- name
- visualize-plan
- license
- MIT
- compatibility
- Claude Code 2.1.277+.
- description
- Renders planned changes — architecture and before/after comparisons, risk heat maps, execution order, dependency graphs, impact metrics — in your chosen output format (ASCII + emojis, an interactive HTML playground, or a NotebookLM infographic). Stores visualizations in memory for cross-session reference. Use when reviewing implementation plans, comparing approaches, assessing risk, or analyzing change propagation.
- argument-hint
- [plan-or-issue]
- context
- fork
- background
- false
- agent
- workflow-architect
- model
- sonnet
- user-invocable
- true
- allowed-tools
- Read Grep Glob Agent TaskCreate TaskUpdate AskUserQuestion Bash Write mcp__memory__search_nodes mcp__memory__create_entities ToolSearch mcp__notebooklm-mcp__studio_create
- skills
- ["glyph","explore","architecture-decision-record","memory","remember","page-serve"]
- hooks
- {"PreToolUse":[{"matcher":"Bash","hooks":"[Truncated]"}]}
- metadata
- {"category":"document-asset-creation","mcp-server":"memory","version":"2.1.0","author":"OrchestKit","complexity":"medium","tags":"visualization, planning, before-after, architecture, diff, risk, impact, migration, playground, infographic, multi-format"}
- triggers
- {"keywords":["visualize","visualize plan","visualize the plan","visualize the","show diagram","before and after","execution order","risk and impact","swimlane","what files will change"],"examples":["visualize the plan for the billing module redesign","show me a before and after diagram for this migration","whats the risk and impact of the changes"],"anti-triggers":["implement","brainstorm","explore","assess","fix"]}
# Plan Visualization
Render planned changes as structured ASCII visualizations with risk analysis, execution order, and impact metrics. Every section answers a specific reviewer question.
**Core principle:** Encode judgment into visualization, not decoration.
```bash
visualize-plan # Auto-detect from current branch
visualize-plan billing module redesign # Describe the plan
visualize-plan #234 # Pull from GitHub issue
visualize-plan --quick # Header + changes + impact, zero questions
visualize-plan --playground # Skip straight to the HTML dashboard
visualize-plan --infographic # Skip straight to NotebookLM
```
## Argument Resolution
```python
PLAN_INPUT = "$ARGUMENTS" # Full argument string
PLAN_TOKEN = "$ARGUMENTS[0]" # First token — could be issue "#234" or plan description
# If starts with "#", treat as GitHub issue number. Otherwise, plan description.
# $ARGUMENTS (full string) for multi-word descriptions (CC 2.1.59 indexed access)
# Flags are stripped from PLAN_INPUT before it is used as a description:
# --quick → QUICK=true: tier-1 header + [1] Changes + [5] Impact, no Explore
# agent, no questions at all, no memory write. The 15-second answer.
# --playground → FORMATS=[ascii, playground] (no format question)
# --infographic → FORMATS=[ascii, infographic] (no format question)
# --all → FORMATS=[ascii, + everything the probe found]
```
## Question budget: ZERO before the first render
This skill used to ask three blocking questions (source, then format, then sections)
before a single character rendered, plus a fourth after. That is why fast paths leaked to
`glyph` and to hand-written HTML.
The format answer is **not needed** to render ASCII — the ASCII floor rule renders it
first regardless of what the user picks. So asking up front buys nothing and costs a
round-trip. The rule now:
| Decision | When | How |
|---|---|---|
| Source | before | Auto-detect. Ask **only** if detection is genuinely ambiguous (STEP 0). |
| Sections | never | Default to **all**. The tier-1 header is the progressive-disclosure layer. |
| Format | **after** ASCII | One post-render question (STEP 5), merged with drill-deeper. |
`--quick` skips even that one.
Budget: at most 1 Explore agent and one post-render question (STEP 5); stop and report at the finish line or the first cap, whichever comes first.
---
## CRITICAL: Task Tracking
**`--quick` skips this whole block.** A 15-second render does not need a dependency graph; the
task overhead would cost more than the work.
```python
# 1. Create main task IMMEDIATELY
TaskCreate(subject="Visualize plan: {PLAN_INPUT}", description="Plan visualization with ASCII rendering", activeForm="Analyzing plan context")
# 2. Create subtasks for each phase
TaskCreate(subject="Detect or clarify plan context", activeForm="Detecting plan context") # id=2
TaskCreate(subject="Gather data and explore architecture", activeForm="Gathering plan data") # id=3
TaskCreate(subject="Render tier 1 header", activeForm="Rendering header") # id=4
TaskCreate(subject="Render sections + dispatch to chosen format(s)", activeForm="Rendering sections") # id=5
TaskCreate(subject="Offer actions and store in memory", activeForm="Finalizing visualization") # id=6
# 3. Set dependencies for sequential phases
TaskUpdate(taskId="3", addBlockedBy=["2"]) # Data gathering needs context first
TaskUpdate(taskId="4", addBlockedBy=["3"]) # Header needs gathered data
TaskUpdate(taskId="5", addBlockedBy=["4"]) # Sections need header rendered
TaskUpdate(taskId="6", addBlockedBy=["5"]) # Actions need sections done
# 4. Update status as you progress
TaskUpdate(taskId="2", status="in_progress") # When starting
TaskUpdate(taskId="2", status="completed") # When done — repeat for each subtask
```
## STEP -1: Check Memory for Prior Plans
```python
# Search for related prior visualizations
mcp__memory__search_nodes(query="plan visualization {PLAN_INPUT}")
# If found, offer to compare with previous plan
```
## STEP 0: Detect or Clarify Plan Context
**First**, attempt auto-detection by running `scripts/detect-plan-context.sh`:
```bash
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/detect-plan-context.sh"
```
This outputs branch name, issue number (if any), commit count, and file change summary.
**If auto-detection finds a clear plan** (branch with commits diverging from main, or issue number in args), proceed to Step 1.
**If ambiguous**, clarify with AskUserQuestion:
```python
AskUserQuestion(
questions=[{
"question": "What should I visualize?",
"header": "Source",
"options": [
{"label": "Current branch changes (Recommended)", "description": "Auto-detect from git diff against main"},
{"label": "Describe the plan", "description": "I'll explain what I'm planning to change"},
{"label": "GitHub issue", "description": "Pull plan from a specific issue number"},
{"label": "Quick file diff only", "description": "Just show the change manifest, skip analysis"}
],
"multiSelect": false
}]
)
```
---
## STEP 0.5: Probe Formats (silent — no question here)
Probe **capabilities** now so STEP 5 can offer only what will actually work. **Do not ask
anything at this step.** Full procedure: `Read("references/format-dispatch.md")`.
Use the established MCP-probe pattern — `Read("${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/chain-patterns/references/mcp-detection.md")` — not ad-hoc checks:
```python
# infographic is available IFF the notebooklm studio tool resolves:
ToolSearch(query="select:mcp__notebooklm-mcp__studio_create")
# chart-encoding is available IFF the bundled /dataviz skill resolves
# (CC >= 2.1.198, disableBundledSkills off). It is a MARK-layer upgrade
# applied WITHIN a format, not a 4th format — see chart-encoding-standard.md.
```
Record what is available as `AVAILABLE`: **ascii** always (the floor); **playground** if the
`playground` skill is installed (ships with ork); **infographic** if `studio_create` resolved above
(server reachable + `nlm login` done). Orthogonally, if the **`/dataviz`** skill resolved, upgrade
the chart *marks* in the non-ASCII formats via its form-heuristic + validated palette; if it did not
resolve, charts stay ASCII-card — dataviz is never required.
`FORMATS` is then set **without asking**:
```python
if "--quick" in flags: FORMATS = ["ascii"] # and STEP 5 is skipped too
elif "--playground" in flags: FORMATS = ["ascii", "playground"]
elif "--infographic" in flags: FORMATS = ["ascii", "infographic"]
elif "--all" in flags: FORMATS = AVAILABLE
else: FORMATS = ["ascii"] # upgrade offered in STEP 5
```
**ASCII floor rule:** ASCII renders first/inline regardless — and because it never depends on the
format choice, the choice is deferred to STEP 5 where it costs nothing. Never `await` the async
NotebookLM job.
---
## STEP 1: Gather Data
Run `scripts/analyze-impact.sh` for precise counts:
```bash
bash "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/analyze-impact.sh"
```
This produces: files by action (add/modify/delete), line counts, test files affected, and dependency changes.
**`--quick` stops here** — the impact script alone feeds the header, [1] Changes, and [5] Impact.
No Explore agent, no before/after map, no memory write.
For architecture-level understanding **and the default before/after section [0]**, spawn an Explore agent that maps the component graph at BOTH the base and the head:
```python
Agent(
subagent_type="Explore",
prompt="Map component architecture of {affected_directories} at TWO points: (a) base = each file as returned by `git show origin/main:<path>` (NOT the working tree, to avoid conflating uncommitted edits), (b) head = current working tree. Return per point: components, dependencies, data flows; mark what is added [+], removed [-], or changed [~] between them. Use the glyph skill for diagrams.",
model="haiku",
max_turns=15
)
```
If the diff touches frontend (`*.tsx`/`*.css`/route files), also run a `design-context-extract` pass so the design surface is part of before/after. Patterns: `Read("references/before-after-arch-patterns.md")`.
Build a compact **plan brief** (markdown) from this data — the single interchange every non-ASCII format consumes (see `format-dispatch.md`).
---
## STEP 2: Render Tier 1 Header (Always)
Use `assets/tier1-header.md` template. Load `Read("references/visualization-tiers.md")` for field computation (risk level, confidence, reversibility).
```
PLAN: {plan_name} ({issue_ref}) | {phase_count} phases | {file_count} files | +{added} -{removed} lines
Risk: {risk_level} | Confidence: {confidence} | Reversible until {last_safe_phase}
Branch: {branch} -> {base_branch}
[0] Before/After [1] Changes [2] Execution [3] Risks [4] Decisions [5] Impact [all]
```
---
## STEP 3: Select Sections (no question — default to all)
**Render all six sections.** They are the content; asking which ones to render is asking the
reviewer to choose before they have seen anything. The tier-1 header is already the
progressive-disclosure layer, and a section with nothing to say is skipped with a one-line reason
(not padded), so "all" never means "bloated".
```python
SECTIONS = ["0","1","2","3","4","5"] # default
if QUICK: SECTIONS = ["1","5"] # --quick: change manifest + impact only
```
**Section [0] Before/After leads** whenever the Explore map shows structural changes, and is
skipped with a one-line note otherwise. If the user asked for specific sections in their prompt
("just the risks"), honor that — but do not *prompt* for it.
---
## STEP 4: Render Requested Sections
Render each requested section following `rules/section-rendering.md` conventions. Use the corresponding reference for ASCII patterns:
| Section | Reference | Key Convention |
|---------|-----------|----------------|
| [0] Before/After Arch | (load `references/before-after-arch-patterns.md`) | Side-by-side base vs head; mark `[+]`/`[~]`/`[-]`; skip if nothing structural changed |
| [1] Change Manifest | (load `references/change-manifest-patterns.md`) | `[A]`/`[M]`/`[D]` + `+N -N` per file |
| [2] Execution Swimlane | (load `references/execution-swimlane-patterns.md`) | `===` active, `---` blocked, `\|` deps |
| [3] Risk Dashboard | (load `references/risk-dashboard-patterns.md`) | Reversibility timeline + 3 pre-mortems |
| [4] Decision Log | (load `references/decision-log-patterns.md`) | ADR-lite: Context/Decision/Alternatives/Tradeoff |
| [5] Impact Summary | (load `assets/impact-dashboard.md`) | Table: Added/Modified/Deleted/NET + tests/API/deps |
---
## STEP 4b: Dispatch to Format(s)
Render the selected sections into the `FORMATS` chosen in STEP 0.5. **ASCII always renders first/inline** — the other formats consume the same plan brief. Full table + delegation patterns: `Read("references/format-dispatch.md")`.
| Format | Action |
|--------|--------|
| ASCII | Native render (above) — always, the floor |
| Playground | Classify the archetype (below), then hand the plan brief to the `playground` skill → write `docs/<branch-dir>/plan-viz.html`, then serve it with `page-serve docs/<branch-dir>/plan-viz.html` and put the printed `url=` in the reply's Open section (never a bare path or a hand-started http.server) |
| Infographic | Run the `notebooklm` `studio_create(artifact_type=infographic\|slides)` flow — **fire-and-notify**, poll `studio_status`, never await |
| All | ASCII inline now + the rest linked as they finish |
| Charts (marks *within* Playground / Infographic) | For sections with quantitative marks — **[3] Risk, [5] Impact, [6] Blast Radius** — pick the form via `/dataviz` (`choosing-a-form`) and the palette via its 6-check formula, then run `validate_palette.js`. On validator FAIL **or** `/dataviz` absent, fall back to the ASCII-card layout. Chrome stays ork tokens (§2 of `playground-visual-standard.md`); only the data marks come from the validated palette. See `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/shared/rules/chart-encoding-standard.md`. |
`<branch-dir>` = branch with `/` → `--` (same path the PR Playground gate checks). The filename is
**always `plan-viz.html`** — not `index.html`, not a topic name. One name is what makes slug lookup
and the artifact gallery work at all.
> **Playground archetype:** a plan visualization is usually a **DASHBOARD** — and as of 2026-08 that
> is a first-class archetype with a template, not a free pass. **Copy
> `shared/assets/playground-exemplars/plan-dashboard.template.html` and swap the `plan-state`
> island**; do not free-hand the CSS. It ships the §2 tokens, a sticky tier-1 header, `<details>`
> sections `[0]`–`[5]`, a table twin per chart, the copy-prompt bar, and the reduced-motion gate.
> If the plan instead demonstrates a *user-facing flow* or a *prioritization/decision*, route to the
> **user-story-player** or **decision-board** archetype. Apply the §0 routing rule in
> `Read("${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/shared/rules/playground-visual-standard.md")` and run its §10
> self-audit — including the DASHBOARD rows — before declaring done.
>
> **Backlog to dispatch?** If the plan is a backlog the user must prioritize **and route to execution**,
> use the **decision-router** variant — each card routes to an ork strategy and emits a plan-only
> invocation: `Read("references/decision-router.md")`.
>
> **Living plan (multi-wave)?** If the plan executes over multiple sessions/waves, or completion is
> verifiable by commands, use the **living-plan** exemplar (`living-plan.template.html`): the playground
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