| name | sandman-plan |
| description | Create an execution-ready implementation plan from the implementor's open work item, codebase exploration, and subagent review. Use before sandman-tdd when sandman-implement needs a behavior-first plan. |
Plan
Create a plan that sandman-tdd can execute directly.
Purpose
Turn issue context into a concise, behavior-first plan:
- explore the codebase and understand the issue context
- identify behaviors to test, not implementation steps
- design interfaces for testability
- get subagent review and reach consensus before finalizing
- write the result into
.sandman/task.md under ## Plan
- post the approved plan as a comment on the implementor's open work item
Workflow
1. Gather context
- Read the issue body, parent issue, and linked comments.
- Read relevant repo docs, especially
CONTEXT.md and nearby ADRs.
- Read sibling Sandman skills that frame the workflow, especially
sandman-implement and sandman-tdd.
- Use the repo's glossary and domain language so the plan matches existing terminology.
2. Explore and design
- Inspect code paths closest to the issue.
- Design testable seams: identify where to introduce interfaces, accept dependencies, and separate side effects so that each behavior can be verified through a public boundary.
- Prefer deep modules: small surface area, complex logic hidden behind it.
- If no seam exists today, identify where to create one — a new interface, a dependency injection point, or a pure-function extraction.
3. Draft the plan
- List behaviors to test in execution order, starting with the tracer bullet.
- For each behavior, name the observable outcome, not the implementation.
- For each slice, note the interface seam or boundary that makes it testable.
- Call out assumptions, risks, or open questions.
- Keep the plan executable: no file-by-file chores, no internal refactor steps, no speculative extras.
4. Ask for subagent review
- Send the draft plan to a general-purpose subagent for review.
- Include the issue context, the draft plan, and the
Search Scope Restriction verbatim.
- Review against this rubric:
- behavior-first, not implementation-first
- clear testability seams
- execution-ready ordering for
sandman-tdd
- full coverage of issue context, ADRs, and sibling skill constraints
- no hidden implementation steps
If the review subagent fails or returns no decision, preserve the failure and next executable action through the parent workflow's normal recovery and continuation handling rather than adding a skill-local retry policy. The parent run_idle_timeout remains the only execution watchdog.
5. Finalize the plan
- Revise until consensus.
- Write the final result into
.sandman/task.md.
- Preserve the task document scaffold; do not replace it.
- Put the plan in a top-level
## Plan section inside the body.
- Below the plan, add a
## Next Step section set to the first sandman-tdd action, so the execution phase can start immediately.
- Once consensus is reached and the plan is ready for implementation, post the exact
## Plan content as a Markdown comment on the implementor's open work item.
- Do not post a draft, a rejected review, or any content outside the approved plan. On a retry, check the existing comments first and do not post a duplicate approved plan.
gh issue comment <ID> --body "<approved plan>"
Plan output shape
Use this shape inside .sandman/task.md:
## Plan
### Behaviors to test
- ...
### Testable interfaces
- ...
### Assumptions / risks
- ...
Rules
- Behaviors only, not implementation steps.
- Public interfaces and seams only, not private details.
- Ordered slices only, not a bulk test list.
- Write the task doc in-place, not as a replacement for its scaffold.
