| name | plan |
| description | Plan a .NET feature before coding. Spawns planning-orchestrator which researches, decomposes tasks, and writes `.claude/plans/{slug}/plan.md`. Use for any non-trivial change. |
| effort | high |
| argument-hint | <feature description> | --existing <plan.md> |
/dotnet:plan
Produces a reviewable plan file at .claude/plans/{slug}/plan.md before
any code is written.
When to Use
| Signal | Use /dotnet:plan? |
|---|
| Feature touches >3 files | Yes |
| New entity / API / UI surface | Yes |
| Refactor crossing module boundaries | Yes |
| Unclear scope | Yes (scope classification is the first output) |
| Single-line fix | No — use /dotnet:quick |
| Bug debugging | No — use /dotnet:investigate |
| Pure question ("how does X work") | No — answer directly |
Iron Laws (planning)
- No implementation during planning — plan is about decisions, not
code
- Cite code with
file:line — vague plans fail at execution
- Every task is imperative — "Add validator" not "Should validate"
- Classify scope — Tiny / Small / Medium / Large drives
orchestration depth
- Surface Iron Law implications at plan time — don't defer to review
Execution Flow
- Delegate to
planning-orchestrator (opus)
- Subagent reads request, scans codebase
- Spawns domain specialists in parallel (ef-schema-designer,
api-architect, blazor-architect, etc. — only those relevant)
- Runs
context-supervisor to compress research
- Drafts
plan.md
- For Large scope: orchestrator spawns Decision Council (dotnet-reviewer
- one or two specialists) to critique the plan before you see it
- Return: plan path, scope classification, task count, next command
Variants
Enhance existing plan
/dotnet:plan --existing .claude/plans/{slug}/plan.md
Research gaps, add missing tasks, flag risks. Doesn't rewrite — annotates.
Plan from triage
/dotnet:triage turns a review verdict into ready-to-work plans. Call
plan to expand/refine a single triaged item.
Handoff
After plan written:
/dotnet:brief .claude/plans/{slug}/plan.md — walk through the plan
interactively (optional)/dotnet:work .claude/plans/{slug}/plan.md — start execution/dotnet:full — full lifecycle (plan + work + review + compound)
References
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/planning-workflow.md — end-to-end flow${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/plan-template.md — the plan.md
structure${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/complexity-detail.md — Tiny/Small/
Medium/Large heuristics${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/agent-selection.md — which research
agents to spawn for which signals${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/breadboarding.md — rough-sketch
architecture before detail
Anti-patterns
- Planning the obvious — don't plan a 5-line fix
- Research theater — spawning 5 agents when 1 is enough
- "Investigate X" as a task — decide in research phase
- Copying the plan template without thinking — each section must
have real content
