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T2 chain · podcasts / meetings: nika:read loads the raw transcript, ONE infer: with a strict schema: extracts chapters + pull-quotes + summary as typed data, nika:jq shapes the sections, and nika:write renders the publishable page. The model is called exactly once, and its output is schema-validated before anything downstream touches it.

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The job

Show-notes are the chore between “episode recorded” and “episode published”: an hour of scrubbing for chapter marks and quotes. This workflow does the extraction in one bounded model call — bounded in shape (the schema rejects free-form prose) and in count (one infer, so the cost of an episode is the cost of one call, visible in nika check before you run).

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The shape

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The file

t2-transcript-shownotes.nika.yaml
nika: v1
workflow: transcript-shownotes
description: "Raw transcript → typed show-notes (chapters · quotes · summary) · one bounded infer"

model: ollama/llama3.2:3b # local · zero key · deliberately NOT the qwen3.5 convention: a thinking model can burn max_tokens in its think block before the JSON (engine#428) — schema showcases pick a non-thinking model

vars:
  transcript: "./data/transcript.txt"

permits:
  exec: false
  fs:
    read: ["data/**"]
    write: ["out/**"]
  tools: ["nika:read", "nika:jq", "nika:write"]

tasks:
  - id: raw
    invoke:
      tool: "nika:read"
      args: { path: "${{ vars.transcript }}" }

  # ONE bounded model call · the schema is the contract, not a suggestion.
  - id: notes
    depends_on: [raw]
    infer:
      prompt: |
        Turn this transcript into show-notes. Ground every chapter title
        and quote in the text — invent nothing.

        Transcript ·
        ${{ tasks.raw.output }}
      max_tokens: 800
      schema:
        type: object
        additionalProperties: false # a deterministic shape across providers (the checker's strictness hint)
        required: [summary, chapters, quotes]
        properties:
          summary: { type: string }
          chapters:
            type: array
            items:
              type: object
              additionalProperties: false
              required: [title, gist]
              properties:
                title: { type: string }
                gist: { type: string }
          quotes:
            type: array
            items: { type: string }

  # Typed JSON → markdown lines · mechanical, zero second model call.
  - id: sections
    depends_on: [notes]
    invoke:
      tool: "nika:jq"
      args:
        input: "${{ tasks.notes.output }}"
        expression: >-
          {
            chapters: (.chapters | map("- **\(.title)** — \(.gist)") | join("\n")),
            quotes: (.quotes | map("> \(.)") | join("\n\n"))
          }

  - id: page
    depends_on: [sections, notes]
    invoke:
      tool: "nika:write"
      args:
        path: out/show-notes.md
        content: |
          # Show notes

          ${{ tasks.notes.output.summary }}

          ## Chapters

          ${{ tasks.sections.output.chapters }}

          ## Pull quotes

          ${{ tasks.sections.output.quotes }}

          *Generated by [nika](https://nika.sh) · one bounded infer, typed output · the run's trace is the receipt.*

outputs:
  notes:
    value: ${{ tasks.notes.output }}
    type: object
    description: "The typed show-notes · summary + chapters + quotes"

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The model choice is part of the lesson

The envelope pins ollama/llama3.2:3b — deliberately NOT the showcase’s usual qwen3.5 — because this is a strict-schema job and a thinking model can burn the whole max_tokens budget inside its think block before emitting the first JSON token (engine issue #428: the output arrives empty yet the schema demanded content). The rule of thumb this file encodes: reasoning showcases pick a thinking model; strict-schema extraction picks a non-thinking one. The typed seam is the other half: because notes is schema-shaped, the jq step reads .chapters[] and .quotes[] as data — no regex over model prose, no “hopefully it used the same markdown headings this time”.

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Run it

ollama pull llama3.2:3b
git clone https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec && cd nika-spec
nika run examples/showcase/t2-transcript-shownotes.nika.yaml
open out/show-notes.md
This workflow is newer than the currently shipped engine pack: nika examples run showcase/t2-transcript-shownotes says unknown example until the next engine tag re-vendors the pack. Until then, run it from the spec checkout as above — the file is the same one the pack will embed, sha-pinned in the spec manifest.
Feed it any meeting transcript instead: the schema does not care whether the speakers were recording a podcast or arguing about a roadmap.