feat: add user skill — CLI guide with quick start and typical workflows

Adds 'uwf skill user' command for agents/humans using the uwf CLI.
Covers setup, workflow management, thread lifecycle, step operations,
CAS queries, logging, and global options with a Quick Start guide.

Refs #538

packages/cli-workflow/src/__tests__/skill.test.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
   cmdSkillCli,
   cmdSkillList,
   cmdSkillModerator,
+  cmdSkillUser,
   cmdSkillYaml,
 } from "../commands/skill.js";
 
@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@ describe("skill commands", () => {
     expect(result).toContain("yaml");
     expect(result).toContain("moderator");
     expect(result).toContain("actor");
+    expect(result).toContain("user");
     for (const name of result) {
       expect(name).toMatch(/^\S+$/);
     }
@@ -72,6 +74,16 @@ describe("skill commands", () => {
     expect(result.length).toBeGreaterThan(200);
   });
 
+  test("skill user returns non-empty markdown string", () => {
+    const result = cmdSkillUser();
+    expect(typeof result).toBe("string");
+    expect(result).toContain("uwf");
+    expect(result).toContain("thread");
+    expect(result).toContain("workflow");
+    expect(result).toContain("Quick Start");
+    expect(result.length).toBeGreaterThan(500);
+  });
+
   test("skill help subcommand is suppressed", () => {
     const output = execFileSync("bun", ["src/cli.ts", "skill", "--help"], {
       cwd: join(__dirname, "..", ".."),
@@ -84,6 +96,7 @@ describe("skill commands", () => {
     expect(output).toContain("yaml");
     expect(output).toContain("moderator");
     expect(output).toContain("actor");
+    expect(output).toContain("user");
     expect(output).toContain("list");
   });
 });

packages/cli-workflow/src/cli.ts

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import {
   cmdSkillCli,
   cmdSkillList,
   cmdSkillModerator,
+  cmdSkillUser,
   cmdSkillYaml,
 } from "./commands/skill.js";
 import { cmdStepFork, cmdStepList, cmdStepRead, cmdStepShow } from "./commands/step.js";
@@ -518,6 +519,13 @@ skill
     console.log(cmdSkillModerator());
   });
 
+skill
+  .command("user")
+  .description("Print the user reference (CLI guide + typical workflows)")
+  .action(() => {
+    console.log(cmdSkillUser());
+  });
+
 skill
   .command("list")
   .description("List all available skill names")

packages/cli-workflow/src/commands/skill.ts

@@ -3,10 +3,11 @@ export {
   generateArchitectureReference as cmdSkillArchitecture,
   generateCliReference as cmdSkillCli,
   generateModeratorReference as cmdSkillModerator,
+  generateUserReference as cmdSkillUser,
   generateYamlReference as cmdSkillYaml,
 } from "@uncaged/workflow-util";
 
-const SKILL_NAMES = ["cli", "architecture", "yaml", "moderator", "actor"] as const;
+const SKILL_NAMES = ["cli", "architecture", "yaml", "moderator", "actor", "user"] as const;
 
 export function cmdSkillList(): ReadonlyArray<string> {
   return [...SKILL_NAMES];

packages/workflow-util/src/index.ts

@@ -28,4 +28,5 @@ export { err, ok } from "./result.js";
 export { getDefaultWorkflowStorageRoot, getGlobalCasDir } from "./storage-root.js";
 export type { LogFn, Result } from "./types.js";
 export { extractUlidTimestamp, generateUlid } from "./ulid.js";
+export { generateUserReference } from "./user-reference.js";
 export { generateYamlReference } from "./yaml-reference.js";

packages/workflow-util/src/user-reference.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+export function generateUserReference(): string {
+  return `# User Reference
+
+Guide for using the uwf CLI to manage workflows and threads.
+
+## Quick Start
+
+\`\`\`bash
+# 1. Configure provider and model
+uwf setup
+
+# 2. Register a workflow
+uwf workflow add my-workflow.yaml
+
+# 3. Start a thread (creates but does not execute)
+uwf thread start my-workflow -p "Build a login page"
+
+# 4. Execute the thread (runs moderator → agent → extract cycles)
+uwf thread exec <thread-id>          # one step
+uwf thread exec <thread-id> -c 10    # up to 10 steps
+uwf thread exec <thread-id> -c 10 --background  # run in background
+\`\`\`
+
+## Concepts
+
+- **Workflow** — YAML definition with roles and a routing graph; stored as a CAS node
+- **Thread** — A running instance of a workflow; a chain of step nodes in CAS
+- **Step** — One moderator → agent → extract cycle; contains the role's structured output
+- **CAS** — Content-addressable store; every artifact is hashed (XXH64, Crockford Base32)
+
+## Setup
+
+\`\`\`
+uwf setup                                          # interactive wizard
+uwf setup --provider <name> --base-url <url> \\
+           --api-key <key> --model <name>           # non-interactive
+           [--agent <name>]                         # optional default agent
+\`\`\`
+
+Config is stored at \`~/.uncaged/workflow/config.yaml\`. Override storage root with \`UNCAGED_WORKFLOW_STORAGE_ROOT\`.
+
+## Workflow Commands
+
+\`\`\`
+uwf workflow add <file>            # register from YAML file
+uwf workflow show <id>             # show by name or CAS hash
+uwf workflow list                  # list all registered workflows
+\`\`\`
+
+You can also pass a file path directly to \`uwf thread start\` without registering first.
+
+## Thread Lifecycle
+
+\`\`\`
+uwf thread start <workflow> -p <prompt>            # create thread
+uwf thread exec <thread-id>                        # execute one step
+               [--agent <cmd>]                     # override agent
+               [-c, --count <n>]                   # run n steps
+               [--background]                      # run in background
+uwf thread show <thread-id>                        # show head pointer
+uwf thread list                                    # list all threads
+               [--status <filter>]                 # idle, running, completed, cancelled, active (comma-separated)
+               [--after <thread-id>]               # pagination: after this thread
+               [--before <thread-id>]              # pagination: before this thread
+               [--skip <n>]                        # skip first n results
+               [--take <n>]                        # limit results
+uwf thread read <thread-id>                        # render context as markdown
+               [--quota <chars>]                   # max output chars (default 4000)
+               [--before <step-hash>]              # pagination
+               [--start]                           # include start step
+uwf thread stop <thread-id>                        # stop background execution
+uwf thread cancel <thread-id>                      # cancel and archive thread
+\`\`\`
+
+### Typical Lifecycle
+
+\`\`\`
+start → exec (repeat) → thread reaches $END → auto-completed
+                       → or: cancel to abort
+\`\`\`
+
+## Step Commands
+
+\`\`\`
+uwf step list <thread-id>         # list all steps
+uwf step show <step-hash>         # show step details
+uwf step fork <step-hash>         # fork thread from a step (branch)
+\`\`\`
+
+Forking creates a new thread that shares history up to the fork point — useful for retrying from a known-good state.
+
+## CAS Commands
+
+\`\`\`
+uwf cas get <hash>                 # read a node (type + payload)
+            [--timestamp]          # include timestamp
+uwf cas put <type-hash> <data>     # store typed JSON, print hash
+uwf cas put-text <text>            # store plain text, print hash
+uwf cas has <hash>                 # check existence
+uwf cas refs <hash>                # list direct references
+uwf cas walk <hash>                # recursive traversal
+uwf cas reindex                    # rebuild type index
+uwf cas schema list                # list schemas
+uwf cas schema get <hash>          # show schema definition
+\`\`\`
+
+## Log Commands
+
+\`\`\`
+uwf log list                       # list log files
+uwf log show                       # show log entries
+           [--thread <id>]         # filter by thread
+           [--process <pid>]       # filter by process
+           [--date <YYYY-MM-DD>]   # filter by date
+uwf log clean --before <date>      # delete old logs
+\`\`\`
+
+## Global Options
+
+\`\`\`
+uwf --format <json|yaml>           # output format (default: json)
+uwf -V, --version                  # print version
+\`\`\`
+`;
+}