Lobster Skill

---
name: lobster-skill
description: "Lobster workflow runtime for deterministic pipelines with approval gates. Use when: (1) Running multi-step automations that need human approval before side effects, (2) Monitoring PRs/issues for changes, (3) Processing data through typed JSON pipelines, (4) Email triage or batch…"
category: "Data & Analytics"
author: community
version: "1.0.1"
icon: chart-bar
---

# Lobster

> **Contribute:** Source code & PRs welcome at [github.com/guwidoe/lobster-skill](https://github.com/guwidoe/lobster-skill)

Workflow runtime for AI agents — typed pipelines with approval gates.

## CLI Location

```bash
# Set alias (adjust path to your install location)
LOBSTER="node /home/molt/clawd/tools/lobster/bin/lobster.js"

# Or install globally: npm install -g @clawdbot/lobster
# Then use: lobster '<pipeline>'
```

## Quick Reference

```bash
# Run pipeline (human mode - pretty output)
$LOBSTER '<pipeline>'

# Run pipeline (tool mode - JSON envelope for integration)
$LOBSTER run --mode tool '<pipeline>'

# Run workflow file
$LOBSTER run path/to/workflow.lobster

# Resume after approval
$LOBSTER resume --token "<token>" --approve yes|no

# List commands/workflows
$LOBSTER commands.list
$LOBSTER workflows.list
```

## Core Commands

| Command | Purpose |
|---------|---------|
| `exec --json --shell "cmd"` | Run shell, parse stdout as JSON |
| `where 'field=value'` | Filter objects |
| `pick field1,field2` | Project fields |
| `head --n 5` | Take first N items |
| `sort --key field --desc` | Sort items |
| `groupBy --key field` | Group by key |
| `dedupe --key field` | Remove duplicates |
| `map --wrap key` | Transform items |
| `template --text "{{field}}"` | Render templates |
| `approve --prompt "ok?"` | **Halt for approval** |
| `diff.last --key "mykey"` | Compare to last run (stateful) |
| `state.get key` / `state.set key` | Read/write persistent state |
| `json` / `table` | Render output |

## Built-in Workflows

```bash
# Monitor PR for changes (stateful - remembers last state)
$LOBSTER "workflows.run --name github.pr.monitor --args-json '{\"repo\":\"owner/repo\",\"pr\":123}'"

# Monitor PR and emit message only on change
$LOBSTER "workflows.run --name github.pr.monitor.notify --args-json '{\"repo\":\"owner/repo\",\"pr\":123}'"
```

## Approval Flow (Tool Mode)

When a pipeline hits `approve`, it returns:

```json
{
  "status": "needs_approval",
  "requiresApproval": {
    "prompt": "Send 3 emails?",
    "items": [...],
    "resumeToken": "eyJ..."
  }
}
```

To continue:
```bash
$LOBSTER resume --token "eyJ..." --approve yes
```

## Example Pipelines

```bash
# List recent PRs, filter merged, show as table
$LOBSTER 'exec --json --shell "gh pr list --repo owner/repo --json number,title,state --limit 20" | where "state=MERGED" | table'

# Get data, require approval, then process
$LOBSTER run --mode tool 'exec --json --shell "echo [{\"id\":1},{\"id\":2}]" | approve --prompt "Process these?" | pick id | json'

# Diff against last run (only emit on change)
$LOBSTER 'exec --json --shell "gh pr view 123 --repo o/r --json state,title" | diff.last --key "pr:o/r#123" | json'
```

## Workflow Files (.lobster)

YAML/JSON files with steps, conditions, and approval gates:

```yaml
name: pr-review-reminder
steps:
  - id: fetch
    command: gh pr list --repo ${repo} --json number,title,reviewDecision
  - id: filter
    command: jq '[.[] | select(.reviewDecision == "")]'
    stdin: $fetch.stdout
  - id: notify
    command: echo "PRs needing review:" && cat
    stdin: $filter.stdout
    approval: required
```

Run: `$LOBSTER run workflow.lobster --args-json '{"repo":"owner/repo"}'`

## Clawdbot Integration

Lobster can call Clawdbot tools via `clawd.invoke`:

```bash
$LOBSTER 'clawd.invoke --tool message --action send --args-json "{\"target\":\"123\",\"message\":\"hello\"}"'
```

Requires `CLAWD_URL` and `CLAWD_TOKEN` environment variables.

## State Directory

Lobster stores state in `~/.lobster/state/` by default. Override with `LOBSTER_STATE_DIR`.