create-plan

name	create-plan
description	Creates a reconciled implementation plan by combining a structured plan draft with a normalized intent brief and a PRP-style research dossier, then auto-reviews the final plan. Use when planning a new feature or significant change in Codex.
argument-hint	[feature description or ticket reference]

Create Plan

Generate a complete plan for feature implementation with thorough research. The plan must contain enough context for an AI agent to implement the feature in a single pass.

Codex is the primary planner in this workflow. If you also have a separate Claude workflow available, treat it as an optional second-opinion lane rather than the source of truth.

Step 1: Mandatory Repo Audit

Do not start drafting until you have verified the current repo shape for the feature area.

Verify These Facts In-Repo

• Primary entrypoint(s) and integration surfaces relevant to this feature
• Exact module names and singular/plural usage
• Validator/controller/service directory layout in the affected area
• Actual data-model/schema/type source of truth used by this codebase
• Existing user-facing or operator-facing surface(s) this feature extends
• Shared type/export hubs if cross-app types are needed
• Actual validation/build/typecheck workflow used by this repo

Repo Audit Rules

• Do not assume any specific stack or layout. Discover the actual routing, validation, schema, frontend, and build patterns used by the current repo.
• Every existing file path cited in the final plan must have been opened in this session.
• Mark every path in the final plan as either existing or new.
• Never cite a line number unless it was verified in the current checkout.
• Never let template/example paths leak into the final plan.
• If the brief or user request conflicts with repo reality, add a Known Mismatches / Assumptions section that states the conflict and how the plan resolves it.

Step 1b: Clarify Requirements (Only If Needed)

If, after the repo audit, the approach is genuinely unclear, ask the user 1-3 targeted design questions. Otherwise, proceed directly.

Step 1c: External Research (Only If Needed)

• Library documentation
• Implementation examples
• Best practices and common pitfalls
• Prefer primary documentation when researching external behavior

Step 2: Draft the Plan, Intent Artifact, and Research Dossier

Produce three artifacts from the same brief:

1. A provisional implementation plan using ./plan_base.md
2. A normalized brief / intent artifact that preserves the why, locked decisions, non-goals, and success criteria in a compact downstream-friendly form
3. A supporting research dossier that behaves like a PRP: anchor-dense, selective, and focused on context transfer

The final output shown to the user is the reconciled plan, not the dossier.

Step 2a: Draft the Provisional Plan

Use ./plan_base.md in this skill directory as the template.

Critical Context to Include

The AI agent only gets the context in the plan plus codebase access. Include:

• Intent / Why
• Verified Repo Truths
• Evidence with exact file:line-line
• Locked Decisions
• Documentation URLs when needed
• Code Examples from the codebase
• Gotchas
• Patterns to follow
• Known Mismatches / Assumptions
• Critical Codebase Anchors

Plan Guidelines

• Required sections are: Summary, Intent / Why, Source Artifacts, Verified Repo Truths, Locked Decisions, Known Mismatches / Assumptions, Critical Codebase Anchors, Files Being Changed, Reconciliation Notes, Delta Design, Architecture Overview, Key Pseudocode, Tasks, Validation, and Open Questions.
• Verified Repo Truths contains facts only.
• Every fact needs Fact, Evidence, and Implication.
• Negative or absence-based claims also need Search Evidence.
• If it is not proven, it is not a fact.
• Every MODIFY path must already exist.
• Do not leak placeholder/example paths into the final plan.
• Keep repo facts separate from proposed changes.
• Mirror current codebase patterns rather than inventing approximate examples.
• Do not add compatibility layers unless the user explicitly asks.
• Do not add unit or integration tests by default.
• Use [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] markers instead of guessing.

Step 2b: Create a Normalized Brief / Intent Artifact

Save a normalized brief / intent artifact at: ./tmp/plan-artifacts/YYYY-MM-DD-description-brief.md

This is a compact intent capsule for downstream implementation and review. Include:

• Problem / outcome summary
• Who this matters for
• Locked decisions already made
• Non-goals / what must not be optimized away
• Success criteria
• Explicit user constraints

The final plan must record this path in Source Artifacts.

Step 2c: Create a Research Dossier

Save a supporting dossier at: ./tmp/plan-artifacts/YYYY-MM-DD-description-research-dossier.md

The dossier should:

• behave like a PRP-style supporting artifact, not the final plan
• focus on critical codebase anchors, patterns to reuse, gotchas, external docs, and a suggested implementation shape
• use exact file:line-line references for repo claims
• include external docs only when they materially reduce risk
• avoid placeholder text and generic examples

Step 3: Reconcile the Dossier into the Final Plan

Before saving the user-facing plan, compare the provisional plan against the research dossier and reconcile them.

Reconciliation Goals

• Import missing anchors from the dossier into the final plan
• Import missing docs, gotchas, and load-bearing constraints
• Preserve the brief's why, locked decisions, and non-goals as first-class constraints in the final plan
• Surface factual conflicts between the draft and dossier
• Remove duplicated or low-value sections
• Preserve a clean separation between verified facts, settled decisions, and proposed changes

Reconciliation Rules

• The final plan is authoritative
• The brief / intent artifact is authoritative for why
• Do not paste the dossier wholesale into the plan
• If the plan and dossier disagree, re-check the repo before choosing a side
• If a simplification weakens the brief's intent, surface it rather than hide it
• Do not import unsupported dossier claims into Verified Repo Truths
• Keep only the highest-value anchors, patterns, docs, and gotchas
• Add concise Reconciliation Notes

Pre-Save Reality Check

Before saving the plan, verify all of the following:

• Every MODIFY path exists
• No placeholder/example paths remain
• Every line anchor was checked in the current checkout
• Every Verified Repo Truths bullet includes Fact, Evidence, and Implication
• Every negative claim includes Search Evidence
• No future/proposal language appears inside Verified Repo Truths
• Entry points and integration points match the repo audit
• Code examples match current helper patterns
• The dossier has been compared against the provisional plan
• Any plan-vs-dossier conflicts were resolved or surfaced explicitly

Step 4: Save the Final Plan and Supporting Artifacts

Save the final reconciled plan as: ./tmp/ready-plans/YYYY-MM-DD-description.md

Save the supporting research dossier as: ./tmp/plan-artifacts/YYYY-MM-DD-description-research-dossier.md

Save the normalized brief / intent artifact as: ./tmp/plan-artifacts/YYYY-MM-DD-description-brief.md

Only the reconciled plan belongs in ready-plans.

Step 5: Review and Present

After saving the plan, run the review gates.

1. Run a skeptical review against the standards in plan-reviewer.
2. If you can run a fresh second review context, do it and compare results.
3. If you are operating alongside a separate Claude workflow, you may use that as the parallel second-opinion lane, but Codex remains the primary planner.
4. Split findings into:
   • Auto-fixable
   • Needs user input
5. Apply all auto-fixable changes silently.
6. Do not surface questions until all active review lanes are complete and their findings are merged.

Present to the User

• Plan Summary: 3-5 bullets
• Questions for You: only genuine decisions or unresolved ambiguity
• Plan Link: ./tmp/ready-plans/[filename]
• Optional links:
  • Brief / intent artifact
  • Research dossier
• End with: Want to run another review pass, or is this ready to implement?

If the user wants changes or another review pass, apply the changes and rerun a fresh review.

Do not treat the plan as ready if factual blockers remain unresolved.

Step 6: Return the Plan — Do Not Implement

Once the user confirms the plan is ready, tell them:

Plan finalized! To implement, run:

/implement ./tmp/ready-plans/[filename]

Your job ends here. Do not start implementing the plan in the same step.

Quality Checklist

• Supporting research dossier created
• Supporting brief / intent artifact created
• Existing file paths verified in-session
• No placeholder/example paths leaked from the template
• Plan includes Intent / Why and Source Artifacts
• Verified Repo Truths contains facts only
• Every verified fact has exact evidence
• Every negative claim has search evidence
• High-value anchors/docs/gotchas from the dossier were reconciled into the plan or intentionally dropped
• The brief's why, locked decisions, and non-goals survived reconciliation
• Validation gates are executable by AI
• References existing patterns
• Clear implementation path
• Error handling documented