diff --git a/src/core/config-schema.ts b/src/core/config-schema.ts
index 0614ed33ec..b1d694a301 100644
--- a/src/core/config-schema.ts
+++ b/src/core/config-schema.ts
@@ -146,13 +146,17 @@ export function deleteNestedValue(obj: Record<string, unknown>, path: string): b
  * Coerce a string value to its appropriate type.
  * - "true" / "false" -> boolean
  * - Numeric strings -> number
+ * - JSON arrays/objects -> parsed containers
  * - Everything else -> string
  *
  * @param value - The string value to coerce
  * @param forceString - If true, always return the value as a string
  * @returns The coerced value
  */
-export function coerceValue(value: string, forceString: boolean = false): string | number | boolean {
+export function coerceValue(
+  value: string,
+  forceString: boolean = false
+): string | number | boolean | unknown[] | Record<string, unknown> {
   if (forceString) {
     return value;
   }
@@ -171,9 +175,39 @@ export function coerceValue(value: string, forceString: boolean = false): string
     return num;
   }
 
+  const jsonContainer = parseJsonContainer(value);
+  if (jsonContainer !== undefined) {
+    return jsonContainer;
+  }
+
   return value;
 }
 
+function parseJsonContainer(value: string): unknown[] | Record<string, unknown> | undefined {
+  const trimmed = value.trim();
+  const looksLikeContainer =
+    (trimmed.startsWith('[') && trimmed.endsWith(']')) ||
+    (trimmed.startsWith('{') && trimmed.endsWith('}'));
+
+  if (!looksLikeContainer) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const parsed: unknown = JSON.parse(trimmed);
+    if (Array.isArray(parsed)) {
+      return parsed;
+    }
+    if (parsed !== null && typeof parsed === 'object') {
+      return parsed as Record<string, unknown>;
+    }
+  } catch {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+
+  return undefined;
+}
+
 /**
  * Format a value for YAML-like display.
  *
diff --git a/test/commands/config.test.ts b/test/commands/config.test.ts
index 6e65068b87..d6ac830d3d 100644
--- a/test/commands/config.test.ts
+++ b/test/commands/config.test.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,22 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { Command } from 'commander';
 import * as fs from 'node:fs';
 import * as path from 'node:path';
 import * as os from 'node:os';
 
+async function runConfigCommand(args: string[]): Promise<void> {
+  const { registerConfigCommand } = await import('../../src/commands/config.js');
+  const program = new Command();
+  registerConfigCommand(program);
+  await program.parseAsync(['node', 'openspec', 'config', ...args]);
+}
+
 describe('config command integration', () => {
   // These tests use real file system operations with XDG_CONFIG_HOME override
   let tempDir: string;
   let originalEnv: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
   let consoleErrorSpy: ReturnType<typeof vi.spyOn>;
+  let consoleLogSpy: ReturnType<typeof vi.spyOn>;
 
   beforeEach(() => {
     // Create unique temp directory for each test
@@ -20,6 +29,7 @@ describe('config command integration', () => {
 
     // Spy on console.error
     consoleErrorSpy = vi.spyOn(console, 'error').mockImplementation(() => {});
+    consoleLogSpy = vi.spyOn(console, 'log').mockImplementation(() => {});
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
@@ -31,6 +41,7 @@ describe('config command integration', () => {
 
     // Restore spies
     consoleErrorSpy.mockRestore();
+    consoleLogSpy.mockRestore();
 
     // Reset module cache to pick up new XDG_CONFIG_HOME
     vi.resetModules();
@@ -89,6 +100,22 @@ describe('config command integration', () => {
     expect(config.featureFlags).toEqual({});
     expect(consoleErrorSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('Invalid JSON'));
   });
+
+  it('should set workflows from JSON array syntax', async () => {
+    await runConfigCommand([
+      'set',
+      'workflows',
+      '["new","ff","apply","archive"]',
+    ]);
+
+    const { getGlobalConfig } = await import('../../src/core/global-config.js');
+    const config = getGlobalConfig();
+
+    expect(config.workflows).toEqual(['new', 'ff', 'apply', 'archive']);
+    expect(consoleLogSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'Set workflows = new,ff,apply,archive'
+    );
+  });
 });
 
 describe('config command shell completion registry', () => {
diff --git a/test/core/config-schema.test.ts b/test/core/config-schema.test.ts
index eeff81ccc8..4a76ea1f46 100644
--- a/test/core/config-schema.test.ts
+++ b/test/core/config-schema.test.ts
@@ -151,6 +151,23 @@ describe('config-schema', () => {
       expect(coerceValue('hello')).toBe('hello');
     });
 
+    it('should parse JSON arrays', () => {
+      expect(coerceValue('["new","ff","apply","archive"]')).toEqual([
+        'new',
+        'ff',
+        'apply',
+        'archive',
+      ]);
+    });
+
+    it('should parse JSON objects', () => {
+      expect(coerceValue('{"nested":"value"}')).toEqual({ nested: 'value' });
+    });
+
+    it('should keep malformed JSON containers as strings', () => {
+      expect(coerceValue('["new",')).toBe('["new",');
+    });
+
     it('should keep strings that start with numbers but are not numbers', () => {
       expect(coerceValue('123abc')).toBe('123abc');
     });
@@ -167,6 +184,7 @@ describe('config-schema', () => {
       expect(coerceValue('true', true)).toBe('true');
       expect(coerceValue('42', true)).toBe('42');
       expect(coerceValue('hello', true)).toBe('hello');
+      expect(coerceValue('["new"]', true)).toBe('["new"]');
     });
 
     it('should not coerce Infinity to number (not finite)', () => {
@@ -318,6 +336,16 @@ describe('config-schema', () => {
       expect(result.success).toBe(true);
       expect((config.featureFlags as Record<string, unknown>).experimental).toBe(false);
     });
+
+    it('should accept setting workflows from JSON array syntax', () => {
+      const config: Record<string, unknown> = { featureFlags: {}, profile: 'custom' };
+      const value = coerceValue('["new","ff","apply","archive"]');
+      setNestedValue(config, 'workflows', value);
+
+      const result = validateConfig(config);
+      expect(result.success).toBe(true);
+      expect(config.workflows).toEqual(['new', 'ff', 'apply', 'archive']);
+    });
   });
 
   describe('GlobalConfigSchema', () => {