <base> \
  --pr draft \
  --title "<comparison objective>" \
  <task-key>

Then verify:

./target/debug/wt workflow show <workflow-id>
sed -n '1,180p' "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.wt/execution/workflows/<workflow-id>.toml"

The workflow should store the profile names and one [[tasks.runs]] entry per profile. It should not store variant prose or cmux runtime coordinates.

Launch And Coordinate

Launch with work or the explicit command:

./target/debug/wt run workflow <workflow-id> --jobs <n>

If --jobs does not fan out matrix profiles concurrently, record that as a workflow runtime issue; do not reinterpret matrix as sequential by definition.

During coordination:

  • inspect each worktree and PR directly
  • verify checks and review threads
  • wait for bot reviews to finish before resolving comments or landing
  • compare the actual diffs, not only completion reports
  • prefer the smallest sufficient implementation
  • freely borrow tests or evidence from broader variants when useful
  • reject variants that broaden the model more than the problem requires

Decision Record

When all useful variants have reported, summarize:

  • chosen branch or PR
  • rejected branches and why
  • useful tests or ideas to cherry-pick
  • checks and review state
  • unresolved risks
  • exact work / land next step

Do not mark workflow runs complete or land branches until the selected work has been reviewed against the evidence above.