plan-check-gate

name	plan-check-gate
description	Require fact-backed research and an explicit implementation plan before writing code. Use when the user asks for planning first, wants verification/citations, says they may be wrong, or when the task is high-risk/high-cost and code should stay blocked until plan approval.

Plan Check Gate

Overview

Enforce a pre-code quality gate. Do research first, separate verified facts from assumptions, and produce an approval-ready plan before any file edits.

Pre-Code Workflow

1. Define scope

• Restate objective, constraints, and acceptance criteria.
• Identify what must be true for the task to be considered done.

2. Build fact set

• Collect only relevant facts.
• Mark each item as verified or assumption.

3. Research and verify

• Prefer primary sources for technical claims (official docs/specs/repos/papers).
• If information can change (versions, APIs, pricing, policies, benchmarks), re-check before coding.
• Record source links and concrete dates.

4. Propose plan

• Provide implementation steps, test plan, risks, and rollback idea.
• Keep steps small and reversible.

5. Approval gate

• Ask for explicit go/no-go.
• Do not write code until approved.

Output Contract

Before coding, return:

• objective
• constraints
• verified_facts (with sources)
• assumptions
• plan_steps
• test_strategy
• risks
• decision (hold or go)

Coding Unlock Conditions

Only start implementation when all are true:

• At least one high-signal source exists for each unstable or critical claim.
• Assumptions are explicitly listed.
• Plan is testable and scoped.
• User approved execution.

Resources

• Checklist and prompt snippets: references/plan-check-checklist.md
• Artifact generator: scripts/emit_plan_check.py

Use the script to create a reusable planning record:

python scripts/emit_plan_check.py --task "your task" --out ".codex-plan-check/your-task.md" --requires-research --source "https://example.com/doc"