Claude Code dropped /workflows
Anthropic quietly shipped /workflows in Claude Code 2.1.147 and it might be the biggest shift in how we build multi-agent systems yet.
Until now, the pattern was:
one main agent (an LLM) decides what sub-agents to spawn, holds every intermediate result, and plans the next step.
The problem?
Every sub-agent result re-enters the orchestrator's context.
Spin up 10 agents and your main session pays a 'token tax' each time getting sloppier and more forgetful as the window fills.
/workflows replaces the LLM orchestrator with code.
You define a workflow.js file.
Sub-agent outputs flow from one phase to the next directly never touching the main context window.
What you get:
- Phases with structured schemas (predictable outputs)
- Parallel fan-out + streaming pipelines
- Conditionals, loops, and budgets in real JS
- Automatic retries on failure
- Live progress view via /workflows
- Run workflows in the background while your main session stays free
The principle is what's interesting:
use code for what code is good at (control flow), and models for what models are good at (judgment inside each step).
Update Note: It looks like they have taken it down for now
It was on the changelog earlier