---

name: taskflow-inbox-triage description: Example TaskFlow authoring pattern for inbox triage. Use when messages need different treatment based on intent, with some routes notifying immediately, some waiting on outside answers, and others rolling into a later summary. metadata: { "openclaw": { "emoji": "📥" } }

TaskFlow inbox triage

This is a concrete example of how to think about TaskFlow without turning the core runtime into a DSL.

Goal

Triage inbox items with one owner flow:

• business → post to Slack and wait for reply
• personal → notify the owner now
• everything else → keep for end-of-day summary

Pattern

1. Create one flow for the inbox batch.
2. Run one detached task to classify new items.
3. Persist the routing state in stateJson.
4. Move to waiting only when an outside reply is required.
5. Resume the flow when classification or human input completes.
6. Finish when the batch has been routed.

Suggested stateJson shape

{
  "businessThreads": [],
  "personalItems": [],
  "eodSummary": []
}

Suggested waitJson when blocked on Slack:

{
  "kind": "reply",
  "channel": "slack",
  "threadKey": "slack:thread-1"
}

Minimal runtime calls

const taskFlow = api.runtime.tasks.flow.fromToolContext(ctx);

const created = taskFlow.createManaged({
  controllerId: "my-plugin/inbox-triage",
  goal: "triage inbox",
  currentStep: "classify",
  stateJson: {
    businessThreads: [],
    personalItems: [],
    eodSummary: [],
  },
});

const child = taskFlow.runTask({
  flowId: created.flowId,
  runtime: "acp",
  childSessionKey: "agent:main:subagent:classifier",
  task: "Classify inbox messages",
  status: "running",
  startedAt: Date.now(),
  lastEventAt: Date.now(),
});

if (!child.created) {
  throw new Error(child.reason);
}

const waiting = taskFlow.setWaiting({
  flowId: created.flowId,
  expectedRevision: created.revision,
  currentStep: "await_business_reply",
  stateJson: {
    businessThreads: ["slack:thread-1"],
    personalItems: [],
    eodSummary: [],
  },
  waitJson: {
    kind: "reply",
    channel: "slack",
    threadKey: "slack:thread-1",
  },
});

if (!waiting.applied) {
  throw new Error(waiting.code);
}

const resumed = taskFlow.resume({
  flowId: waiting.flow.flowId,
  expectedRevision: waiting.flow.revision,
  status: "running",
  currentStep: "route_items",
  stateJson: waiting.flow.stateJson,
});

if (!resumed.applied) {
  throw new Error(resumed.code);
}

taskFlow.finish({
  flowId: resumed.flow.flowId,
  expectedRevision: resumed.flow.revision,
  stateJson: resumed.flow.stateJson,
});

Related example

• skills/taskflow/examples/inbox-triage.lobster