plan

name	plan
user-invocable	true
description	Turns high-level brainstorming and ideas into well-structured, actionable implementation plans.
when_to_use	Use when user says "plan this", "create a plan", "how should we implement", or "write an implementation plan".
effort	high
argument-hint	feature, bug fix, or improvement to plan
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code (or similar products with agent support)

Create a new implementation plan (or bug fix)

Transform feature descriptions, bug reports, or improvement ideas into well-structured markdown files that follow VGV conventions and best practices. This command provides flexible detail levels to match your needs.

Feature Description

<feature_description>$ARGUMENTS</feature_description>

0. Idea Refinement

Check for brainstorm output first — before asking the user anything.

ls docs/brainstorm/

A brainstorm is relevant if created within the last 7 days and its topic semantically matches the feature description (if provided).

Brainstorms found	Feature description provided?	Action
One relevant	Yes	Read it, announce "Found brainstorm from [date]: [topic]", extract key decisions, proceed
One relevant	No	AskUserQuestion: "Plan this brainstorm?" — (Recommended) use it, or describe something different
Multiple relevant	Either	AskUserQuestion: list candidates, ask which to use
None / not relevant	No	Ask: "What would you like to plan?"
None / not relevant	Yes	Run /brainstorm to clarify the idea first

Do not proceed until you have a clear feature description — from arguments, a brainstorm, or the user.

Skip option: if the description is already detailed enough, ask the user if they want to skip idea refinement and proceed directly to planning.

1. Tasks to complete

1.1 Local research (always runs, and runs in parallel)

Do not re-run codebase-review-agent here. Codebase context was already captured in the brainstorm from /brainstorm.

Instead, extract what's needed from the brainstorm and run targeted searches:

1. From the brainstorm doc: Extract the architecture patterns, conventions, and relevant file paths already identified.
2. Targeted codebase search: Use Glob and Grep to search only the areas this plan will touch — the specific packages, layers, or features mentioned in the feature description and brainstorm.
   • Example: If planning a new repository, search for existing repository patterns in the relevant package.
   • Example: If planning a new state management unit, search for existing implementations in the same feature area.
3. Read referenced files: Read any specific files called out in the brainstorm as relevant context.

1.1.1 Research decision

Based on the findings from 0. Idea Refinement and 1.1 Local research, decide whether external research is needed:

Signal	Decision
High-risk topic (security, payments, external APIs, personal data)	Always research — cost of missing something is too high
Strong local context (good patterns, CLAUDE.md guidance, clear user intent)	Skip external research
Uncertainty or unfamiliar territory (no codebase examples, new technology)	Research

Announce the decision briefly and proceed. User can redirect if needed.

1.1.1.1 Conditional external research

Only run this step if 1.1.1 Research decision determines that external research is needed.

Run these agents in parallel to gather external information:

• @official-docs-research-agent: Fetches and synthesizes official documentation for relevant frameworks, libraries, and APIs.
• @best-practices-research-agent: Researches and synthesizes best practices for the project's technology stack, following VGV conventions first, then official documentation, and finally industry standards.

1.1.2. Consolidate research findings

After all research steps complete, consolidate findings:

• Document relevant file paths from repo research (e.g., src/authentication/forms/authentication_form:42)
• Include relevant institutional learnings from project documentation (key insights, gotchas to avoid)
• Note external documentation URLs and best practices (if external research was done)
• List related issues or PRs discovered
• Capture CLAUDE.md conventions

Optional validation: Briefly summarize findings and ask if anything looks off or missing before proceeding to planning.

2. Issue planning and structure

Think like a product manager — what would make this issue clear and actionable?

Title & Categorization:

• Draft clear, searchable issue title using the conventional commits format (e.g., feat: add user authentication, fix: cart total calculation)
• Determine issue type: enhancement, bug, refactor
• Convert title to filename: add today's date prefix, strip prefix colon, kebab-case, add -plan suffix
  • Example: feat: add user authentication → 2026-01-21-feat-add-user-authentication-plan.md
  • Keep it descriptive (3-5 words after prefix) so plans are findable by context

Stakeholder Analysis:

• Identify who will be affected by this issue (end users, developers, operations)
• Consider implementation complexity and required expertise

Content Planning:

• Choose appropriate detail level based on issue complexity and audience
• List all necessary sections for the chosen template
• Gather supporting materials (error logs, screenshots, design mockups)
• Prepare code examples or reproduction steps if applicable, name the mock filenames in the lists

3. User Flow Analysis

After planning the issue structure, run the user-flow-analysis-agent to analyze the plan for flow completeness and gap identification:

• Task @user-flow-analysis-agent(feature_description, research_findings)

Flow Analysis Output:

• Review flow analysis results
• Incorporate any identified gaps or edge cases into the issue
• Update success criteria based on flow analysis findings

4. Success Criteria Gate

Before selecting a template, derive the plan's success criteria and make each one machine-checkable. This block is the contract /build consumes, so it must be precise.

For each criterion, apply one rule — can a command prove this without human judgment?

• Yes → attach verify: <command> (exit code 0 = pass).
• No, but a human can check it → attach verify: manual <numbered steps>.
• Neither (vacuous or unmeasurable, e.g. "make it work", "code is clean") → reject it and rewrite it into a concrete, provable criterion.

Surface every rejected or rewritten criterion to the user with AskUserQuestion before writing the plan file — do not silently change the spec they approved.

These criteria populate the success-criteria block defined in success-criteria.md; fill it in when you write the plan file in Step 6. That reference shows the block's shape and the verify: convention.

verify: commands reflect the project's own toolchain. If the project has a companion verification skill available, its gates are the canonical verify: commands.

5. Select implementation detail template

Default to Standard. Use a different level only when the task clearly warrants it.

Level	When to use	Template
Minimal	Simple bugs, small enhancements, straightforward implementation	minimal
Standard (default)	Most features and bug fixes needing moderate detail	standard
Extensive	Major features, architectural changes, significant risk or uncertainty	extensive

5.1. Set up workspace

Before writing the plan file, ensure the session is not on the base branch:

• Run git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD. If the current branch is a base branch (main, master, or develop), use AskUserQuestion to offer creating a feature branch — git checkout -b <type>/<kebab-topic>, name under 60 characters — before writing. If already on a feature branch, continue without prompting.

6. Issue creation and formatting

Formatting checklist:

• Clear heading hierarchy (##, ###) and fenced code blocks with language identifiers
• Task lists (- [ ]) for trackable items; collapsible <details> for lengthy content
• Link related issues/PRs (#number), commits (SHA), and code (GitHub permalinks)
• Include prompts or instructions that worked well during research
• Emphasize comprehensive testing given rapid AI-assisted implementation

7. Final review

Pre-submission Checklist:

• Title is searchable and descriptive
• Labels accurately categorize the issue
• All template sections are complete
• Links and references are working
• Success criteria each carry a verify: command (or verify: manual <steps>)
• Add names of files in pseudo code examples and todo lists
• Add an ERD mermaid diagram if applicable for new model changes

Output Format

Filename: Use the date and kebab-case filename from Step 2 Title & Categorization: docs/plan/YYYY-MM-DD-<type>-<descriptive-name>-plan.md

Examples:

• ✅ docs/plan/2026-01-15-feat-user-authentication-flow-plan.md
• ❌ docs/plan/2026-01-15-feat-thing-plan.md (not descriptive)
• ❌ docs/plan/feat-user-auth-plan.md (missing date prefix)

Plan Review

After writing the plan file and before presenting options, run a mandatory quality pass on it. This replaces the separate /plan-technical-review step — plans created here are reviewed here.

• Minimal template → skip this section. The overhead is not worth it for a small plan.
• Standard or Extensive template → follow the plan review procedure with <PLAN_PATH> set to the plan file. It runs the simplicity, VGV, and scope-splitting agents in parallel, applies their findings to the plan inline, and — if the plan is too large for one PR — offers to restructure the work into phases or split it into part-N files.

Return here once the review completes, then present the options below.

Post-Generation Options

After the review completes, use the AskUserQuestion tool and present the following options:

Options:

1. Clear context and build (Recommended): clear context for a fresh start, then build
2. Start building: execute this plan with /build
3. Open the plan file in my code editor: open the plan file for review
4. Review and refine: improve the plan through self-review

If the user selects "Clear context and build" → Follow the clear context handoff for /build with the actual plan file path. Then stop.

For other selections:

• Start building → Call the /build skill with the plan file path
• Open plan in editor → Run open docs/plan/<plan_filename>.md to open the file in the user's default editor
• Review and refine → Load /refine-approach skill.
• Other (automatically provided) → Accept free text for rework or specific changes

Important

NEVER CODE at this stage. Only focus on producing a plan.