| name | kanban-plan |
| description | Break work into stories and subtasks on the Kanban board. Use when the user describes a feature, task, or body of work that should be planned, decomposed, or organized into trackable tickets. |
| argument-hint | ["description of work to plan"] |
| allowed-tools | Bash, Read, Grep, Glob, mcp__kanban__open_board, mcp__kanban__list_columns, mcp__kanban__list_tickets, mcp__kanban__create_ticket, mcp__kanban__create_subtask, mcp__kanban__move_ticket |
Plan Work on the Kanban Board
You are planning work by breaking it into stories and subtasks on the mcp-kanban board.
Step 1: Start the board (MANDATORY FIRST STEP)
You MUST call mcp__kanban__open_board FIRST, before any other kanban tool. This starts the web UI server. Wait for it to return, then open the URL in the browser:
open "<url from open_board>"
Do NOT call list_columns, list_tickets, create_ticket, or any other kanban tool until this step is complete.
Step 2: Discover the board structure
Use mcp__kanban__list_columns to get the available columns and their IDs. Identify which column is best for new planned work (typically "Backlog" or "Todo").
Use mcp__kanban__list_tickets to check for existing tickets so you don't create duplicates.
Step 3: Analyze the work
Read relevant code files to understand the current state. Break the work described in $ARGUMENTS into:
- Stories: High-level features or logical units of work. Each story should be independently deliverable.
- Subtasks: Concrete, actionable implementation steps under each story. Each subtask should be completable in a single focused session.
Step 4: Create tickets on the board
For each story:
- Create a story ticket with
mcp__kanban__create_ticket — use a clear title and a description that explains the goal, acceptance criteria, and any relevant technical context
- Create subtasks under it with
mcp__kanban__create_subtask — each subtask should have a concise title and a description covering what specifically needs to be done
Place stories in the "Backlog" or "Todo" column (whichever makes more sense given the board's column structure).
Set appropriate priorities: urgent for blockers, high for critical path items, medium for standard work, low for nice-to-haves.
Step 5: Present the plan and ask to start
After all tickets are created, present a summary:
- Total number of stories and subtasks created
- Brief overview of each story and its subtasks
- Suggested order of execution
Then ask the user: "The plan is on the board. Would you like me to start working through these tickets?"
If the user confirms, invoke the kanban-work workflow.
Guidelines
- Keep story titles under 60 characters
- Subtask titles should start with a verb (Add, Implement, Update, Fix, Refactor, Test...)
- Descriptions should be detailed enough that someone unfamiliar with the codebase could understand the intent
- Don't create more than 5-7 stories for a single planning session — if the work is larger, suggest splitting into phases
- Don't create more than 5-8 subtasks per story — if a story needs more, it should probably be split
