Journey Runner Skill

Run a journey like a learner would, but with strict preflight, isolated state, evidence-backed verification, and scoped cleanup. The workflow must work on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Required Runner Tools

The runner itself requires:

• Node.js LTS or later
• Azure CLI
• Azure Developer CLI (azd) 1.28.0 or later
• GitHub Copilot CLI

Screenshot runs additionally require the local Playwright package and bundled Chromium under scripts/. Installation options for all operating systems are in ../../../docs/tool-installation.md.

Do not install system tools during a run. Report the missing tool, its install link, and the validation command, then stop before generating code or creating Azure resources. Project-local npm ci for the checked-in runner helpers is allowed only during explicit runner setup, not as a surprise halfway through a journey.

Inputs and Defaults

Inputs:

1. Journey path, such as journeys/smart-todo/
2. Stack choice when the journey supports multiple stacks
3. Azure subscription for deployment runs
4. Cleanup policy: after-verification or leave-running

Defaults:

Only use leave-running when the user explicitly requests it.

Step 0: Parse the Journey

Read the journey's README.md, PLAN.md when present, and every associated journey skill. Extract:

• Journey type and phases
• Prompts to send to Copilot
• Commands and generated scripts
• Required and optional host tools
• Local ports
• Deployment outputs
• Verification criteria
• Platform gates such as Xcode

Build a prerequisite list from the journey's own prerequisite section. Do not rely on a hard-coded generic list when the journey requires sqlcmd, Azure Functions Core Tools, or another host tool. AIMarket deployment images must build in ACR, and Superset must run Helm and kubectl inside Azure through AKS run command.

Before execution, print a plan containing the journey, stack, host OS/architecture, phases, required tools, optional tools, planned ports, deployment choice, and cleanup policy.

Step 1: Cross-Platform Preflight

Detect the host with Node.js process.platform, process.arch, and os.release(). Never infer the operating system from path syntax.

Run the helper from this skill directory:

node scripts/check-prerequisites.mjs --required node,az,azd,copilot,<journey-tools> --optional <optional-tools>

Journey-specific minimums:

Authentication preflight

Check Azure CLI and azd separately:

1. az account show must succeed and show the intended subscription.
2. Configure azd to reuse Azure CLI authentication with azd config set auth.useAzCliAuth true.
3. Run an azd command that reads account/environment state before creating resources.
4. If Azure CLI works but azd still reports an expired token, stop and report the mismatch. Do not assume az login fixed azd.

Architecture preflight

For Container Apps images, compare host architecture with the required linux/amd64 target.

• Require ACR cloud builds targeting linux/amd64 on every host architecture.
• Do not require Docker, Buildx, AMD64 emulation, or privileged QEMU/binfmt handlers for deployment.
• Require frontend Dockerfiles that ACR can build without host-specific BuildKit variables.

Mobile platform matrix

• Mac with Xcode: build and run the iOS app or simulator when the journey requires it.
• Windows or Linux: generate and inspect SwiftUI source, build and test the backend, deploy Azure resources, and run backend API verification. Do not claim an iOS simulator or Xcode test occurred.

Any missing required prerequisite stops the journey before Phase 1.

Step 2: Create an Isolated Workspace

Create a unique directory without shell-specific date or path expressions. Use Node.js filesystem APIs or the active agent's file tools.

Recommended shape:

<journey-runs-root>/<journey-name>-<UTC timestamp>/

Copy only PLAN.md and other explicitly required source documents. Never write generated application files into the source journey directory.

Record:

• Absolute workspace path
• Source commit
• Host OS and architecture
• Tool versions
• Selected stack
• Selected local ports
• Cleanup policy

Before starting a local server, test whether its preferred port is available. Select a supported free port rather than stopping an unrelated process.

Step 3: Invoke Copilot Correctly

Copilot CLI accepts prompt text with -p; it does not accept a --prompt-file CLI option. Do not launch background jobs with an unverified flag.

Write each prompt to a UTF-8 file, then use the cross-platform helper:

node scripts/run-copilot-prompt.mjs --prompt-file <prompt-path> --cwd <workspace> --allow-dir <repository-root> --allow-all-tools --allow-all-urls

The helper reads the file and calls copilot -p <prompt> with shell: false, avoiding Bash and PowerShell quoting differences. Non-interactive runs must explicitly opt into the tools and URLs required by the journey, and must add the repository root when the workspace is a child directory; otherwise Copilot cannot request approval and silently loses access to commands or parent skills.

Before launching a batch, run copilot --help and one harmless prompt smoke test. If that fails, do not start parallel or background journey processes.

Execute prompts sequentially within a journey. Wait for each prompt to finish, inspect the files it produced, and only then continue.

Step 4: Execute Commands Portably

Do not execute a fenced bash block verbatim in PowerShell.

Priority order:

1. Run checked-in or generated Node.js verification and lifecycle scripts.
2. Run individual CLIs with argument arrays and shell: false.
3. Use a journey-provided PowerShell or Bash variant that matches the host.
4. If only an OS-specific command exists, stop and log a documentation defect rather than inventing a translation after resources exist.

Generated azd lifecycle hooks must be CommonJS .js or .ts files referenced directly from azure.yaml; azd 1.28.0 rejects .mjs hook paths. Do not generate .sh hooks, shell: sh, chmod, shell traps, command substitution, or pipelines for required deployment behavior.

For n8n, setting WEBHOOK_URL creates a replacement Container App revision. The generated post-provision hook must poll both /healthz and / for up to five minutes and require six consecutive HTTP 200 results over 30 seconds. Do not accept one successful probe while the old revision is still deprovisioning. When uniqueString() output crosses a Bicep module boundary, constrain that parameter to exactly 13 characters.

For Superset, a clean environment may not contain SUPERSET_SECRET_KEY or SUPERSET_ADMIN_PASSWORD. The generated Node hook must create cryptographically random values when absent, persist them with azd env set, never print them, and reuse existing values on reruns before creating Kubernetes secrets.

For SmartTodo, resolve and persist AZURE_PRINCIPAL_ID, AZURE_PRINCIPAL_LOGIN, and AZURE_PRINCIPAL_TYPE before azd up; handle interactive users and service principals separately and fail before provisioning if any value is unavailable. If raw Foundry resources are generated, put the model child in a nested Bicep module that runs after account creation. Name the Azure-services SQL firewall rule AllowAzureServices or another neutral name, never one containing the reserved word WINDOWS.

For WeatherView, require only Microsoft.Web on the normal path, use Azure Static Web Apps Free with provider: Custom, map azure.yaml service web to azd-service-name: web, and normalize unsupported Static Web Apps locations to eastus2. Do not accept a generated application backend, deployment token file, GitHub workflow, storage account, persistent application container, local Docker requirement, or unrelated provider registration. The documented ARM64 recovery is a conditional exception for one approved temporary publisher.

Before deploying WeatherView, record process.platform and process.arch, but do not reject ARM64 automatically. Windows 11 on ARM can run many x64 applications through emulation. Use the README recovery only after the SWA publish phase returns the documented architecture error. A temporary x64 Azure publisher requires explicit approval, secure in-memory token handling, deletion in finally, and an exact absence check. Never install privileged emulation silently.

For development servers:

• Start a tracked background process.
• Wait for a health endpoint or explicit ready signal.
• Run verification against the actual selected port.
• Stop only the process started by this run.

Step 5: Build and Local Verification

Run the journey's build, lint, and tests before Azure deployment. Verification must assert behavior, not merely process exit.

For each check, record:

• Command or script
• Expected result
• Actual status and key output
• PASS, FAIL, or BLOCKED

If a check fails, make one targeted repair based on the real error and rerun the failing check. Never replace unavailable execution with plausible output.

Step 6: Azure Deployment

Before azd up:

1. Register only providers required by the journey.
2. Record the azd environment name, intended resource-group name, expected managed resource groups, deployment tags, and names of soft-deletable resources.
3. Read the subscription ID with az account show --query id -o tsv, then pass that value to azd env set AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID <value> without shell command substitution.
4. Validate generated Bicep and azure.yaml.
5. Confirm required host hooks and tools passed preflight.

Run azd up and capture its real output. Monitor long-running deployment processes rather than assuming they completed.

For Container Apps using ACR, verify all of these before the first private image deployment:

• System-assigned identity exists.
• AcrPull is assigned to that identity.
• The Container App registry configuration contains the ACR login server and identity: system.
• The deployed image architecture is compatible with linux/amd64.

A filtered deployment of a service declared in azure.yaml can skip project-level hooks, so run the documented hook directly afterward and repeat production verification. AIMarket's web Container App is not an azd service; rebuild it with node infra/hooks/postdeploy.js, not azd deploy web.

Step 7: Production Verification

Run the journey's portable verification script against live outputs. Do not stop at HTTP 200 when the journey requires data, authentication, images, or mutations.

Examples:

• Grafana: root HTTP 200 and /api/health reports database ok.
• n8n: /healthz HTTP 200 and owner-setup or login page renders.
• Superset: pod 1/1 Running, /health HTTP 200, login succeeds with the documented selectors.
• AIMarket: 10 products, search and chat work, production API URL is baked into the frontend, and every product image loads.
• SmartTodo: seed read, create, AI step generation, fetch, step update, delete, and absence confirmation all pass.
• WeatherView: deployed assets load, the Open-Meteo contract has exactly five aligned days, geolocation denial falls back to Seattle, city search changes location, units and theme persist after reload, and the browser reports no failed required resources.

Temporary verification records must be deleted in finally.

Step 8: Screenshot Web Frontends

The runner helper uses Playwright's bundled Chromium. Do not require the branded Chrome channel, especially on Linux ARM64.

One-time runner setup from the scripts/ directory:

npm ci
npx playwright install chromium

Linux hosts may require the administrator-approved command npx playwright install --with-deps chromium. Do not run it silently.

Capture a public page:

node scripts/capture-screenshot.mjs --url <url> --output <png> --fail-on-resource-errors true

For Superset login, additionally pass:

--username admin --password <secret> --username-selector #username --password-selector #password --submit-selector "input[type='submit'], button[type='submit']" --success-path /superset/welcome/

Never print credentials. Visually inspect the saved image and review failed document, script, XHR, fetch, and image requests. A broken product image fails AIMarket acceptance.

Skip screenshots for API-only journeys and for iOS on Windows/Linux. A mobile screenshot is only required on a suitable Mac/Xcode host.

Step 9: Scoped Cleanup

With the default after-verification policy, preserve reports and screenshots, then run:

azd down --force --purge --no-prompt

Cleanup must use the ownership inventory recorded before deployment. Delete only the exact azd environment, resource groups, managed resource groups, and soft-deleted resources created by this run.

Verify cleanup with live Azure queries:

• Every recorded resource group returns not found.
• No active resource remains with the run's azd-env-name tag.
• Any purged soft-deletable resource is absent.
• Unrelated resource groups and deployments remain untouched.

If cleanup fails, report the exact remaining resource IDs. Never broaden deletion scope to make the report look clean.

Step 10: Report

Write run-report.md and include:

• Journey, stack, host OS/architecture, and tool versions
• Source commit and workspace path
• Phase results with real pass/fail counts
• Deployment environment and owned resource groups
• Verification requests and actual outcomes
• Screenshot paths and browser resource failures
• Cleanup policy and verification result
• Remaining blockers or platform limitations

Write sanitized journey defects to that journey's issues.md. Keep shared orchestration defects in the runner issue section. Never include credentials, tokens, cookies, connection strings, SQL passwords, or authorization headers.

Runner-Compatible Journey Checklist

• The journey prerequisite section lists every required host tool and links to OS-specific installation options.
• Commands work on Windows, Mac, and Linux, or clearly state a platform gate.
• Required hooks are JavaScript/TypeScript, not shell-specific scripts.
• Verification uses portable scripts with deterministic exit codes.
• Local ports are configurable.
• ARM64 and AMD64 image behavior is explicit.
• Browser checks use bundled Chromium rather than a branded Chrome channel.
• Dynamic values come from azd env get-value without shell substitution.
• Cleanup can identify and verify only the resources owned by the run.