Chain

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 4e163a7a8095 · 19 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publishersharpdeveye GitHub userOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source foldersharpdeveye/maestro/source/skills/chainThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict4e163a7a8095A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 173 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Use when the workflow needs multi-step processing with sequential, parallel, or conditional tool compositions and proper data flow.

---
name: chain
description: "Use when the workflow needs multi-step processing with sequential, parallel, or conditional tool compositions and proper data flow."
argument-hint: "[pipeline description]"
category: enhancement
version: 2.0.0
user-invocable: true
---

## MANDATORY PREPARATION

Invoke /agent-workflow — it contains workflow principles, anti-patterns, and the **Context Gathering Protocol**. Follow the protocol before proceeding — if no workflow context exists yet, you MUST run /teach-maestro first.
Consult the tool-orchestration reference in the agent-workflow skill for composition patterns and error handling.


---

Design tool chains that do complex work reliably. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

### Chain Patterns

**Sequential**: A → B → C (each step depends on the previous)
**Parallel**: [A, B, C] → Merge (independent steps run simultaneously)
**Conditional**: A → (if X then B, else C) → D (branching based on results)
**Iterative**: A → Check → (if not done) → A again (loop until convergence)

### Chain Design Process

For each chain, define:

```markdown
## Chain: [Name]

### Steps
1. [Tool A] — [what it does] — Input: [schema] — Output: [schema]
2. [Tool B] — [what it does] — Input: [output of step 1] — Output: [schema]
3. [Tool C] — [what it does] — Input: [output of step 2] — Output: [schema]

### Data Flow
Step 1 output.field_a → Step 2 input.source_data
Step 2 output.results → Step 3 input.items

### Error Handling
Step 1 failure → [retry 3x, then return error]
Step 2 failure → [return partial results from step 1]
Step 3 failure → [retry with simplified input]

### Constraints
Max total execution time: 60s
Max retries per step: 3
```

### Chain Validation

- [ ] Data schemas are compatible between connected steps
- [ ] Every step has error handling
- [ ] Total chain timeout is set
- [ ] Maximum iteration count is set for loops
- [ ] Partial results are handled (what if step 2 of 4 fails?)

### Recommended Next Step

After building the chain, run `/fortify` to add error handling at each step, then `/evaluate` to test the full pipeline.

**NEVER**:

- Build chains without defining data contracts between steps
- Create loops without maximum iteration counts
- Skip error handling at any step (the chain breaks at the weakest link)
- Assume output of step N is always valid input for step N+1
- Build long chains when a single prompt could handle the task

Excerpt, first 2,426 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/sharpdeveye/maestro
git -C maestro checkout 4e163a7a8095

Works in

1. 2026-10-19
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 4e163a7a8095

Questions about Chain

• github.com/sharpdeveye/maestro/tree/main/source/skills/chain — the audited source at commit 4e163a7a8095 and every finding aboveObserved · 19 Oct 2026

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