Context & Input

Understand the distinction between input and context files, supported document types, and how content is aggregated.

Input vs Context

WireFlow distinguishes between input (primary documents to process) and context (supporting materials):

Aspect	Input (-in)	Context (-cx)
Purpose	Documents to analyze/transform	Background information
Position	After context in prompt	Before input in prompt
Typical use	PDFs to summarize, data to analyze	Reference docs, prior outputs
Citations	Yes (with --enable-citations)	Yes

Example:

# Summarize a report (input) using style guide (context)
wfw run summarize -in report.pdf -cx style-guide.md

# Analyze data (input) with reference materials (context)
wfw run analyze -in results.csv -cx methodology.md prior-analysis.md

Supported Document Types

Text Files

All text-based files (.md, .txt, .py, .js, .csv, etc.) are processed directly with syntax highlighting based on extension.

wfw run analysis -cx data.csv script.py notes.md

PDF Documents

• Processed using Claude API (text + visual analysis)
• Maximum size: 32MB per PDF
• Supports citations with document indices

wfw run analysis -in report.pdf -cx references.pdf

Microsoft Office Files

• Supported: .docx, .pptx
• Auto-converted to PDF via LibreOffice
• Cached in .workflow/cache/office/
• Citations use original filename

wfw run summary -in presentation.pptx -cx notes.docx

Requirements: LibreOffice installed (libreoffice or soffice in PATH)

Images

• Native: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .webp
• Converted: .heic → JPEG, .tiff → PNG, .svg → PNG
• Processed using Claude Vision API
• Auto-resize if larger than 1568px on longest edge
• Maximum size: 5MB per image
• NOT citable (no document indices)

wfw run analyze-diagram -in flowchart.svg -cx photo.heic

Requirements:

• HEIC: sips (macOS) or ImageMagick
• TIFF: sips (macOS) or ImageMagick
• SVG: rsvg-convert (librsvg) or Inkscape

Mixing Types

wfw run research \
    -in "papers/*.pdf" \
    -cx notes.docx \
    -cx diagram.png \
    -cx references.md

Context Aggregation

Content is assembled in this order:

Run mode:

1. System prompts (SYSTEM_PROMPTS)
2. Project description (project.txt)
3. Context files (config + CLI)
4. Dependencies (--depends-on outputs)
5. Input files (config + CLI)
6. Images
7. Task prompt (task.txt)

Task mode:

1. System prompts
2. Project description (if in project)
3. Context files (CLI)
4. Input files (CLI)
5. Images
6. Task prompt (inline or template)

Path Specification

Both config files and CLI options accept flexible path specifications for INPUT and CONTEXT. All path types work consistently across both methods.

Supported Path Types

Path Type	Config File	CLI Option	Example
Relative file	Project-root relative	CWD-relative	data/notes.md
Absolute file	Direct resolution	Direct resolution	/tmp/shared/ref.pdf
Relative directory	Project-root relative	CWD-relative	data/
Absolute directory	Direct resolution	Direct resolution	/external/docs/
Glob pattern	Expands from project root	Shell-expands from CWD	data/*.csv

Config File Paths

Paths in config files support relative paths (resolved from project root), absolute paths (anywhere on filesystem), and directories (expanded non-recursively):

# In .workflow/config or .workflow/run/<name>/config

# Relative paths (project-root relative)
CONTEXT=(notes/analysis.md refs/paper.pdf)

# Absolute paths (external files)
CONTEXT=(/tmp/shared-docs/reference.pdf /home/user/data/notes.md)

# Directories (expanded to supported files, non-recursive)
CONTEXT=(docs/ /external/shared-resources/)

# Glob patterns (expand at config source time from project root)
CONTEXT=(data/*.csv notes/**/*.md)

# Mixed paths
CONTEXT=(
    notes/local.md              # Relative file
    /tmp/external.pdf           # Absolute file
    data/                       # Relative directory
    /shared/docs/               # Absolute directory
    "reports/*.pdf"             # Glob pattern
)

INPUT=(main-report.pdf /external/data.csv)

CLI Paths

CLI paths are resolved relative to your current working directory:

cd /project/subdir
wfw run analysis -cx local-notes.md
# Looks for: /project/subdir/local-notes.md

# Relative to CWD
wfw run analysis -cx data.csv -in report.pdf

# Absolute paths
wfw run analysis -cx /tmp/external-notes.md

# Directories (expanded non-recursively)
wfw run analysis -cx docs/ -in /external/data/

# Glob patterns (shell-expands before passing to WireFlow)
wfw run analysis -cx "data/*.csv" -in "reports/*.pdf"

Glob Patterns

# Single directory pattern
-cx "data/*.csv"

# Recursive pattern
-cx "notes/**/*.md"

# Multiple directories with brace expansion
-cx "data/{exp1,exp2}/*"

# In config (globs expand at source time from project root)
CONTEXT=(data/*.csv notes/**/*.md)
INPUT=(reports/**/*.pdf)

Directory Expansion

When a directory path is specified:

• Expansion is non-recursive (only immediate children)
• Only supported file types are included (text, PDF, Office, images)
• Binary files (executables, archives, etc.) are automatically excluded

# Directory with mixed content
data/
├── results.csv      # ✓ Included (text)
├── chart.png        # ✓ Included (image)
├── report.pdf       # ✓ Included (PDF)
├── archive.zip      # ✗ Excluded (binary)
└── subdir/          # ✗ Not traversed (non-recursive)
    └── more.txt     # ✗ Excluded (in subdirectory)

Caching

WireFlow caches converted files to speed up repeated runs.

Office Conversion Cache

Location: .workflow/cache/office/

• PDF conversions are cached per source file
• Cache invalidated when source file changes (by mtime)
• Shared across all workflows in the project

Image Conversion Cache

Location: .workflow/cache/images/

• Resized/converted images cached per source
• HEIC→JPEG, TIFF→PNG, SVG→PNG conversions cached
• Original dimensions preserved in cache filename

Cache Management

# Clear project cache
rm -rf .workflow/cache/

# View cache contents
ls -la .workflow/cache/office/
ls -la .workflow/cache/images/

Configuration Variables

Variable	Description	Scope
CONTEXT	Context file paths (globs expand at source time)	Project, Workflow
INPUT	Input file paths (globs expand at source time)	Workflow
ENABLE_CITATIONS	Enable source citations	All

Best Practices

Input vs Context:

• Use -in for documents you're actively processing
• Use -cx for reference materials, prior outputs, style guides
• Dependencies (--depends-on) automatically become context

File organization:

• Keep source documents in predictable locations
• Use glob patterns for dynamic file sets: CONTEXT=(data/*.csv)
• Use explicit paths for fixed sets: INPUT=(report.pdf summary.md)

Performance:

• First run with Office/image files is slower (conversion)
• Subsequent runs use cache
• Large images auto-resize to reduce API costs

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