plan

name: plan description: Generate an implementation plan from a PRD, tech spike, or feature spec and save it to context/plans/. Use for planning work, breaking down a PRD, or creating an implementation plan from a spec.

Implementation Plan

Read a PRD, tech spike, or feature spec and produce a concrete implementation plan saved to context/plans/.

Arguments

• $ARGUMENTS - Required: path to a PRD/spike/spec file, a URL, or inline description of what to plan

Context

• Project type: !find . -maxdepth 1 \( -name go.mod -o -name Gemfile -o -name package.json -o -name Cargo.toml -o -name pyproject.toml -o -name CLAUDE.md -o -name AGENTS.md \) 2>/dev/null | head -10
• Directory structure: !find . -maxdepth 2 -type d -not -path './.git/*' -not -path './node_modules/*' -not -path './vendor/*' 2>/dev/null | head -30
• Recent commits: !git log --oneline -10 2>/dev/null | head -10
• Prior plans: !find .context/plans -name "*.md" 2>/dev/null | head -10
• Prior spikes: !find context/spikes -name "*.md" 2>/dev/null | head -10
• Phase artifacts: !ls -t .context/phases/*.md 2>/dev/null | head -10

Phase Protocol

This skill participates in a phase chain. Read ~/.claude/skills/_shared/resources/phase-protocol.md for the full protocol.

Before starting: Check .context/phases/ for prior artifacts:

• If critique-*.md exists → read the latest critique. This is a second pass — incorporate the critique's concerns into a refined plan. Write output as plan-{ts}.md.
• If no critique exists → this is a first pass (thinking/exploration). Write output as think-{ts}.md.

After completing Step 4: Write the phase artifact to .context/phases/:

mkdir -p .context/phases

Use the artifact format from the phase protocol. The Handoff section should include: key decisions, implementation phases, open questions, and risks — everything /dev needs to start building.

Instructions

Step 1: Ingest the source material

Parse $ARGUMENTS to locate the input:

1. File path — Read the file directly.
2. URL — Fetch the content.
3. Inline text — Use the arguments as the spec.

IF $ARGUMENTS is empty or unclear, ask the user to provide a PRD, spike, or spec.

Extract from the source:

• Goal: What is being built or changed?
• Requirements: Functional and non-functional requirements, acceptance criteria.
• Constraints: Technical constraints, dependencies, timeline signals.
• Open questions: Anything unresolved in the source material.

Present a brief summary of what you understood and ask the user to confirm before proceeding.

Step 2: Explore the codebase

Investigate the current codebase to ground the plan in reality:

1. Find relevant code — Search for files, modules, and patterns related to the requirements.
2. Understand existing architecture — Read key files to understand conventions, patterns, and boundaries.
3. Identify integration points — Where does the new work connect to existing code?
4. Check for prior art — Look at prior plans and spikes in context/ for related work.

Step 3: Write the plan

Ensure context/plans/ directory exists (create if needed).

Save the plan to context/plans/<date>-<slug>.md where <date> is today in YYYY-MM-DD format and <slug> is a short kebab-case summary.

Use this format:

# Plan: <title>

**Date:** <YYYY-MM-DD>
**Source:** <path or URL to the PRD/spike/spec>
**Status:** Draft
**Current Phase:** Phase 1

## Goal

<1-2 sentence summary of what this plan achieves>

## Background

<current state, why this work is needed, link to source material>

## Requirements

### Must Have
- <requirement with acceptance criteria>

### Should Have
- <requirement>

### Won't Do (this iteration)
- <explicitly excluded scope>

## Technical Approach

<high-level strategy: what patterns to follow, key design decisions>

## Decisions

| Decision | Rationale |
|----------|-----------|
| <what was decided> | <why — constraints, trade-offs, alternatives rejected> |

## Implementation Steps

### Phase 1: <name>
**Status:** pending

- [ ] <task> — `path/to/file` — <what to do>
- [ ] <task> — `path/to/file` — <what to do>

### Phase 2: <name>
**Status:** pending

- [ ] <task> — `path/to/file` — <what to do>

### Phase 3: <name> (if needed)
**Status:** pending

- [ ] <task> — `path/to/file` — <what to do>

## Testing Strategy

- <what tests to write, what to verify>
- <edge cases to cover>

## Risks & Open Questions

| Risk | Mitigation |
|------|------------|
| <risk> | <how to handle> |

- <open question from source material>
- <open question discovered during exploration>

## Dependencies

- <external dependency or prerequisite>

## Errors Encountered

| Error | Attempt | Resolution |
|-------|---------|------------|

## Estimated Scope

**Phases:** <N>
**Tasks:** <N>
**Files touched:** <N>

Step 4: Report

Print the plan summary (goal, phases, task count) and the file path where the full plan was saved. Offer to:

1. Print the full plan
2. Start implementation (suggest /dev with the plan as input)

Updating Progress

The plan is the single source of truth for progress. Any agent or session can pick up where the last one left off.

Read before decide

At the start of each session, read the plan file. This refreshes goals and progress in your attention window. Check the Current Phase field and scan checkboxes to orient.

Update after act

After completing a task:

1. Check off the task: - [ ] to - [x]
2. When all tasks in a phase are done, update its **Status:** from pending to complete
3. Update **Current Phase:** at the top to the next phase
4. Log any decisions made to the Decisions table with rationale
5. Log any errors hit to the Errors Encountered table — this prevents future sessions from repeating the same failures