Windsurf Core Workflow B — Workflows & Memories

Overview

Windsurf Workflows are reusable, multi-step automation sequences saved as markdown files and invoked via slash commands in Cascade. Memories are persistent facts that survive across sessions. Together they eliminate repetitive prompting and maintain project context.

Prerequisites

• Windsurf with Cascade enabled
• Understanding of windsurf-core-workflow-a (Write mode)
• .windsurfrules configured

Instructions

Step 1: Create a Workflow File

Workflows live in .windsurf/workflows/ as markdown files. Each becomes a slash command.

<!-- .windsurf/workflows/new-feature.md -->
---
name: new-feature
description: Scaffold a new feature with service, route, and tests
---

## Steps

1. Ask the user for: feature name, description, and which database tables are involved
2. Create `src/services/${feature-name}.ts` with:
   - CRUD methods using Result<T,E> pattern
   - Input validation with zod schemas
   - JSDoc comments on all public methods
3. Create `src/routes/${feature-name}.ts` with:
   - GET, POST, PUT, DELETE route handlers
   - Request validation middleware
   - Consistent error response format
4. Create `tests/services/${feature-name}.test.ts` with:
   - Unit tests for all service methods
   - Both success and error paths
5. Run `npx vitest run tests/services/${feature-name}.test.ts`
6. If tests pass, report success. If not, fix and re-run.

Invoke in Cascade: /new-feature

Step 2: Build a Deployment Workflow

<!-- .windsurf/workflows/deploy.md -->
---
name: deploy
description: Deploy to staging with pre-flight checks
---

## Pre-Flight Checks
1. Run `npm run typecheck` — stop if errors
2. Run `npm test` — stop if failures
3. Run `npm run lint` — stop if errors
4. Check `git status` — stop if uncommitted changes

## Deploy
5. Run `git push origin HEAD`
6. Run `npm run build`
7. Run `npm run deploy:staging`

## Post-Deploy
8. Run `curl -sf https://staging.example.com/health | jq .`
9. Report deploy status with health check result

Step 3: Enable Turbo Annotations in Workflows

Add turbo annotations to auto-execute specific commands:

<!-- In any workflow step -->
Run the following command:

// turbo

npm run typecheck

Or auto-run all commands in the workflow:

// turbo-all

Turbo annotations respect allow/deny lists configured in settings.

### Step 4: Manage Cascade Memories

Memories persist facts across sessions. They are auto-generated or manually created.

**Create a memory manually:**

Cascade prompt: "Remember that our API uses snake_case for JSON

field names but camelCase for TypeScript interfaces. We transform

with a middleware layer in src/middleware/transform.ts."

**View and manage memories:**
- Click Customizations icon (top-right of Cascade panel)
- Navigate to Memories tab
- Delete outdated memories
- Memories are stored at `~/.codeium/windsurf/memories/`

**Key difference: Rules vs Memories:**

| Aspect | Rules | Memories |
|--------|-------|---------|
| Created by | Developer | Cascade (auto) or developer |
| Stored in | `.windsurfrules` or `.windsurf/rules/` | `~/.codeium/windsurf/memories/` |
| Scope | Workspace or global | Workspace-specific |
| Version controlled | Yes (committed to git) | No (local only) |
| Reliability | High (always applied) | Medium (model decides relevance) |
| Best for | Standards, patterns | Decisions, discoveries |

### Step 5: Chain Workflows Together

Reference other workflows within a workflow:

name: release

description: Full release workflow

1. Run /deploy workflow first
2. After staging deploy succeeds, ask user to confirm production deploy
3. Run npm run deploy:production
4. Create GitHub release: gh release create v$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")
5. Post to #releases channel via webhook

## Error Handling
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| Slash command not found | File not in `.windsurf/workflows/` | Check file location and name |
| Workflow skips steps | Ambiguous instructions | Use numbered steps with clear conditions |
| Memory not recalled | Low relevance score | Convert important memories to Rules |
| Turbo runs dangerous command | Not in deny list | Add to `cascadeCommandsDenyList` |
| Workflow too long | Over context limit | Split into smaller, composable workflows |

## Examples

### PR Review Workflow

name: review-pr

description: Review current PR changes

1. Run git diff main...HEAD --stat to see changed files
2. For each changed file, analyze the diff for:

• Missing error handling
• Missing tests for new code
• Security issues (hardcoded secrets, SQL injection)
• Performance concerns (N+1 queries, missing indexes)

1. Summarize findings as a bulleted list

### Code Quality Workflow

name: quality-check

description: Run full code quality suite

// turbo-all

1. Run npm run typecheck
2. Run npm run lint
3. Run npm test -- --coverage
4. Report: types, lint issues, test results, coverage percentage

## Resources
- [Windsurf Workflows](https://docs.windsurf.com/windsurf/cascade/workflows)
- [Cascade Memories](https://docs.windsurf.com/windsurf/cascade/memories)
- [Workflow Samples](https://github.com/Windsurf-Samples/cascade-customizations-catalog)

## Next Steps
For common errors, see `windsurf-common-errors`.