A power user has a library, not a vibe. This capstone is eight workflows you can run on Monday: each one with a sloppy before, a pattern after, and a stop. If the cards only work while you look at this page, you did not finish Pathway B.
Why this matters
B1–B7 atrophy if they stay in lesson threads. The point was a desk: reusable prompts, a project home, files and Canvas, safe instructions, Multi-agent when the question splits, small code you can read, a rubric so you stop marrying the last draft.
A workflow aims those muscles at one trigger: late invoice, PDF plus screenshot, a public rule that may have moved. The before-prompt is what you used to type. The after-prompt is the card you paste. The difference should be visible to a colleague who does not care about AI. You will fill eight slots, then run two live on grok.com. Reading a sample library is not the capstone.
Teach
What a workflow card must contain. If a line is missing, it is a wish.
Name:
Trigger (when I reach for this):
Surface: grok.com
Container: [Project / named thread]
Mode: Fast / Think / Multi-agent / fallback
Files? yes-no — what
Instructions or Memory? [use global / ignore / never store X]
Before (the weak prompt I used to send):
After (the fill-in prompt I will paste):
Stop (I can use the output when):
Fail if: [what makes me throw out the reply]
Before / after is the proof. The before is allowed to be embarrassing. “Help with the invoice.” “Is this legal.” “Fix my spreadsheet.” The after uses a B1–B7 shape: role-as-reader, ICC, examples, extract-and-quote, critique, Multi-agent split, sample-in/sample-out, or a locked rubric. If the after is just a longer vibe (“be professional and thorough”), it is still a before.
The eight slots. You will customize the fill, not the slot names. That keeps the library aligned with what you actually learned.
- First-cut brief — ICC + optional role-as-reader. Fast. No files required. Stop: one-edit send.
- Critique loop — rubric first, rewrite only fails. Same thread as #1 or a follow-up. Stop: all dimensions pass or you accept a miss on purpose.
- File extract — attach PDF/txt; quotes;
not in file. Stop: every number has a quote or a hole.
- Screenshot to actions — transcribe first, then a short action list. Stop: no action based on
[unreadable].
- Search and verify — live web (and X if talk matters); URL, date, quote; you open tabs. Stop: HOLD / WRONG / UNVERIFIED on each claim you will use.
- Deep split — Multi-agent or three-pass fallback; agreed / disagreed / UNVERIFIED. Stop: you can name the hole.
- Small transform — formula/regex/script with sample-in/sample-out. grok.com only. Stop: trace matches or you do not run it.
- Five-way eval — lock rubric, generate at least two methods (you already did five in B7; this card is how you will do a light eval next time — even A-vague vs A-ICC vs A-examples). Stop: a prompt-change line you write down.
Do not skip a slot for “brand voice” unless that is the job and you still keep all eight. Imagine is not required.
Where it lives. Best: the B2 Project, thread WORKFLOW LIBRARY. Acceptable: one named thread you will not mix with episodes. Bad: Custom Instructions or Memory. Instructions may say: “When I say CARD 3, I will paste it.”
Next month: trigger → container → paste After → attach → run → stop. If it hits fail-if, do not “try again”; fix the fill or run #2 / #8. Write a fallback line for missing Multi-agent or Canvas.
Worked example
A shop’s cards are not poetry. Card 1 after is ICC for a 120-word chase email; before was “write a professional email about the late invoice.” Card 3 after attaches the PDF and demands quoted dates; before was “summarize this.” Card 6 splits a public fee into primary page / X / contradictions; before was “look this up.” Card 7 is three fake rows in, flags out, Sheets only; before was “write Python to handle billing.”
She runs cards 1 and 3 live. The other six wait for a matching trigger. That is a library, not a recital.
Your turn
This is the capstone. Open grok.com. Use your B2 project if it still exists; otherwise a new thread named WORKFLOW LIBRARY plus a second thread (or two episodes) for the two live runs.
Grok will interview you, write the eight cards from your jobs, and refuse to invent a workplace you did not describe. Then you will execute two cards — pick any two that match work you have today. One of the two must use a file, a search, Multi-agent/fallback, or a small transform (not two versions of “write an email”).
No secrets. No Grok Build. No Imagine required.
Exercise b8-l01-e1
| Field | Value |
|---|
| whereToDo | grok.com |
| time | 35 min |
Copy-ready prompts
Message 1 — library thread:
I am in Grok Mastery (Russell Tech), Pathway B, capstone B8 — eight workflows, before and after.
Interview me, one block is fine if faster, covering:
1) My real job family (one line)
2) The Project or thread name this library will live in
3) Eight trigger examples from my actual week/month (I can be rough)
4) Modes I can actually use (Fast, Think, Multi-agent yes/no, Canvas yes/no)
5) Confirm no passwords, student PII, medical, or client confidential will appear
Then wait until I say LIBRARY.
Message 2:
LIBRARY
Write my Workflow Library: exactly 8 cards, names locked:
1) First-cut brief
2) Critique loop
3) File extract
4) Screenshot to actions
5) Search and verify
6) Deep split
7) Small transform
8) Five-way eval
Each card must include Name, Trigger, Surface, Container, Mode, Files?, Instructions/Memory note, Before, After (fill-in prompt with brackets), Stop, Fail if.
Befores must look like something I would have typed before this pathway (short, vague).
Afters must be paste-ready and use a pattern from B1–B7.
Do not invent employers, clients, or tools I did not name.
End with a Session stamp: today's date and "Workflow library written by Grok in this thread."
Live run — same project, new episode or continue in a clearly labeled section. Pick two card numbers. Message 3:
LIVE RUN
I am executing card [#] and card [#] on real work.
Card [#] fill:
[paste the After prompt filled]
---
Card [#] fill:
[paste the After prompt filled]
Execute both for real. Produce the two artifacts.
Then write a Capstone Receipt:
- Cards run:
- Container name:
- What the After added that the Before would have missed (one line per card):
- Holes I left open:
- Card I will use again this week:
- Session stamp: today's date and "Capstone receipt written by Grok in this thread."
If a live card needs an attachment or Search/Multi-agent, do that in the UI before or as you send the fill. If Multi-agent is unavailable on card 6, use the fallback written on the card.
Artifact to paste
- The eight workflow cards and the library stamp.
- The two live artifacts (trim if long; keep the start and the stop).
- The Capstone Receipt and stamp.
- Two sentences from you: (a) the sidebar name of the container the library lives in, (b) which before-prompt you are actually retiring.
Rubric
- Pass: Eight cards, locked names, each with a real Before and a paste-ready After. Two live runs in Grok on your jobs. At least one live run is extract, screenshot, search, deep split, or small transform. Receipt is Grok-stamped. No Never-Store items. Container name is not
New conversation unless you admitted you have no Projects and you titled the thread WORKFLOW LIBRARY.
- Fail: A library you typed in a doc without Grok. Afters that are just longer vibes. Zero or one live run. Two emails and nothing else. Course examples recycled as if they were your shop. Imagine-only submission. Grok Build session. No stamps.
Common failure
The common failure is a museum library — eight cards, zero live runs. The twin is an After with this week’s invoice number baked in; that is an episode. Put episode facts in brackets. Do not stuff the eight cards into Custom Instructions. The library is a document in a project.
What’s next
Pathway B stops here. You have a desk: patterns, a container, sources, safe memory, research you can audit, small code you can read, a scoring habit, and eight cards. Pathway C is Grok Build — a terminal, a repo, diffs — when the work is software. Pathway D is the same desk aimed at a job (classroom, field/GIS, business). If you only needed to stop chatting like a beginner, you are done. Use the library on a real trigger before you collect another course.
