planning

name

planning

description

Structured planning skill for xtrm ecosystem projects. Creates a well-documented bd issue board from any task, feature, spec, or idea — with phases, dependencies, rich descriptions, and integrated test coverage via test-planning. MUST activate whenever the user wants to "plan", "design", "architect", "break down", "structure", "scope out", or "start" a feature or epic. Also activate when: the user describes a complex task without existing issues, pastes a spec or PRD to decompose, asks "how should I approach X" or "where do I start", mentions wanting to create implementation issues, or starts a new worktree session without a claimed issue. Activate even when the user says something like "I want to implement X" — if there's no existing issue board for X, planning comes first. Never skip planning when a task spans more than 2 files or 3 steps — that's when a structured board saves hours.

Planning

Transform intent into a bd issue board: each issue self-contained, documented enough for any agent or human to work independently.

When This Fires

• plan, design, architect, scope out, break down, how should I approach
• Starting a new feature/epic from scratch
• Decomposing a spec, PRD, or long description into tasks
• Reviewing existing issues that lack documentation or structure
• Before bd update --claim — plan first, then claim

---

Workflow

Phase 1  Clarify intent          → understand what, why, constraints
Phase 2  Explore codebase        → GitNexus + Serena, read-only
Phase 3  Structure the plan      → phases, deps, CoT reasoning
Phase 4  Create bd issues        → epic + tasks, rich descriptions
Phase 5  test-planning           → companion test issues per layer
Phase 6  Handoff                 → claim first issue, ready to build

---

Phase 1 — Clarify Intent

Before touching any code, nail down:

<clarification_checklist> What is being built? (feature, fix, refactor, migration) Why — what problem does it solve? Constraints (must not break X, must use pattern Y, deadline) Known unknowns — what needs investigation? Priority (P0 critical → P4 backlog) </clarification_checklist>

If the request is under 8 words or the scope is unclear, ask one clarifying question before exploring. Don't ask two.

---

Phase 2 — Explore Codebase (Read-Only)

Use GitNexus and Serena to understand the landscape. No file edits.

GitNexus-first protocol (mandatory when available)

# 1) Find relevant execution flows by concept
gitnexus_query({query: "<concept related to task>"})

# 2) Get full caller/callee/process context for likely symbols
gitnexus_context({name: "<affected symbol>"})

# 3) Assess blast radius before locking the implementation plan
gitnexus_impact({target: "<symbol to change>", direction: "upstream"})

Refactor planning checks (when rename/extract/move is in scope)

# Preview safe multi-file rename plan first
gitnexus_rename({symbol_name: "<old>", new_name: "<new>", dry_run: true})

# Confirm context before extraction/split plans
gitnexus_context({name: "<symbol to extract/split>"})
gitnexus_impact({target: "<symbol to extract/split>", direction: "upstream"})

Serena symbol-level inspection (targeted reads)

# Map a file without reading all of it
get_symbols_overview("path/to/relevant/file.ts")

# Read just the relevant function
find_symbol("SymbolName", include_body=true)

Fallback when GitNexus MCP tools are unavailable

If MCP GitNexus tools are unavailable, use the GitNexus CLI first, then Serena symbol exploration if needed.

# Verify index freshness / repository indexing
npx gitnexus status
npx gitnexus list

# Concept and architecture exploration
npx gitnexus query "<concept or symptom>" --limit 5
npx gitnexus context "<symbolName>"

# Blast radius before committing to a plan
npx gitnexus impact "<symbolName>" --direction upstream --depth 3

# If index is stale
npx gitnexus analyze

Notes:

• In this environment, detect_changes and rename are available via MCP tools, not GitNexus CLI subcommands.
• If both MCP and CLI are unavailable, fall back to Serena search + symbols and state this explicitly in your plan output.

search_for_pattern("<concept or symbol>")
get_symbols_overview("path/to/relevant/file.ts")
find_symbol("<candidate symbol>", include_body=true)
find_referencing_symbols("<symbol>", "path/to/file.ts")

Capture from exploration:

• Which files/symbols will be affected
• Which execution flows/processes are involved (from gitnexus_query/gitnexus_context)
• What existing patterns to follow (naming, structure, error handling)
• Any d=1 dependents that require updates when you change a symbol
• Risk level from impact analysis: if CRITICAL or HIGH → warn user before proceeding
• If GitNexus fallback path was used, explicitly call it out in the handoff

---

Phase 3 — Structure the Plan

Think through the plan before writing any bd commands. Use structured CoT:

1. What are the distinct units of work? (group by: what can change together without breaking other things) 2. What phases make sense? - P0: Scaffold (types, interfaces, file structure) — others depend on this - P1: Core (pure logic, no I/O) — depends on scaffold - P2: Boundary/Integration (HTTP, DB, CLI wiring) — depends on core - P3: Tests — companion issues, see Phase 5 3. What are the dependencies? (what must be done before X can start?) 4. What can run in parallel? (independent tasks → no deps between them) 5. What are the risks? (complex areas, unclear spec, risky refactors) 6. What is the blast-radius summary from GitNexus? (direct callers, affected processes, risk level) Setup that unblocks all other work Pure logic, data transforms, parsers CLI wiring, API clients, I/O

Sizing guidance:

• Prefer tasks completable in one session (1-4 hours of focused work)
• If a task has 5+ unrelated deliverables → split it
• If two tasks always ship together → merge them

---

Phase 4 — Create bd Issues

Determine epic scope

If the work fits under an existing open epic (bd ready to check), create tasks under it with --parent=<existing-epic-id> and skip creating a new epic.

If this is genuinely new work with no parent, create the epic first.

Bead contract format (aligned with using-specialists)

Planner-created beads use the same 7-section contract that using-specialists SKILL.md requires for orchestrator-written beads. Downstream executor / debugger / reviewer / code-sanity / security-auditor specialists read the bead via bd show <id> and expect this exact shape. Any drift between this template and the using-specialists contract creates partial contracts and weakens downstream specialist output.

The seven sections — PROBLEM / SUCCESS / SCOPE / NON_GOALS / CONSTRAINTS / VALIDATION / OUTPUT — are mandatory for every task and every epic. Optional auxiliary sections (REFERENCES, APPROACH NOTES) may follow at the bottom.

Create the epic (new work only)

bd create \
  --title="<Feature name — concise verb phrase>" \
  --description="$(cat <<'EOF'
## PROBLEM

<2-3 sentences: what user/project problem this epic exists to solve. Why now.>

## SUCCESS

<End-state across all child beads. Observable, testable, in prose.>

## SCOPE

<Area of project affected. Name files, modules, packages, or bounded surfaces. Avoid generic paths like "src/". Cross-cutting epics may list multiple bounded surfaces.>

## NON_GOALS

- <Explicit boundary 1>
- <What this epic does NOT include even though tangentially related>

## CONSTRAINTS

- <Sequencing rules across children>
- <API / wire-format / migration compatibility requirements>
- <Branch / merge / release-gate rules>

## VALIDATION

- [ ] <Observable criterion 1>
- [ ] <Observable criterion 2>
- [ ] <Test suite green / drift checks clean / smoke pass>

## OUTPUT

<What the orchestrator reports back at epic close. Usually: a summary referencing each child's handoff + the integration evidence + residual risks.>

## REFERENCES

<Optional: links to specs, related issues, existing code paths, prior session reports.>
EOF
)" \
  --type=epic \
  --priority=<0-4>

Create child task issues

bd create \
  --title="<Action phrase — what gets built>" \
  --description="$(cat <<'EOF'
## PROBLEM

<Why this task exists. What does it enable. Anchor to the epic's PROBLEM and name the specific gap this task closes.>

## SUCCESS

<Observable acceptance criteria in prose. The bar for "done" before VALIDATION checkboxes.>

## SCOPE

<Files, symbols, modules this task MAY touch. Be explicit — file:line or symbol-list when possible. Cross-cutting tasks list every surface; otherwise narrow. Forbidden boundary ("do NOT touch") goes in NON_GOALS or CONSTRAINTS.>

## NON_GOALS

- <Related improvement explicitly excluded from this task>
- <Surface that looks adjacent but is out of scope>

## CONSTRAINTS

- <Hard rule: API compatibility, error-text backward-compat, migration safety>
- <Style / pattern: follow existing convention in <file>>
- <Do-not-touch boundary outside SCOPE>

## VALIDATION

- [ ] <Lint / typecheck / unit test for this surface>
- [ ] <Regression test for the specific failure mode being fixed>
- [ ] <Integration / smoke check if applicable>

## OUTPUT

<What the executing specialist hands back: changed files list, verification evidence (command output / test pass summary), residual risks. This is what `bd show <id>` will surface to reviewer at gate.>

## APPROACH NOTES

<Optional: relevant code paths (file:line), patterns to follow, discovered risks from Phase 2 exploration. Advisory only — not a contract.>
EOF
)" \
  --type=task \
  --priority=<same or +1 from epic> \
  --parent=<epic-id>

Wire dependencies

# B depends on A (A blocks B)
bd dep add <B-id> <A-id>

# Non-blocking relationship
bd dep relate <issue-a> <issue-b>

Issue description quality bar (7-section contract)

Every task and epic description must fill all seven mandatory sections:

1. PROBLEM — why this exists, what user/project problem it solves
2. SUCCESS — observable acceptance criteria in prose
3. SCOPE — files / symbols / surfaces this work may touch (no generic "src/")
4. NON_GOALS — related improvements explicitly excluded
5. CONSTRAINTS — hard rules (API compat, style, do-not-touch boundaries)
6. VALIDATION — checkbox list of proof-of-done
7. OUTPUT — what the executing specialist hands back

If you cannot fill all seven, the scope is still unclear — go back to Phase 1.

Why this matters: the bead description is the only contract the executor / debugger / reviewer / code-sanity / security-auditor specialist sees via bd show <id>. The using-specialists SKILL.md in the specialists project teaches the human orchestrator to write 7-section contracts; the planner must produce the same so the contract surface is uniform across human-orchestrated and planner-orchestrated chains. If this template drifts from using-specialists, downstream specialists work against weaker contracts and produce noisier output. Any change to either skill must be mirrored in the other.

---

Phase 5 — Test Planning Integration

After the implementation issues are created, invoke test-planning:

/test-planning

test-planning will:

1. Classify each implementation issue by layer (core / boundary / shell)
2. Pick the right testing strategy per layer
3. Create companion test issues batched by layer and phase
4. Gate next-phase issues on test completion

When to call it:

• Always after creating an epic with 3+ implementation tasks
• When closing an implementation issue (test-planning checks for gaps)
• When you realize tests weren't planned upfront

Layer signals to include in your issue descriptions (helps test-planning classify correctly):

• Core layer: "transforms", "computes", "parses", "validates", no HTTP/DB/filesystem
• Boundary layer: "API", "endpoint", "client", "query", "fetch", URLs, ports
• Shell layer: "CLI command", "subcommand", "orchestrates", "wires together"

---

Phase 6 — Handoff

Present the board and transition to implementation.

Include a short Architecture & Impact Summary in your handoff message:

• Key execution flows/processes involved
• Top d=1 dependents to watch
• Highest observed risk (LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH/CRITICAL)
• Whether GitNexus-first or fallback exploration was used

# Show the full board
bd show <epic-id>

# Claim the first implementation issue
bd update <first-task-id> --claim

Then begin work on the first task. The planning phase is complete.

---

Examples

Example 1 — New CLI command

User: "add a `xtrm audit` command that checks for stale hooks" gitnexus_query({query: "hook wiring audit clean"}) → finds: cleanOrphanedHookEntries, pruneStaleWrappers in clean.ts gitnexus_impact({target: "cleanOrphanedHookEntries", direction: "upstream"}) → 2 callers, LOW risk Phase 1: Add audit command skeleton (new file, register in index.ts) Phase 2: Implement hook validation logic (read config/hooks.json, compare installed) Phase 3: Add --fix flag to auto-remediate drift Phase 4: Tests — CLI integration test (shell layer)

<bd_commands> bd create --title="xtrm audit: detect and report stale hook wiring" --type=epic bd create --title="Scaffold xtrm audit command" --description="Context: ..." --type=task bd create --title="Implement hook validation — compare config/hooks.json to settings.json" ... bd create --title="Add --fix flag for auto-remediation" ... bd dep add # wiring depends on scaffold bd dep add # fix depends on wiring </bd_commands>

Example 2 — Bug fix with investigation

User: "bd close doesn't commit my changes" gitnexus_query({query: "bd close commit workflow"}) → finds: beads-claim-sync.mjs, close event handler find_symbol("main", include_body=true) → discovers: bd close sets closed-this-session KV only; no git commit bd close does NOT auto-commit (removed in xtrm-wr0o). Correct workflow: bd close , then git add + git commit separately, then xt end. No issue needed — this is expected behavior.

<bd_command> # No issue needed — explain the correct workflow to the user: # 1. bd close --reason="..." ← closes issue # 2. git add . && git commit -m "..." ← commit changes manually # 3. xt end ← push, PR, merge, worktree cleanup </bd_command>

Example 3 — Greenfield feature from spec

User provides a 3-paragraph spec for a new xtrm status command Phase 0: Define TypeScript interfaces (StatusReport, HealthCheck) Phase 1: Implement each health check function (hooks, settings, bd, mcp) Phase 2: Implement CLI command, output formatting, --json flag Phase 3: Tests — unit for each check fn (core), integration for CLI (shell)

Create epic first, then 4 implementation tasks, then call /test-planning.

---

Self-Check Before Finishing

Before presenting the plan to the user:

• Every issue has context / what / AC / notes
• Dependencies are correct (A blocks B when B needs A's output)
• No task is more than "one session" of work (split if needed)
• GitNexus evidence captured (query/context/impact) or fallback path explicitly stated
• If refactor scope exists, rename/extract safety checks were included in plan
• test-planning was invoked (or scheduled as next step)
• First implementation issue is ready to claim

If any issue description is empty or just restates the title — it's not ready. The test of a good issue: could another agent pick it up cold and succeed?