the deterministic authoring path
api-upload-and-create
Agents do not invent structure — they instantiate it. Each skeleton below is a complete, valid workflow with # SLOT: markers at every decision point: route your intent, copy, fill the slots, nika check, done. Machines read the same pack at /templates/catalog.json; the originals live in the spec, conformance- gated on every push.
- 10skeletonsroute · copy · fill
- 94slot markersthe only blanks
- validevery fileconformance-gated
- sha256every copypinned, re-proven
take data, produce words, save them
- deterministic gather
- one model job
- explicit persist
watch X, act when Y
- jq extraction
- CEL skip-gate
- often zero model calls
do this for EVERY item
- runtime collection
- the full leash (max_parallel
- fail_fast
- retry)
only what changed since last run · survive bad input
- state read→diff→write
- `on_error: recover:` quarantine
research / review / open-ended
- plan-then-execute
- default-deny tools
- budgets
- typed final message
anything irreversible (deploy · send · publish)
- parallel gates
- assert
- `nika:prompt` GO
- `on_finally` record
understand a site (domain · theme · assets) from a URL
- fetch `traverse:` crawl
- one typed infer
- explicit persist
- zero exec
generate image/audio assets from a brief
- `nika:image_generate`
- `nika:jq` manifest
- local/mock provider first
call a product API: upload a file, then create from it
- fetch `multipart:` upload
- masked secrets header
- mode/jq extraction
api-upload-and-create.nika.yaml# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://nika.sh/spec/v1/workflow.schema.json## TEMPLATE · api-upload-and-create · upload a file → create a resource from it.# The shape for « call a product API: multipart upload, then a JSON create ».## Instantiate (agents · deterministic) ·# 1. Copy this file · rename per the job (kebab-case).# 2. Fill every `# SLOT:` line · delete slot comments when filled.# 3. Validate · `nika check <file>` (or conformance/runner.py validate).# 4. Repair using the error's fix line · re-check until valid.# Native-first · the upload is fetch `multipart:` (file parts ride the# permits.fs READ boundary); auth rides a masked secrets header; the# create is fetch JSON; extraction is the mode/jq pairing. Zero exec ·# no upload helper script.nika: v1workflow: api-upload-and-create-template # SLOT: kebab-case workflow iddescription: "upload → create → result" # SLOT: one honest sentencemodel: ollama/qwen3.5:4b # SLOT: provider/model · local · zero keyvars: api_base: "https://api.example.com" # SLOT: the product API base asset_path: "./out/assets/asset-1.png" # SLOT: the file to uploadsecrets: API_KEY: source: env key: EXAMPLE_API_KEY # SLOT: the OS env var holding the key egress: - to: "nika:fetch" # the send · default-deny otherwise - to: "outputs" # the return value derives from the authed responsetasks: - id: upload invoke: tool: "nika:fetch" args: url: "${{ vars.api_base }}/upload" # SLOT: the upload endpoint method: POST headers: x-api-key: "${{ secrets.API_KEY }}" # SLOT: the auth header name multipart: - { name: file, path: "${{ vars.asset_path }}" } # SLOT: extra text fields · { name: directory, value: "assets" } mode: jq jq: ".url" # SLOT: where the response carries the asset URL - id: create depends_on: [upload] invoke: tool: "nika:fetch" args: url: "${{ vars.api_base }}/create" # SLOT: the create endpoint method: POST headers: x-api-key: "${{ secrets.API_KEY }}" body: # SLOT: the create payload (objects auto-JSON) asset_url: "${{ tasks.upload.output }}" mode: jq jq: "{ id: .id, url: .url }" # SLOT: the fields downstream needsoutputs: result: ${{ tasks.create.output }} # SLOT: the callable contractsha256 ca872e2ac9f1dd2f… · conformance-gated upstream · source
read a system's state (docker · kubectl · gh), explain it, keep the report
- argv-array exec (provable allowlist)
- parallel reads
- exec ledger
- one artifact
The protocol is mechanical: route with the phrases above, instantiate, fill the slots, then nika check teaches anything you missed before anything runs. Try one in the playground, or install and start from a real file. Read the spec →