catherder-plan-task-standards

name	catherder-plan-task-standards
description	Validate and verify plans and tasks in .instructions folder against CatHerder standards. Use when creating, reviewing, updating, verifying or validating plans and/or tasks.

Plan & Task Standards

Use this skill when working with CatHerder plan folders.

Detailed rules live in references/; this file is a compact index + checklist.

Quick Rules

• Folder name: planNNN-short-description.
• Plan files: planNNN-prompt.md, planNNN-draft.md, planNNN.md.
• Plans use frontmatter type: plan + description (prompt stage frontmatter is optional).
• Task files under tasks/ are named taskNNN-NN-short-name.md and use frontmatter type: task + description.
• Timestamps in body must use YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS+HH:MM.
• Draft stage is intent-only: no concrete ## Tasks checklist.
• Active plan is executable: includes task checklist + acceptance criteria.

Authoring Checklist

• Folder and files use matching NNN prefix.
• Status value matches stage (draft for draft file; active/completed/abandoned for active file).
• Required sections exist for the file stage.
• If active status is completed, all task/acceptance checkboxes are checked.
• Separate task files are referenced from the active plan when used.

Scripts

Script	Purpose	Usage	Exit Codes	Dependencies / Notes
scripts/validate.sh	Run validate.py via the workspace venv. Report-only; does not modify files.	bash scripts/validate.sh path/to/planNNN-…	0=clean 1=issues-found 2=usage-error	Prefers ../../../../.venv/bin/python; falls back to python3.
scripts/validate.py	Validate plan folder structure, frontmatter, status, timestamps, and task files. Emits JSON with error/warning severities.	python scripts/validate.py path/to/planNNN-…	0=clean 1=issues-found 2=usage-or-config-error	Requires python-frontmatter>=1.1.0.

References Map

• Canonical rules and lifecycle: references/plan-task-spec-2026-03.md
• Validator rulebook (checks + severities): references/validation-rules-2026-03.md
• Task-file template for per-plan tasks/: references/TASK_TEMPLATE.md
• Trigger/non-trigger sanity prompts: references/test-prompts-2026-03.md

Related Process Rules

This skill covers plan/task format and structure. For behavioural rules that apply during plan authoring and task execution, see catherder.instructions.md (copied into each enabled project). Key related concepts:

• Planning vs execution mode — when to modify plans vs execute tasks.
• Prompt precedence — how to resolve conflicts between instruction sources.
• Persistence norms — prefer durable artifacts over ephemeral chat.

Scope

• In scope: CatHerder plan folder layout, plan/task file format, lifecycle stages, frontmatter keys, status values, timestamps, and structural validation.
• Out of scope: skill file format (see skill-file-standards), AGENTS.md standards, and project source-code conventions.