uipath-rpa

UiPath RPA Assistant

Full assistant for creating, editing, managing, and running UiPath automation projects — both coded workflows (C#) and low-code RPA workflows (XAML).

Reading the referenced files is imperative — read each required file in full. This SKILL.md is a router: it tells you which reference to open, not what it says. When a rule, the Task Navigation table, or a section points you to a reference for the task at hand, open it and read the whole file before acting — do not grep it for a keyword, skim the first screen, fall back to --help, or substitute prior knowledge. Most errors that slip past validate and surface at build or runtime trace back to a reference that was skipped or only partially read.

When to Use This Skill

• User wants to create a new UiPath automation project (coded or XAML)
• User wants to add a workflow, test case, or source file to an existing project
• User wants to edit an existing workflow or test case
• User wants to modify project configuration (dependencies, entry points)
• User asks about UiPath activities or how to automate something
• User wants to validate, build, run, or debug a workflow
• User wants to add dependencies or NuGet packages to a project
• User wants to create test cases with assertions
• User wants to call an Integration Service connector (Jira, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Slack, etc.)
• User wants to use UI automation to interact with desktop or web applications

Precondition: Project Context

Before doing any work, check if .claude/rules/project-context.md exists in the project directory.

If the file exists → check for staleness:

1. Read the first line of .claude/rules/project-context.md to extract the metadata comment: <!-- discovery-metadata: cs=N xaml=N deps=N -->
2. Count current files: Glob **/*.cs (excluding .local/ and .codedworkflows/) and **/*.xaml in the project directory
3. Count current dependencies: read project.json and count keys in the .dependencies object
4. Compare the current counts against the stored metadata values
5. For each count (cs, xaml, deps), compute the percentage difference: abs(current - stored) / max(stored, 1) * 100
6. If any individual count differs by 60–70% or more → run the discovery flow below
7. If all counts are within the threshold → context is fresh, proceed with the skill workflow

If the file does NOT exist → run the discovery flow below.

Discovery flow (used for both missing and stale context):

1. Trigger the uipath-project-discovery-agent and wait for it to complete
2. The agent returns the generated context document as its response
3. Write the returned content to both:
   • .claude/rules/project-context.md (create .claude/rules/ directory if needed) — auto-loaded by Claude Code in future sessions
   • AGENTS.md at project root — read by UiPath Autopilot in Studio Desktop. If AGENTS.md already exists, look for <!-- PROJECT-CONTEXT:START --> / <!-- PROJECT-CONTEXT:END --> markers and replace only between them; if no markers exist, append the fenced block at the end
4. Then proceed with the skill workflow

Step 0: Resolve PROJECT_DIR

Before creating or modifying anything, determine which project to work with. See references/environment-setup.md for the full procedure.

Quick check: Find project.json to establish {projectRoot}. That's it — no Studio Desktop check needed for the standard loop. uip rpa auto-launches a headless Studio (UiPath.Studio.Helm NuGet) on first call. Studio Desktop is required only for files diff, focus-activity, and regenerating coded UI automation's ObjectRepository.cs (the Descriptors.* class — see Rule 7 and environment-setup.md).

Project Type Detection

After establishing PROJECT_DIR, first check project.json for targetFramework:

• targetFramework: "Legacy" (or field absent in an older project) → Legacy mode. Stop here and switch to the Legacy-mode workflow: references/legacy/legacy-mode-guide.md. Legacy projects use the standalone uip rpa-legacy CLI, .NET Framework 4.6.1, classic activities (no "X" suffix), and mscorlib assembly references. The rest of this SKILL.md (modern mode) does NOT apply to Legacy projects.
• targetFramework: "Windows" or "Portable" (Cross-platform) → Modern mode, continue below.

For modern projects, determine whether this is a coded or XAML project:

1. Coded mode — .cs files with [Workflow] or [TestCase] attributes exist AND no .xaml workflow files (beyond scaffolded Main.xaml)
2. XAML mode — .xaml workflow files exist AND no coded workflow .cs files
3. Hybrid — Both exist → consult coded-vs-xaml-guide.md to pick the right mode for each new file; default to matching the user's current request
4. New project — Neither exists → default to XAML. Switch to coded only when the user explicitly says "coded", ".cs", "C# workflow", "coded test case", or names a coded-specific trigger (custom data models / DTOs, unit-testable business logic). For all other phrasings ("create a workflow", "automate X", "build an automation"), use XAML. See coded-vs-xaml-guide.md for the full decision flowchart.

Routing: Once mode is determined, use the Task Navigation table below to find the right reference files. For guidance on choosing between coded and XAML approaches, see coded-vs-xaml-guide.md. For Legacy projects, follow references/legacy/legacy-mode-guide.md instead.

Authoring Mode Selection

Default to matching the project's existing mode. For new projects or ambiguous cases, default to XAML — it is the more common mode, has the widest activity coverage, and is the unmarked term in user vocabulary ("create a workflow" means XAML; "create a coded workflow" means coded). Switch to coded only on explicit user phrasing or a coded-specific trigger from the table below.

Scenario	Mode	Why
Standard RPA (Excel, email, file ops)	XAML (default)	Direct activity support, no code needed
UI automation	XAML (default)	Full activity support; coded also works via uiAutomation service
Integration Service connectors (XAML)	XAML	IS connector activities use XAML-specific dynamic activity config
No matching activity for a subtask	Coded fallback	Small .cs invoked from XAML via Invoke Workflow File
Complex data transforms, HTTP, parsing	Coded	C# is more natural than nested XAML activities
Tempted to call a PowerShell script	Coded	Prefer a coded workflow. If PS is genuinely needed (admin cmdlets, existing .ps1), use the InvokePowerShell<T> activity — never Invoke Process + powershell.exe. See powershell-interop-guide.md
Custom data models / DTOs	Coded Source File	XAML cannot define types — plain .cs, no CodedWorkflow base
Unit tests with assertions	Coded Test Case	[TestCase] with Arrange/Act/Assert
User explicitly requests coded/XAML	User's choice	Never second-guess explicit preference

UI Automation Boundaries

For any task whose business behavior is "open an app/browser, click, type, scrape visible UI, submit a form, or verify UI state", the interaction layer MUST be UiPath UI Automation — NApplicationCard plus UIA activities (XAML), or uiAutomation.Open/Attach plus Object Repository descriptors (coded). Do NOT substitute InvokeCode, PowerShell, Selenium, Playwright, Chrome DevTools Protocol, raw DOM JavaScript, HTTP form posts, or external browser-driver scripts. The coded fallback rows above apply only to non-UI helper logic (data transforms, parsing, DTOs, calculations, API-only integrations).

If target configuration is unavailable, fall back to the documented UIA indication path — never to an external browser automation shortcut.

The full prohibited-tool list, the UIA-only exploration requirement, and the InvokeJS/InjectJsScript exception scope are in ui-automation-guide.md § Mandatory: Generate Targets Before Writing Any UI Code — read it in full per Rule 7 before any UIA work.

Placeholder-Selector Stub Pattern (when live app access is unavailable)

When generating a UI automation workflow without live app access (target capture cannot be run because the app is not installed, the agent has no UI, or the user explicitly deferred capture to a developer), emit real UIA activities with placeholder selectors and TODO Indicate markers — never Log stubs.

Forbidden: a workflow whose UI-interaction steps are Log("LoginWorkflow: type username") with a // TODO[selectors]: comment. The workflow passes build/validate and runs cleanly, but does nothing. This is the most expensive kind of stub — it looks complete, the validator says it's fine, and the failure mode is silent.

Required: the real UIA activity (NTypeInto, NClick, NGetText, NApplicationCard, etc.) with the target descriptor's selector left as a placeholder string and a TODO Indicate marker embedded in the activity's DisplayName (XAML) or in a // TODO[Indicate] comment immediately adjacent to the coded call. A developer opens Studio, clicks Indicate on each marked activity, and the workflow runs.

This applies to both XAML and coded modes. The full pattern with XAML and coded examples is in ui-automation-guide.md § Placeholder-Selector Stub Pattern (read in full per Rule 7).

Hybrid pattern — XAML orchestration + coded fallback for logic with no matching activity:

Main.xaml                  ← orchestration (XAML)
  └── InvokeWorkflowFile → ProcessData.cs  ← coded logic

For the full decision flowchart, InvokeCode extraction rules, and detailed hybrid patterns, see coded-vs-xaml-guide.md.

Capture-First Fast Path

When the request is "automate this dialog/form" or "build a UI test from these manual steps" — i.e. the bulk of the work is target capture, not coding — defer authoring-phase prerequisites until target capture is complete. The capture surface is interactive, app-state-sensitive, and time-bound; project-context discovery and analyzer rules add nothing during capture and steal time from it.

Fast-path order for capture-first tasks. Read ui-automation-guide.md and uia-configure-target-workflows.md in full first (Rule 7; the second is used in step 3). Then:

1. Pre-flight Window Baseline — list top-level windows once; decide whether to launch the app (§ Pre-flight: Window Baseline).
2. Inventory targets from manual steps (Test Manager test case, PDD, or written script). Each "Click X" / "Enter Y" / "Select Z" / "Verify W" step maps to one OR element. Group by screen state (§ Capturing from Manual Test Steps).
3. Capture all targets screen by screen via uia-configure-target and screen advancement (§ Multi-Step UI Flows).
4. Then enter authoring phase: project-context discovery (the precondition above), analyzer rules (Critical Rule 3 — Authoring-phase start), write code, validate.

Skip this path when the task has no UI surface (data transforms, IS connector calls, headless file/email automation). Also skip it when the task HAS a UI surface but no live app to capture against (app not installed, no GUI, capture deferred to a developer) — there is nothing to capture, so use the § Placeholder-Selector Stub Pattern above instead. The Window Baseline does not tell you if the app is installed and has a GUI — validate that separately (e.g. look for the executable on disk) or ask the user.

Session Pre-warm

First heavy uip rpa call pays a ~22s Studio host cold-start (shared across validate/build/run/activities get-default-xaml/analyzer-rules list). When more than one is expected this session, background a cheap warm-up at session start so the tax hides behind planning:

uip rpa activities find --query log --output json > /dev/null 2>&1 &

Skip when 0 or 1 heavy uip rpa calls are expected (read-only Q&A, single-file inspection) — the warm-up doesn't reclaim its cost.

Critical Rules

Rule numbering. Common Rules use 1–12. ### Coded-Specific Rules continues 13–19. ### XAML-Specific Rules is an independent 16–24 sequence, so numbers 16/17/18/19 appear in both mode-specific sections — the [Coded] / [XAML] prefix on each rule disambiguates. Cross-references in this file ("Common Rule 10", "Common Rule 12", "Rule 21", "Rule 24") always point to a uniquely-numbered rule.

Common Rules (Both Modes)

1. NEVER create a project without confirming none exists. Follow Step 0 resolution: check explicit path, project name, then CWD for project.json. Only create when confirmed no project matches AND user explicitly requests creation.

2. ALWAYS use uip rpa init to create new projects — never write project.json or scaffolding manually.

   • Before creating, decide if a template is needed. If the user names a template ("REFramework", "Robotic Enterprise Framework", "based on the X template"), an industry/domain pattern (SAP, ERP, banking, mainframe), or otherwise hints at a non-blank starter, run uip rpa templates search --query "<term>" --output json first. Selection rule against Data[*]:
     • User named a specific non-Official template (e.g. "Enhanced REFramework", "Lite ReFrameWork") AND a Marketplace item's title or packageId substring-matches the user's specific qualifier → ask the user (Official + that Marketplace item are both candidates). Do NOT auto-pick.
     • Exactly one source == "Official" match AND user did not name a non-Official template → use it; pass --template-package-id <packageId> --template-package-version <version> to init. Proceed without asking.
     • Multiple Official matches OR only Marketplace matches → present candidates (packageId, version, source, title) to the user and ask which to use. Never silently pick a Marketplace template.
     • No matches → fall back to a built-in --template-id and tell the user nothing was found.
   • Built-in --template-id keywords map without a search: library → LibraryProcessTemplate, test automation / test project → TestAutomationProjectTemplate, otherwise BlankTemplate. When --template-package-id is set, --template-id is ignored. Full decision flow: environment-setup.md § Template selection. 2a. Pass --target-framework AND --expression-language explicitly on every uip rpa init — never omit them. Both are immutable after creation (Rule 23); omitting --target-framework silently yields a Windows project. Choose framework by where the automation runs: cross-platform / non-Windows runtime (Linux, container, serverless) or Studio Web editing → Portable (Cross-platform); Windows runtime using Windows-only capabilities (Excel COM, classic Office, WPF / PresentationFramework, Windows-only UIA) or Studio Desktop as the edit surface → Windows (not editable in Studio Web). A request needing both a cross-platform runtime and a Windows-only capability is contradictory — surface it, don't silently pick. Windows - Legacy is a last resort (explicit ask or hard .NET 4.6.1 need; never inferred from VB.NET or non-"X" classic activities) — create it in Legacy mode, not modern init. No signal → AskUserQuestion (Windows vs Cross-platform), framed around the runtime host. --expression-language: default VisualBasic, CSharp only on explicit request.

3. Phase-gated validation: analyzer rules run at AUTHORING-phase start, not session start. Three-phase validation:

   • Authoring-phase start (immediately before creating or editing any workflow file — .cs with [Workflow]/[TestCase], or .xaml): uip rpa analyzer-rules list --project-dir "<PROJECT_DIR>" --output json to list the enabled Workflow Analyzer rules. Apply every error and warning rule during authoring so generated code passes analyze and build on the first attempt. Run once at this point; re-run only when project dependencies change. DO NOT run at session start — the call can take a minute or more (use --scope <Activity|Workflow|Coded Workflow|Project> to narrow if it times out, see cli-reference.md § analyzer-rules list). For capture-first tasks (target capture from manual test steps, dialog automation), this prerequisite is deferred until capture is complete — see § Capture-First Fast Path below.
   • Per-file (after every create or edit): uip rpa validate --file-path "<FILE>" --project-dir "<PROJECT_DIR>" --output json until 0 errors. Catches structural XAML, missing references, analyzer rules, schema violations. Fix one thing per iteration.
   • Project-level build (after per-file validate is clean across all files in the edit session, and before declaring done): uip rpa build "<PROJECT_DIR>" --output json until clean. Catches what validate misses (unknown members, invalid enums, CacheMetadata / member resolution, attribute-form C# JIT) — full list at validation-guide.md § Errors build catches that validate misses. If build errors, identify the offending file from the output and re-run validate --file-path on it.
   • 5-attempt cap per loop — 5 attempts for each file's per-file validate loop; a separate 5 attempts for the project-level build loop. Fix one root cause per iteration.
   • Smoke-test shortcut: A successful uip rpa run substitutes for the standalone end-of-session build — run compiles internally. Prefer run --skip-build when build has just passed; see validation-guide.md § Smoke Test.

   See references/validation-guide.md.

4. ALWAYS validate files as you go AND verify the project builds before declaring done. After every create or edit: per-file validate to clean. Project-level build runs once at the end of the edit session (or at any compile-verification gate) — not after every Edit, because build is project-scoped and rebuilds the entire project regardless of which file changed. validate clean alone is not "validated"; it cannot see member or enum errors — the project-level build is mandatory before declaring done. See references/validation-guide.md.

5. Prefer UiPath built-in activities for Orchestrator integration, UI automation, and document handling. Prefer plain .NET / third-party packages for pure data transforms, HTTP calls, parsing.

6. ALWAYS ensure required package dependencies are in project.json before using their activities or services. 6a. Pre-edit verification gate. Two authoring actions are hard to roll back once build fails — verify before serialization, not after.

   • Removing a dependency — grep the project for usages before deleting an entry. A package may be the sole supplier of an activity used elsewhere (MergePDFs lives in the IntelligentOCR.StudioWeb family).
   • Writing a new activity tag — confirm via uip rpa activities find --query "<verb>" --output json and use the returned ClassName. Do not derive tag names from Studio display names. See common-pitfalls.md § Common Activity Name Confusions.

7. [UIA] Before writing ANY UIA activity (XAML <uix:N*> or coded uiAutomation.* / Descriptors.*), MUST read references/ui-automation-guide.md IN FULL — including the mode-specific section (For Coded Workflows or For XAML Workflows) and Running UI Automation Workflows. No exceptions for "simple" UIs. Skipping this rule is the most common cause of hallucinated selectors, wrong target XML, and missing OR descriptors. NEVER hand-write selectors — use uia-configure-target exclusively (the guide explains how). This guide is the single entry point for UIA work: it routes you to uia-configure-target-workflows.md, uia-prerequisites.md, and the package docs in order — the other UIA sections in this file point back here rather than restating the read mandate. 7a. [UIA] Verify UIA prerequisites before invoking uia-configure-target. The minimum version and the prerequisite check live in uia-prerequisites.md — read it and run that check first (do not hardcode the version from memory; that file is the only source of truth). If UiPath.UIAutomation.Activities is below the minimum or {PROJECT_DIR}/.local/docs/packages/UiPath.UIAutomation.Activities/skills/uia-configure-target/SKILL.md is absent, the uip rpa uia CLI is unavailable — and both target capture and indication depend on it, so indication is not a fallback when the package itself is missing. Ask the user to install/upgrade per uia-prerequisites.md. If they decline or the package cannot be installed, fall back to the Placeholder-Selector Stub Pattern (§ above) — real activities with TODO Indicate markers need no CLI. Never silently route to a non-existent skill path. Use indication capture only when a compatible UIA package is installed but uia-configure-target cannot see the element; record UI capture: indication-only in the plan header to skip uia-configure-target in that case.

8. Use --output json on all CLI commands whose output is parsed programmatically. 8a. run / debug start success/failure verdict comes from the outer Result (and equivalently the inner HasErrors), NEVER from any log entry's Level. A successful workflow may emit Log Message activities at Error or Warning level as observability — those are workflow-emitted data, not CLI failures. Compile failures, validation failures, and unhandled runtime exceptions all flip HasErrors and propagate to the outer Result. Treating log-entry levels as a failure signal flips green runs to "failed" and burns retries on healthy workflows. See cli-reference.md § run and debugging.md § Reading Debug Output Effectively.

9. For "leverage / reuse / find shared libraries" requests, search the tenant feed — not the local filesystem, NuGet.org, or keyword-permutation loops. Run uip or libraries list --limit 500 --output-filter "<JMESPath>" --output json. On zero results from the filtered call, take the fallback branch — do not re-keyword. Skip when an SDD already records §16 "Shared libraries referenced" or the user has said "no shared libraries" earlier in the session. See tenant-library-search-guide.md for the full procedure.

10. Register every test case file in project.json → designOptions.fileInfoCollection. Applies to both XAML and coded test cases. Required keys, GUID format, JSON snippet, and full schema (including dataVariationFilePath for data-driven and publishAsTestCase for coded): references/testing-guide.md § project.json Registration and assets/json-template.md.

11. Test case structure: Given-When-Then. Applies to both XAML and coded test cases. See references/testing-guide.md § XAML Test Case Structure for the canonical patterns (the section's lead also points to the coded variant in coded/operations-guide.md).

12. Trigger activity placement. Two trigger types — identify from uip rpa activities find --query "<event>" --output json by reading isTrigger and triggerType. Placement rules differ.

    Integration triggers (isTrigger: true, triggerType: "integration") — strict placement. MUST be the first activity of Main.xaml's root Sequence; CANNOT be placed inside ui:TriggerScope. Bind Result to a workflow-scope variable; the rest of the Sequence is the handler. Connection asset (ConnectionId) required for IS-based triggers (Mail / GSuite / O365 / Salesforce / Jira / Slack / ServiceNow / any *.IntegrationService.Activities package); not required for Orchestrator-native triggers (TimeTrigger, QueueTrigger, ManualTrigger).

    Local triggers (isTrigger: true, triggerType: "local") — flexible placement. Place EITHER as the first activity of Main.xaml's root Sequence (Orchestrator dispatches a fresh job per event) OR inside <ui:TriggerScope.Triggers> with handler in <ui:TriggerScope.Action> (robot stays alive while the scope is active; trigger fires in-process). Both placements are valid — choose by runtime model. No connection asset required.

    Unknown triggerType (forward-compat — e.g. a future "scheduled") → read the bundled doc and ask the user. Do not assume placement.

    Reading existing XAML: activity inside <ui:TriggerScope.Triggers> must be a local trigger; an integration trigger there is broken — flag to the user. Activity at workflow root can be either type — check triggerType to disambiguate.

    See trigger-pattern-guide.md for worked examples, the SchedulingMode reference, the catalog of trigger activities, and the procedure for editing existing ui:TriggerScope workflows.

Destination Preflight (Both Modes)

Studio Web destination → Solution-wrapped deliverable, not a bare project. Studio Web ingests Solutions only; a bare project folder is invisible in both SW workspace tabs. Treat these phrases as SW signals in the request: "Studio Web", "SW", "upload to web", "browser editor", "cloud workspace edit". On match, build the RPA project normally per the rest of this skill, then hand off to uipath-solution to wrap and ship it: uip solution init <NAME> → uip solution project import "<PROJECT_DIR>" --solutionFile <SOLUTION>.uipx → uip solution upload "<SOLUTION_DIR>". The final deliverable is the Solution, not the bare project folder. Local execution (uip rpa run) and the Orchestrator package flow (uip rpa pack → uip or packages upload — there is no uip rpa publish) are fine with a bare project — only an SW destination changes the deliverable shape.

Execution Discipline (Both Modes)

Run to completion — do not declare work done while plan tasks remain. If a plan file exists at docs/plans/*.md referenced by this request (or discoverable there for this feature), read its header before acting and during every checkpoint.

• If the header has Execution autonomy: autonomous: continue until ALL plan task checkboxes are [x] OR a concrete item from the plan's Stop conditions section is hit.
• If the header has Execution autonomy: interactive, or no plan file exists: use judgment and confirm with the user on material decisions.
• Before declaring the task done, re-read the plan and enumerate any unchecked boxes. If unchecked tasks remain and no Stop condition was hit, keep going — do not summarize partial work as "Done".
• "Feels expensive", "many tool calls used", "natural pause point", "partial result looks usable", and "too complex to continue in one session" are NOT Stop conditions. Only the concrete hard blockers in the plan's Stop conditions section count.
• Plan decisions already made are authoritative. Do not AskUserQuestion about structure, file count, selector strategy, or capture approach when the plan specifies them — those questions belonged to the planner.

Call Batching (Both Modes)

Batch independent tool calls into one assistant message — minimize model round-trips. Two points in a new-project build serialize needlessly by default; collapse each into a single message.

1. Post-init prerequisite batch. After uip rpa init returns, these depend only on the project existing — NOT on each other. Emit them in ONE message:

   • Read project.json + the scaffolded Main.xaml
   • uip rpa analyzer-rules list (Rule 3 authoring-phase prerequisite)
   • uip rpa packages install for packages already known from the request
   • uip rpa activities find for activities you'll author

   These share the warmed Studio host (§ Session Pre-warm) — pay the cold-start once, then fire the batch.

2. Activity-discovery fan-out. Rule 21 runs a triple per non-card activity (activities find → read <Activity>.md → get-default-xaml). For K activities, emit all K finds as parallel Bash, then all K doc Reads in parallel, then all K get-default-xamls in parallel — never one activity at a time. See xaml/workflow-guide.md § Phase 1.

Chaining: chain dependent uip calls with && in one Bash; emit independent Bash / Read calls as parallel tool uses. Split a turn only where a call needs an earlier call's stdout or a file mutation.

Do NOT batch — sequential by design:

• templates search → init. The search result (and possibly an AskUserQuestion) picks --template-package-id (Rule 2). Decision gate, not a chain.
• The per-file validate / per-activity authoring loop (Rule 4, XAML Rule 18). Build one activity at a time, validate after each; project-level build runs once at the end. Batching validation hides which activity broke and burns the 5-attempt cap (Rule 3).

Coded-Specific Rules

13. [Coded] ALWAYS inherit from CodedWorkflow base class for workflow and test case classes (NOT for Coded Source Files).
14. [Coded] ALWAYS use [Workflow] or [TestCase] attribute on the Execute method.
15. [Coded] Update project.json → entryPoints when adding/removing workflow files in Process projects. Tests and Library projects do NOT use entryPoints — skip this step for those project types. For fileInfoCollection (required for every test case in every project type — XAML and coded alike), see Common Rule 10.
16. [Coded] One workflow/test case class per file, class name must match file name.
17. [Coded] Namespace = sanitized project name from project.json. Sanitize: remove spaces, replace hyphens with _, ensure valid C# identifier.
18. [Coded] Entry method is always named Execute.
19. [Coded] Use Coded Source Files for reusable code — plain .cs files without CodedWorkflow inheritance, no entry point.

XAML-Specific Rules

16. [XAML] Activity docs are the source of truth — check {projectRoot}/.local/docs/packages/{PackageId}/ first. Always.
17. [XAML] MUST understand project structure — read project.json, check expression language, scan existing patterns. NEVER generate XAML blind.
18. [XAML] Start minimal, iterate to correct — build one activity at a time, validate after each addition.
19. [XAML] Fix errors by category — Package → Structure → Type → Activity Properties → Logic.
20. [XAML] ViewState handling depends on the operation. When generating new Flowchart/StateMachine/ProcessDiagram workflows, per-node ViewState is MANDATORY — ShapeLocation+ShapeSize on every node (ConnectorLocation optional, Studio auto-routes). Without it Studio stacks every node at (0,0) so they overlap into what looks like a single node, and Studio does NOT auto-arrange on open (see canvas-layout-guide.md). When editing existing files, do NOT modify ViewState on nodes you are not changing. For Sequences, ViewState is optional.
21. [XAML] Reading <Activity>.md from {PROJECT_DIR}/.local/docs/packages/... is a precondition for activities get-default-xaml — for every activity not on the common-activity card.
    • Card-listed activities: check references/common-activity-card.md first; if the activity is on the card, author from the card entry alone — skip activities find, skip activities get-default-xaml, skip the per-activity MD read.
    • All other activities: (1) activities find → class name, (2) read <Activity>.md first and extract a property checklist (required + use-case-relevant), (3) activities get-default-xaml → starter element, (4) diff your checklist against the starter and add what's missing — an empty checklist means you skipped step 2, go back.
    • Doc lookup order: primary {PROJECT_DIR}/.local/docs/packages/<PackageId>/activities/<Activity>.md; fallback references/activity-docs/<PackageId>/<closest-version>/<Activity>.md for older package versions where .local/docs is empty. Exception — UiPath.UIAutomation.Activities has no bundled fallback: .local/docs (present only after the package is installed) is its sole activity-doc source. If it is absent, do not hunt for a bundled copy — follow Rule 7a (install with consent per uia-prerequisites.md, or use the Placeholder-Selector Stub Pattern).
    • Trigger activities are special — read BOTH docs. When the class name ends in Trigger, the namespace contains .Triggers, or the description mentions "starts a job" / "Monitor Events" / "Trigger Scope", also read the bundled references/activity-docs/<PackageId>/<closest-version>/activities/<Activity>.md and the package's bundled overview.md. The auto-generated .local/docs version is sparse for triggers; the bundled hand-written docs carry placement guidance (entry-point vs. ui:TriggerScope), deployment context, and cross-cutting namespace/assembly gotchas that the extractor does not capture. See Common Rule 12 and trigger-pattern-guide.md.
    • Skip-tax — concrete: activities get-default-xaml omits any property whose value equals the type default. For NGetText the starter is literally <uix:NGetText HealingAgentBehavior="SameAsCard" /> with zero output properties — authoring from this alone produces NGetText.Value="..." (does not exist; the property is Text), which validate accepts and build rejects. For NTypeInto that's 2 of 20 properties hidden.
    • Self-extending the card — "this activity feels simple, I'll add it to the card mentally" — is the failure mode. The card is the only allowlist; for non-card activities the MD read is the only check.
    • Full procedure: xaml/xaml-basics-and-rules.md § Activity Property Surface. 21a. [XAML] Built-in workflow activities: use the card only for this allowlist. Fast-path card activities are: Sequence, If, Switch<T>, TryCatch, While, DoWhile, ForEach<T>, Assign, LogMessage, WriteLine, Delay, Throw, Rethrow. If the activity is on this list, open references/common-activity-card.md and author from the card. If it is not on this list, follow full Rule 21. InvokeWorkflowFile, Pick, Parallel, and ParallelForEach<T> are intentionally off-card; use full Rule 21. Studio's "While" / "Do While" / "For Each" toolbox items emit UiPath wraps (UiPath.Core.Activities.InterruptibleWhile / InterruptibleDoWhile / UiPath.Core.Activities.ForEach<T>), not the framework System.Activities.Statements.While/DoWhile/ForEach<T>.
22. [XAML] MUST read references/xaml/xaml-basics-and-rules.md before generating or editing any XAML.
23. [XAML] NEVER change expressionLanguage or targetFramework on an existing project. Decide both proactively at init time (Common Rule 2a); this rule covers the immutability afterward. Both fields in project.json are fixed at creation time and apply to every XAML file in the project — flipping expressionLanguage (VisualBasic ↔ CSharp) invalidates every expression, and flipping targetFramework (Windows ↔ Portable/cross-platform, or Legacy) invalidates package references and activity compatibility. Do not attempt in-place conversion. If the user wants to convert an existing project, confirm with them, copy the project to a temporary folder, create a new project via uip rpa init --expression-language <VisualBasic|CSharp> --target-framework <Windows|Portable> (for a target of Windows - Legacy, create it in Legacy mode instead — modern init is not the legacy creation path), make sure all the defined workflows in the old project have an equivalent in the new project. Delete the copied project just after the new project has been successfully generated and the user agree with the changes.
24. [XAML] Wrap every container-activity body/branch in <Sequence> — even single-activity bodies. Studio's designer expects the wrap as a drop zone; Studio's emitter produces it. validate and build accept the bare form, so neither catches missing wrappers. Applies to creation and editing alike. Slots include If.Then/If.Else, While/DoWhile body, ForEach.Body, TryCatch.Try/Catch/Finally, Switch.Default + each case, PickBranch.Trigger/Action, NApplicationCard.Body. Full table with examples: xaml/xaml-basics-and-rules.md § Container Activity Bodies — Wrap in Sequence.

Task Navigation

I need to...	Mode	Read these
Work in a Legacy (.NET 4.6.1) project	Legacy	legacy/legacy-mode-guide.md — entry point. Modern-mode rules below do not apply.
Choose coded vs XAML	Both	coded-vs-xaml-guide.md
Work in a hybrid project	Hybrid	coded-vs-xaml-guide.md → project-structure.md
Create a new project	Both	environment-setup.md
Add/edit a coded workflow	Coded	coded/operations-guide.md → coded/coding-guidelines.md
Add a coded test case	Coded	coded/operations-guide.md — remember: register in fileInfoCollection (Common Rule 10)
Set up data-driven testing	Both	testing-guide.md § Data-Driven Testing — remember: register in fileInfoCollection (Common Rule 10)
Create XAML test case (Given-When-Then)	XAML	testing-guide.md § XAML Test Case Structure — remember: register in fileInfoCollection (Common Rule 10)
Use mock testing	XAML	testing-guide.md § Mock Testing (WIP) — requires CLI command not yet available
Use XAML test activities	XAML	testing-guide.md § XAML Test Activities
Use execution templates	XAML	testing-guide.md § Execution Templates
Create/edit XAML workflow	XAML	xaml/workflow-guide.md → xaml/xaml-basics-and-rules.md
Use a common activity (Sequence / If / Switch<T> / TryCatch / While / DoWhile / ForEach<T> / Assign / LogMessage / WriteLine / Delay / Throw / Rethrow)	XAML	common-activity-card.md
Create Flowchart/StateMachine	XAML	xaml/workflow-guide.md → xaml/canvas-layout-guide.md
Create/edit Long Running Workflow (ProcessDiagram)	XAML	xaml/long-running-workflow-guide.md → xaml/canvas-layout-guide.md
Write UI automation	Both	ui-automation-guide.md → uia-configure-target-workflows.md
Build multi-screen UIA XAML workflow	XAML	ui-automation-guide.md → uia-configure-target-workflows.md § Multi-Step UI Flows
Share Object Repository selectors across projects (UI Library)	Both	ui-automation-guide.md § Object Repository as a Published UI Library
Use Excel/Word/Mail/etc.	Both	Service table below → .local/docs/packages/{PackageId}/ → fallback: references/activity-docs/{PackageId}/{closest}/
Use Data Fabric entities	XAML	xaml/workflow-guide.md → activity-docs overview
Query Data Fabric with filters	XAML	data-service-filter-builder-guide.md → QueryEntityRecords
Call an IS connector (coded)	Coded	coded/integration-service-guide.md
Call an IS connector (XAML)	XAML	is-connector-xaml-guide.md → connector-capabilities.md
Build an event-triggered workflow (O365 / Gmail / Salesforce / Jira / Slack / ServiceNow / time / queue / file watcher / UI click)	XAML	trigger-pattern-guide.md → activity-docs/{PackageId}/{closest}/activities/<TriggerActivity>.md
Inspect Integration Service trigger lifecycle (webhook vs. polling, filter fields, webhook URL retrieval)	Both	trigger-pattern-guide.md § Connection Handling and § Server-Side Filtering
Read or edit an existing ui:TriggerScope workflow	XAML	trigger-pattern-guide.md § Reading and Editing Existing TriggerScope XAML
Build/run/validate	Both	cli-reference.md → validation-guide.md
Profile a slow workflow / verify UI automation correctness	Both	debugging.md § Profiling Workflow Performance
Pack & publish project to Orchestrator	Both	publishing-guide.md
List project best-practice / analyzer rules	Both	cli-reference.md § analyzer-rules list
Add a NuGet package	Coded	coded/operations-guide.md § Add Dependency → coded/third-party-packages-guide.md
Find / reuse existing tenant libraries	Both	tenant-library-search-guide.md
Extract reusable logic into a library	Both	library-authoring-guide.md — public-workflow contract, argument naming, private helpers
Publish a library	Both	library-authoring-guide.md § Pack & Publish — tenant libraries feed, versioning
Invoke a PowerShell script from a workflow	Both	powershell-interop-guide.md
List / install Data Fabric entities	Both	cli-reference.md § Data Fabric Entities
Discover activity APIs	Coded	coded/inspect-package-guide.md
Troubleshoot coded errors	Coded	coded/coding-guidelines.md § Common Issues
Troubleshoot XAML errors	XAML	xaml/common-pitfalls.md → validation-guide.md
Understand project structure	Both	project-structure.md

Coded Workflows Quick Reference

Coded workflows use standard C# development: create file → write code → validate → run. Activity discovery (activities find, activities get-default-xaml) is XAML-specific — for coded mode, check {projectRoot}/.local/docs/packages/{PackageId}/coded/coded-api.md first for service API docs, then fall back to packages inspect. See coded/inspect-package-guide.md.

Three Types of .cs Files

Type	Base Class	Attribute	Entry Point	Purpose
Coded Workflow	CodedWorkflow	[Workflow]	Process only	Executable automation logic
Coded Test Case	CodedWorkflow	[TestCase]	Process only	Automated test with assertions
Coded Source File	None (plain C#)	None	No	Reusable models, helpers, utilities, hooks

Service-to-Package Mapping

Each service on CodedWorkflow requires its NuGet package in project.json. Without it: CS0103.

Service Property	Required Package
system	UiPath.System.Activities
testing	UiPath.Testing.Activities
uiAutomation	UiPath.UIAutomation.Activities
excel	UiPath.Excel.Activities
word	UiPath.Word.Activities
powerpoint	UiPath.Presentations.Activities
mail	UiPath.Mail.Activities
office365	UiPath.MicrosoftOffice365.Activities
google	UiPath.GSuite.Activities

For infrastructure/cloud packages (azure, gcp, aws, azureAD, citrix, hyperv, etc.), see coded/codedworkflow-reference.md.

For IS connectors from coded workflows via ConnectorConnection.ExecuteAsync: UiPath.IntegrationService.Activities — see coded/integration-service-guide.md.

CodedWorkflow Base Class

All workflow/test case files inherit from CodedWorkflow, providing built-in methods (Log, Delay, RunWorkflow), service properties, and the workflows property for strongly-typed invocation. Extendable with Before/After hooks via IBeforeAfterRun.

Full reference: coded/codedworkflow-reference.md

Templates

• assets/codedworkflow-template.md — Workflow boilerplate
• assets/testcase-template.md — Test case boilerplate
• assets/helper-utility-template.md — Helper class boilerplate
• assets/json-template.md — entryPoints and fileInfoCollection snippets
• assets/before-after-hooks-template.md — Before/After hooks
• references/project-structure-guide.md — Project structure design guidelines (mode-agnostic)

XAML Workflows Quick Reference

XAML workflows follow a discovery-first, phase-based approach: Discovery → Generate/Edit → Validate & Fix → Response. See references/xaml/workflow-guide.md for the full phase workflow.

Workflow Types

Type	When to Use
Sequence	Linear step-by-step logic; most common for simple automations
Flowchart	Branching/looping logic with multiple decision points
State Machine	Long-running processes with distinct states and transitions
Long Running Workflow	BPMN-style horizontal flow; event-driven processes with long waits. Requires UiPath.FlowchartBuilder.Activities — see xaml/long-running-workflow-guide.md

Expression Language

Check expressionLanguage in project.json. VB.NET uses [brackets] for expressions; C# uses CSharpValue<T> / CSharpReference<T>. Default for new XAML projects is VB.NET.

Key CLI Commands

Command	Purpose
activities find --query "<keyword>"	Discover activities by keyword
activities get-default-xaml --activity-class-name "<class>"	Get starter XAML for an activity
analyzer-rules list --project-dir "<dir>"	List enabled Workflow Analyzer rules — run before generating
validate --file-path "<file>"	Per-file static validation (structure, references, analyzer rules)
build "<PROJECT_DIR>"	Compile-time validation (member names, enum values, JIT expressions) — run after validate is clean

Common Activities

Activity	Package	Purpose
UI automation (Use Application/Browser, Click, Type Into, Get Text, Select Item, …)	UiPath.UIAutomation.Activities	Never author from memory or from this row. Selectors and targets are captured, not hand-written — read ui-automation-guide.md in full first (Rule 7).
If	built-in	Conditional branching
Assign	built-in	Set variable/argument values
For Each	built-in	Iterate over a collection
Invoke Workflow File	built-in	Call another workflow file
Create Entity Record	UiPath.DataService.Activities	Create a Data Fabric entity record
Query Entity Records	UiPath.DataService.Activities	Query Data Fabric records with filters — see filter builder guide

XAML File Anatomy

The XAML file anatomy template (namespace declarations, root Activity element, body structure) is in xaml/xaml-basics-and-rules.md — read it before generating or editing any XAML.

Key References

• xaml/xaml-basics-and-rules.md — XAML anatomy, safety rules, editing operations (read before any XAML work)
• xaml/common-pitfalls.md — Activity gotchas, scope requirements, property conflicts
• reframework-guide.md — REFramework execution modes, SetTransactionStatus queue-guard fix, Config.xlsx leftover trap
• xaml/csharp-activity-binding-guide.md — Canonical C# binding forms per common activity property (LogMessage, GetText, StartProcess, …) — flat lookup table + recipes
• xaml/csharp-expression-pitfalls.md — C#-specific expression failures (attribute-form VB JIT, ThrowIfNotInTree, OutArgument parse errors)
• xaml/canvas-layout-guide.md — Flowchart, State Machine, and Long Running Workflow canvas layout with ViewState
• xaml/long-running-workflow-guide.md — LRW package dependency, node vocabulary, gateway patterns, suspend/resume persistence
• xaml/jit-custom-types-schema.md — JIT custom type discovery
• library-authoring-guide.md — Produce reusable libraries: public-workflow contract, activity layout sidecar (display name, icon, widgets), error contract, SemVer, pack & publish to the libraries feed

Multi-Screen UI Automation Workflows

For XAML workflows spanning multiple capture screens, add each screen's activities to the workflow as its targets get registered in the OR — validating with validate after each batch. uia-configure-target-workflows.md MUST be read IN FULL first (see § Multi-Step UI Flows for the capture loop and the Complete-then-advance rule).

Resolving Packages & Activity Docs

Follow this flow whenever you need to use an activity package:

Step 1 — Ensure the package is installed

Check project.json → dependencies for the required package.

Always query versions with --include-prerelease. Many UiPath activity packages ship as -preview between stable releases, and the latest preview routinely contains new activities, fixed signatures, and updated .local/docs content that activity generation depends on. Without the flag, the listing hides these and the agent will pick a stale stable.

• If present → note the installed version. Then list available versions with --include-prerelease and compare:
  • If a newer version (stable or preview) exists, inform the user: state the installed version, the latest available version, and that newer packages offer the best support for activity generation (latest activity surface, accurate .local/docs, fewer signature mismatches). Ask whether to upgrade. Never force-upgrade an already-installed package.
  • If the installed version is already the latest, proceed to Step 2.
• If absent → install the latest version returned by packages versions --include-prerelease (preview is acceptable):

uip rpa packages versions --package-id <PackageId> --include-prerelease --project-dir "<PROJECT_DIR>" --output json
uip rpa packages install --packages 'id=<PackageId>,version=<LATEST_VERSION>' --project-dir "<PROJECT_DIR>" --output json

Step 2 — Find activity docs (priority order)

1. Check {PROJECT_DIR}/.local/docs/packages/{PackageId}/ — auto-generated, most accurate. Use Glob + Read (not Grep — .local/ is gitignored).
2. Fall back to bundled references at references/activity-docs/{PackageId}/ — pick the version folder closest to what is installed.

UI Automation References

UIA references live in two locations. Always cite by location so the reader knows which tree to open:

• This skill (references/, relative to this SKILL.md) — policy, decision logic, target-capture orchestration, debug/recovery flows.
• UIA activity pack ({PROJECT_DIR}/.local/docs/packages/UiPath.UIAutomation.Activities/, installed via uip rpa packages install) — concrete uip rpa uia CLI syntax, per-activity property surfaces, coded API surface, and the UIA skill internal procedures. Co-versioned with the package, so always source-of-truth over anything in this skill when they diverge.

In this skill (references/, relative to this SKILL.md)

• ui-automation-guide.md — the entry point for all UIA work (Rule 7; read in full first). Mode-specific UIA patterns (coded vs XAML), prohibited-tool list, exploration-tool boundaries, Running & debugging procedure.
• uia-prerequisites.md — Package version requirements, upgrade-consent rules
• uia-configure-target-workflows.md — Target-capture orchestration, multi-step UI flows, indication-fallback routing

In the UIA activity pack ({PROJECT_DIR}/.local/docs/packages/UiPath.UIAutomation.Activities/)

• overview.md — Package overview and entry point
• references/cli-reference.md — Full uip rpa uia CLI: subcommands, flags, accepted values, artifact filenames
• references/object-repository.md — Object Repository concepts and CLI flows
• references/selector-variables.md — Selector variable substitution
• references/uia-target-attachment-guide.md — Attaching OR targets to XAML activities (TargetApp / TargetAnchorable)
• references/indication-fallback-workflow.md — Indication-mode capture when uia-configure-target is unavailable
• coded/coded-api.md — Coded API surface for uiAutomation.* service calls
• activities/<Activity>.md — Per-activity property surface (NClick, NTypeInto, NApplicationCard, …)
• activities/common/<Type>.md — Shared enums and types (NHealingAgentBehavior, Target, NClickType, …)
• skills/uia-configure-target/{SKILL.md,USAGE.md} — Target-configuration skill: procedure + invocation modes
• skills/uia-improve-selector/{SKILL.md,USAGE.md} — Selector recovery / improvement skill

Completion Output

Before reporting "done", verify the plan is complete. If a plan file at docs/plans/*.md drove this work:

1. Re-read the plan and scan its task checkboxes.
2. If any [ ] boxes remain AND the plan's header says Execution autonomy: autonomous AND no Stop conditions item was hit — do not report done. Resume execution on the next unchecked task.
3. If unchecked boxes remain because a Stop condition was hit, name the exact stop-condition item in the report.
4. If the plan is fully checked off, or execution autonomy is interactive, proceed to the report format below.

When you finish a task, report to the user:

1. What was done — files created, edited, or deleted (list file paths)
2. Validation status — per-file validate result (all files passed, or remaining errors) and project-level uip rpa build result. Both must be clean to claim verification — validate clean alone is insufficient (it does not detect unknown member names or invalid enum values). If build has not run since the last edit, say so explicitly rather than claiming success.
3. Plan completion — which task checkboxes in docs/plans/*.md are now [x]; list any still [ ] and, for each, the Stop-condition item that interrupted it (or "not reached" if execution was cut short another way)
4. How to run — the uip rpa run (or uip rpa debug start) command (if applicable)
5. Next steps — follow-up actions (configure connections, add OR elements, fill placeholders)
6. Trouble? — if the user hit issues during this session, mention: "If something didn't work as expected, use /uipath-feedback to send a report."

Do NOT use framing like "complete", "done", "finished", or "the automation is built" unless every plan task is checked off. "Partial", "stopped at ", or "blocked by " is the honest framing otherwise.