Workflows and Automation

Claude Code moves from interactive assistant to active team member when you wire it into your automation infrastructure. This module covers CI/CD integration, scheduled tasks, the GitHub Actions integration, and patterns for building reliable multi-step workflows.

CI/CD Integration with Programmatic Runs

The claude -p flag is the foundation of CI/CD integration. It runs Claude non-interactively, sends a prompt, and returns the result to stdout. Combine it with --output-format json for structured parsing, --permission-mode bypassPermissions for fully automated runs (no approval prompts), and --max-turns to cap execution time.

A common pattern is running Claude as part of a PR review process. Configure it as a GitHub Actions step:

- name: Claude Code Review
  run: |
    DIFF=$(git diff origin/main...HEAD)
    REVIEW=$(echo "$DIFF" | claude -p "Review these changes. Output JSON with fields: summary, critical_issues, suggestions" \
      --output-format json \
      --permission-mode bypassPermissions)
    echo "$REVIEW" | jq '.critical_issues[]' >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY

The --from-pr flag bootstraps a session from an existing pull request. It fetches the diff, description, and review comments so Claude can jump straight into fixing or extending PR feedback. As of v2.1.119, --from-pr accepts URLs from GitHub, GitHub Enterprise, GitLab merge requests, and Bitbucket pull requests:

claude --from-pr https://github.com/org/repo/pull/123
claude --from-pr https://gitlab.com/org/repo/-/merge_requests/456
claude --from-pr https://bitbucket.org/org/repo/pull-requests/789

For disposable automation, Claude can generate tests for new code, update documentation when APIs change, run linters and auto-fix issues, or check for security vulnerabilities. Use --no-session-persistence to avoid saving a session, and consider --bare when you want the cleanest scripted output.

Use prUrlTemplate (new in v2.1.119) to point the footer PR badge at a custom code-review URL instead of the default github.com link — useful for enterprise deployments with internal GitHub instances or custom review tooling:

{
  "prUrlTemplate": "https://review.example.internal/pr/{number}"
}

The /install-github-app command sets up the official GitHub integration, which allows Claude to respond to @claude mentions in PR comments and issues. This runs Claude in a sandboxed environment with access to the PR context.

For autonomous PR monitoring, /autofix-pr spawns a Claude Code on the web session that watches your current branch’s PR. When CI fails or a reviewer leaves a comment, Claude investigates and pushes a fix. Pass a prompt to narrow scope: /autofix-pr only fix lint and type errors. It requires the Claude GitHub App installed on the repository, access to Claude Code on the web, and is not available to organizations with Zero Data Retention enabled.

/ultrareview (new in v2.1.112) runs a comprehensive cloud-based code review using parallel multi-agent analysis and critique. It requires Claude.ai account authentication — if signed in with an API key only, run /login first. It runs on Claude Code on the web infrastructure. Invoke with no arguments to review your current branch, or /ultrareview <PR#> to fetch and review a specific GitHub PR. Pro/Max get 3 free one-time runs (expire May 5, 2026, do not refresh), then each review costs roughly $5–$20 as extra usage. Team/Enterprise have no free runs and are billed as extra usage. Extra usage must be enabled on the account — if disabled, Claude Code blocks the launch and links to billing settings. Use /tasks to track running and completed reviews, open detail views, or stop an in-progress review (stopping archives the cloud session; partial findings are not returned). Not available on Bedrock, Vertex AI, or Foundry.

/ultrareview           # review current branch
/ultrareview 456       # review GitHub PR #456

Scheduled Tasks and Background Automation

Claude Code supports multiple scheduling patterns. /loop creates session-scoped recurring checks while Claude Code is running. /schedule is the conversational entry point for cloud scheduled tasks that persist independently of your local terminal — each run clones your repo fresh, executes autonomously, and can push branches or open PRs. Create tasks via /schedule, the web UI at claude.ai, or the desktop app. Frequency options include hourly, daily, weekdays, and weekly, with custom cron expressions available via /schedule update (minimum interval: 1 hour). Use them to monitor services, generate reports, or perform recurring maintenance:

# Check build status every 5 minutes
/loop 5m check if the build succeeded and summarize any failures

# One-time scheduled task
/schedule "run a full security audit at 2am"

Background subagents with background: true in their frontmatter run without blocking the main conversation. This enables workflows where you kick off a long analysis, continue other work, and get notified when it completes. If you need automation around follow-up work, use the officially documented task and team hook events in their intended contexts: TaskCompleted for task state changes and TeammateIdle for agent teams teammates about to go idle.

{
  "hooks": {
    "TaskCompleted": [
      {
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "curl -X POST $SLACK_WEBHOOK -d '{\"text\": \"Task completed: $TASK_NAME\"}'"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

For long-running research that spans multiple sessions, resumable agents and regular memory workflows are the safer mental model: let the agent write findings into memory or project docs, then resume the agent or session later when needed.

Multi-Step Workflow Patterns

The most reliable workflows combine skills, hooks, and subagents into a pipeline where each step has clear inputs, outputs, and error handling.

The “develop and verify” pattern pairs a Stop prompt hook that checks completion criteria against an implementation skill. When Claude stops, the hook evaluates whether all requirements were met. If not, it tells Claude what’s missing and Claude continues:

{
  "hooks": {
    "Stop": [
      {
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "prompt",
            "prompt": "Check: 1) Were all files in the spec modified? 2) Do tests pass? 3) Is the implementation complete per the requirements? If anything is incomplete, explain what remains.",
            "timeout": 30
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

The “parallel review” pattern uses Agent Teams to have multiple specialists review simultaneously. One agent checks security, another checks performance, another checks test coverage. The team lead synthesizes their findings into a single report.

For tasks that modify many files across a codebase, /batch <instruction> plans the work, splits it across background agents in isolated git worktrees, and is designed for large-scale refactors or repetitive changes. Depending on the workflow, it can also run verification steps and help open PRs for the results.

Git worktrees (isolation: worktree on subagents) are also useful for experimental work. The agent makes changes in an isolated branch, returns the worktree path when done, and you review or discard without affecting your working tree.