Model Workflow Context (MWC): The Open Standard AI Coding Tools Have Been Waiting For

Source: Dev.to

If you’ve been using AI‑powered coding tools lately, you’ve probably experienced this frustration:

• You create an amazing workflow in Cursor, only to realize you can’t use it in Windsurf.
• You meticulously craft prompts and context instructions in Claude Code that become useless when you switch to Antigravity.

We’re living through an explosion of AI‑assisted development tools, but there’s a critical missing piece: interoperability.

Every tool speaks its own language. Every platform has its own way of defining context, managing workflows, and executing agent tasks. It’s 2026, and we’re repeating the same mistakes we made with chat apps in the 2010s—walled gardens everywhere.

What if there was a better way?

MWC (Model‑Workflow‑Context) is an open standard for defining, sharing, and executing agentic workflows across AI‑powered development tools.

Think of it as the “Markdown for AI workflows”—a simple, human‑readable format that any tool can understand and execute. Whether you’re using Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, or Claude Code, your workflows remain portable, reusable, and shareable.

Benefits

For Individual Developers

• Write a workflow once, use it everywhere.
• Share your best practices with the community.
• Stop reinventing the wheel for common tasks.

For Teams

• Standardize development workflows across tools.
• Onboard new developers faster with documented workflows.
• Build institutional knowledge that doesn’t lock you into a single vendor.

For Tool Builders

• Focus on your unique features, not reinventing workflow definitions.
• Tap into a growing library of community workflows.
• Enable seamless user migration and multi‑tool usage.

Core Concept

MWC is a JSON‑based format that describes:

1. What the workflow should accomplish.
2. How it should interact with AI models.
3. Which tools and commands to use.
4. When to execute specific steps.

Simple Example

{
  "name": "api-endpoint-creator",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Creates a REST API endpoint with tests",
  "steps": [
    {
      "id": "analyze-requirements",
      "type": "model_call",
      "model": "claude-sonnet-4",
      "prompt": "Analyze the API requirements: {{user_input}}",
      "output": "requirements"
    },
    {
      "id": "generate-endpoint",
      "type": "code_generation",
      "template": "express-endpoint",
      "input": "{{requirements}}",
      "output_file": "src/routes/{{endpoint_name}}.js"
    },
    {
      "id": "create-tests",
      "type": "model_call",
      "model": "claude-sonnet-4",
      "prompt": "Generate comprehensive tests for: {{output_file}}",
      "output_file": "tests/{{endpoint_name}}.test.js"
    },
    {
      "id": "run-tests",
      "type": "shell_command",
      "command": "npm test {{endpoint_name}}.test.js"
    }
  ]
}

Any MWC‑compatible tool can execute this workflow. The tool handles the specifics of model calls, file operations, and command execution, while the workflow definition stays unchanged.

Example Use‑Cases

Vision

Imagine a future where:

• You browse a library of battle‑tested workflows created by the community.
• You import a “Next.js component generator” workflow with a single command.
• Your team shares internal workflows as easily as sharing a Git repository.
• Tool vendors compete on execution quality, not workflow lock‑in.

This is what MWC enables.

Current Status (v1.0)

• ✅ Core specification defined

• ✅ JSON schema for validation

• ✅ Example workflows

• 🚧 Integration documentation (in progress)

• 🚧 Validation tools (in progress)

Roadmap

Foundations

MWC builds on proven standards:

• JSON Schema for validation
• CommonMark for documentation
• Semantic Versioning for compatibility
• OpenAPI‑inspired structure for familiarity

The specification is MIT‑licensed and developed openly on GitHub.

How to Contribute

1. Try MWC – Create your first workflow and test it across tools.
2. Share workflows – Submit your best workflows to the community repository.
3. Provide feedback – Help refine the specification.
4. Implement MWC support – Make your tool MWC‑compatible.
5. Contribute to the spec – Share your expertise on agent architectures.
6. Join the technical committee – Help guide MWC’s evolution.
7. Star the repository – Show your support on GitHub.
8. Spread the word – Share this article with your network.
9. Join the discussion – Participate in GitHub Issues and Discussions.

Call to Action

MWC is more than a technical specification—it’s a bet on openness, interoperability, and community collaboration in the age of AI‑assisted development.

As AI tools become more powerful and prevalent, the cost of fragmentation only grows. Every proprietary workflow format is a barrier to innovation, a tax on learning, and a risk to our collective progress.

By adopting an open standard, we can:

• Accelerate innovation by building on each other’s work.
• Reduce vendor lock‑in and preserve user freedom.
• Create network effects that benefit everyone.
• Focus energy on solving real problems, not integration headaches.

Ready to try MWC?

1. Visit the repository
2. Read the specification: SPECIFICATION.md in the repo.
3. Browse examples: workflows/ directory.
4. Create your own workflow and share it with the community!

Our First Workflow: Use the Getting Started Guide

Share Your Experience

• Open an issue or discussion.

The Future of AI‑Assisted Development

The future is open, collaborative, and interoperable. MWC is taking the first step.

Will you join us?

Resources

• GitHub Repository:
• Specification: View on GitHub
• Getting Started: Quick Start Guide
• Contributing: How to Contribute

About the Project

Model Workflow Context is an open‑source project licensed under the MIT License. All contributions are welcome and appreciated.

Tags: #AI #DeveloperTools #OpenSource #Cursor #Windsurf #ClaudeCode #Antigravity #Productivity #Automation