cf-plan

name	cf-plan
description	Brainstorm and write an implementation plan. Use when the user wants to plan, build, create, or implement something — e.g. "let's build", "let's create", "I want to create", "create for me", "build for me", "add feature", "implement", "make a", "set up", "I need a", "can you build", "help me build", "how should we implement", "design a solution", "architect", "scaffold", "plan out", "figure out how to", "what's the best way to build". Also triggers on task descriptions that imply multi-step implementation work requiring upfront planning.
created	2026-02-17T00:00:00.000Z
updated	2026-08-21T00:00:00.000Z

$cf-plan

CLI Requirement: OPTIONAL — Uses the memory MCP from coding-friend-cli for fast indexed search and storage. Without the CLI: falls back to grep over docs/memory/ and direct file writes. Full functionality preserved, slower memory recall. See CLI requirements.

Create an implementation plan for: $ARGUMENTS

Modes

Mode	Flag	Steps skipped/added	When to use
Normal	(none)	Full workflow	Default — most tasks
Fast	--fast (alias --quick)	Skip discovery, inline exploration, skip planner agent. Never writes a plan file — the plan stays in chat, tracked with an inline checklist. If the plan turns out multi-phase (user mis-flagged it), fast is abandoned and the run switches to normal mode, which writes the plan file. When combined with --auto, the file is always written (autopilot needs it). No human overview doc in fast mode unless --gui is passed.	Task is clear, single-module, additive
Hard	--hard	Extra discovery round, deeper exploration, rollback planning	Breaking changes, migrations, multi-module refactors
Autopilot	--auto	Orthogonal — adds autopilot: after Step 7 approval, run all phases autonomously (auto review + fix Critical/Important + commit per phase, no confirmation prompts between phases). Combines with any mode.	Hands-off end-to-end execution after plan approval
Inline	--inline (alias --no-file)	Orthogonal — skip Step 6 (no plan file written). Plan is presented in chat only; progress tracked with an inline checklist. Combines with --fast/--hard. Incompatible with --auto.	Small one-off task where the user wants planning thought but no on-disk artifact
Model	--model <alias>	Orthogonal — pin the model for cf-planner at Step 3 (brainstorm approaches). Does not affect cf-explorer, cf-implementer, or cf-plan itself.	Want brainstorming on a stronger model than the current session

Flags are parsed from $ARGUMENTS. Strip each flag before using the remaining text as the task description. --model carries a value (--model <alias> or --model=<alias>) — strip both the flag and the value. Aliases (--quick → --fast, --no-file → --inline, --tdd → --add-tests, --human → --gui) are normalized to their canonical form. The user's single-dash -gui / -human are also normalized to --gui.

Human overview doc: off by default (it costs extra tokens). Pass --gui (alias --human) to also generate a concise, human-readable overview.html (or overview.md) alongside the agent plan — see Step 6 — or enable it globally by setting disableGUIPlan: false in config. Format is chosen by the guiPlanFormat config (html default, or md).

Workflow

Step 0: Custom Guide

Custom guide — auto-loaded below (if the raw command shows instead of its output, run it yourself):

bash "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/lib/load-custom-guide.sh" cf-plan

If output is not empty, integrate returned sections: ## Before → before first step, ## Rules → apply throughout, ## After → after final step.

Step 0.5: Determine Mode

0. Legacy resume guard — if a bare --resume token appears in $ARGUMENTS, do NOT plan. Resuming moved to its own command: > ℹ️ Resuming a plan is now \$cf-plan-resume ` (not `$cf-plan --resume`).` and stop.
1. Explicit flag — normalize --quick → --fast first, then use --fast or --hard if present in $ARGUMENTS. 1a. Autopilot flag — if --auto is present in $ARGUMENTS, set autopilot=true. This is orthogonal to fast/hard/normal — autopilot can combine with any. Strip --auto from the task description before using it. Announce: > 🤖 Autopilot enabled — phases will run end-to-end without confirmation prompts. 1b. Inline flag — normalize --no-file → --inline first. If --inline is present, set inline=true. Strip --inline from the task description. If --auto is also set, refuse the combination: > ⚠️ --inline cannot be combined with --auto (autopilot relies on the on-disk plan file for state). Pick one. and stop. Otherwise announce: > 📝 Inline mode — plan will be shown in chat only; no file will be written. Progress tracked with an inline checklist. 1c. Human overview doc — off by default (it costs extra tokens). Normalize --human/-gui/-human → --gui. Resolve humanDoc with this precedence: if --gui is present, set humanDoc=true and strip it (explicit opt-in — overrides fast mode and config). Otherwise, if fast mode is active (--fast/--quick, or auto-detected fast in steps 2–3), humanDoc=false. Otherwise resolve disableGUIPlan by merging the global config ~/.coding-friend/config.json with the local CF_CONFIG_FILE (default .coding-friend/config.json), where local overrides global (the documented config precedence — cf config/cf init can save the key at global scope, so a global-only setting must still take effect); set humanDoc=true only when the merged disableGUIPlan is explicitly , else humanDoc=false (unset means disabled). When humanDoc=true, use the merged (default ). The overview is only produced when a plan file is written (Step 6); writes no file, so it produces none regardless (even with ). 1d. Accept both (two tokens, e.g. ) AND (one token, e.g. ). from the task description before using the remainder. This is the first two-token flag in this skill — every other flag is a boolean one-token flag, so a naive "strip the flag" would leave the value behind (e.g. leftover would leak into the task description and get passed to cf-explorer). Example: → remaining task description is exactly . The value is a (example: ). Claude model aliases are not valid on Codex; pass a Codex model name such as . Do not accept . Invalid value → print this exact warning then CONTINUE (do NOT stop): If / is already in , print this exact warning then CONTINUE: Auto-detected fast is not known yet — item 4 re-checks after mode is resolved (steps 2–3). still dispatches cf-planner, so the flag remains effective in hard mode. When a valid Codex model name is parsed, it is used at Step 3 unless skipped as fast.

Step 0.7: Check Memory

If memory_search is available, search for keywords related to the task. Use any relevant results as starting context; otherwise skip.

Step 1: Discovery & Brainstorm

Fast mode: Skip — proceed to Step 2.

Not sure this is worth building, or which direction to take? If the discovery below reveals the user hasn't actually decided whether or which approach — they're weighing options or questioning if the work is worth it — pause and suggest $cf-advise first. It runs a structured interview and returns a verdict-first recommendation. cf-plan assumes the decision to build is already made; it plans how, not whether.

Use a direct user question for each round. Do NOT batch questions.

Round 1 — Understand: List ambiguities and assumptions; ask probing questions about objectives, constraints, success criteria; ask about preferred libraries/APIs — never guess.

Check for official solutions first (before proposing anything):

1. Framework built-ins — search official docs for native components or methods that solve this directly (e.g., React Suspense for loading states, Next.js Server Actions for mutations).
2. Official patterns — check framework best practices and migration guides for the recommended approach.
3. Ecosystem standards — identify officially maintained or widely adopted libraries for this use case.

If an official solution exists, it must be Option 1 in the approach list. If recommending a custom approach over it, explain why the official solution is insufficient for this specific case.

Round 2 — Challenge: Question whether the proposed approach is the best path. Consider user/dev/ops/business angles. Be honest about feasibility and trade-offs. Apply YAGNI, KISS, DRY.

Run these attack angles against the recommended approach before presenting it:

Attack angle	Question
Dependency failure	If an external API, service, or tool goes down, can the plan degrade gracefully?
Scale explosion	At 10x data volume or user load, which step breaks first?
Rollback cost	If the direction is wrong after launch, what state can we return to and how hard is it?
Premise collapse	Which assumption in this plan is most fragile? What happens if it does not hold?

If an attack holds, deform the design and present the deformed version. If it shatters the approach entirely, discard it and tell the user why. Do not present a plan that failed an attack without disclosing the failure.

Round 3 — Converge (if needed): Present 2-3 approaches with pros/cons; ask which to pursue. Skip if request was already clear.

Hard mode — add Round 4: Risk & Rollback: failure modes and blast radius; rollback plan; feature flags / gradual rollout options; incremental vs. all-or-nothing deployment.

If the user wants to skip brainstorming ("just plan it"), respect that and move on.

Step 1.5: Generate Task ID

1. task-id: YYYY-MM-DD-<short-descriptor> (e.g. 2026-05-03-add-auth-middleware)
2. docsDir: read from CF_CONFIG_FILE (= $MAIN_REPO_ROOT/.coding-friend/config.json from bootstrap context, fallback to .coding-friend/config.json in CWD) or default to docs. Use CF_DOCS_ROOT as the absolute docs base dir.
3. Context file: {docsDir}/context/{task-id}.json

Step 2: Explore Codebase

Fast mode: Inline search with Glob/Grep only — no agents, no deep exploration. Normal: Launch cf-explorer agent once. Hard: Launch cf-explorer twice — standard exploration, then blast-radius analysis.

Launch cf-explorer (cf-explorer custom agent):

Explore the codebase for: [user request] Context file: [docsDir/context/.json] Confirmed assumptions: [from Step 1] | Scope: [from Step 1] Answer: (1) project structure & relevant modules, (2) affected files/functions, (3) patterns/conventions/dependencies, (4) existing tests/configs/docs

Hard mode — second cf-explorer call: Blast-radius for [files from first call]: (1) what imports/depends on changed code, (2) what breaks, (3) affected public API consumers, (4) test coverage gaps

Step 3: Brainstorm Approaches

Fast mode: Skip — pick the most straightforward approach from Step 2, proceed to Step 4.

Launch cf-planner (cf-planner custom agent). When a valid Codex model name was parsed in 1d, spawn cf-planner with that explicit model (an explicit spawn model takes precedence over agents.default_subagent_model). If no --model was given, or the value was invalid/skipped (fast mode), omit an explicit spawn model so cf-planner inherits the session model.

Plan: [user request] Context file: [docsDir/context/.json] (cf-explorer findings already written; read it, then update with plan findings) Confirmed assumptions: [from Step 1] | User preferences: [from Step 1] Codebase context: [full cf-explorer report] Generate 2-3 approaches with pros, cons, effort, risk, confidence. Recommend one with rationale.

Hard mode: Generate 3-4 approaches; each must include migration path, rollback strategy, incremental deployment option. Include blast-radius findings.

Step 4: Validate with User

Fast mode: Skip — go to Step 5.

Present: key codebase findings, approaches with pros/cons, recommended approach and why, open questions. Wait for approval or corrections.

Step 5: Write the Plan

Keep the agent plan agent-only. Write only what cf-implementer needs to execute: tasks, files, verify steps, phase markers, and the minimum Context/Assumptions/Approach to act correctly. Narrative, rationale, big-picture framing, and "why this matters" belong in the human overview doc (Step 6), not here — do not pad the agent plan with tutorial prose.

1. Break the chosen approach into tasks grouped into phases; each task completable in one session.
2. Per task: what to do (files, functions, tests), expected outcome, how to verify.
3. Phase markers: #### Phase N [parallel] (no shared files, run concurrently) or #### Phase N [sequential] (ordered). If no cf-planner or flat task list, wrap in a single [sequential] phase.
4. When autopilot=true, the plan body MUST include a ## AUTOPILOT (IMPORTANT — DO NOT DEVIATE EVEN IN LONG CONVERSATIONS) section. Copy the AUTOPILOT CONTRACT block verbatim — Read ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/cf-plan/modes/autopilot.md now and copy its fenced block exactly.

Hard mode: Each task adds a Rollback field; add ## Migration & Rollback section with overall rollback strategy.

Step 6: Save the Plan

Inline mode (--inline): Skip the file write entirely. Create an inline checklist containing every task from the plan (one task per implementation task, in phase order). Present the full plan body (Context, Approach, Tasks per phase, Risks) inline in chat. Do NOT create any file under {docsDir}/plans/. Skip the rest of this step and proceed to Step 7. Progress tracking in Step 7 updates the inline checklist instead of editing a plan file; all "edit the plan file" / "Progress table" instructions in Step 7 become "update the corresponding checklist item". The context file at {docsDir}/context/<task-id>.json is still created (cf-implementer needs it).

Fast mode (--fast, no --auto, no --inline): Never write a plan file. Follow the Inline mode path above (present the plan in chat, register tasks in an inline checklist, still create the context file). Because no file is written, the whole rest of the workflow tracks this plan inline: in Step 7, update the corresponding checklist item instead of editing a plan file — the "small plan → edit README.md" instructions do NOT apply. If the plan turns out to have 2+ phases, the task was bigger than fast scope assumed — fast is not suitable: announce > ℹ️ Plan came out multi-phase — exceeded fast scope, switching to normal mode and writing it to disk., treat the run as normal mode from here on, and write the plan folder per the Layout rules below (normal Step 7 file-edit tracking applies). When --fast is combined with --auto, always write the file (autopilot reads auto: true from the on-disk plan), regardless of phase count.

Layout — every written plan is a subfolder {docsDir}/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>/; the entry point is always README.md. Phase count only decides whether phases are split into separate files (it no longer decides file-vs-folder):

• Small plan (exactly 1 phase) → README.md holds the full plan inline (Context, Assumptions, Approach, Progress, Tasks, Risks — the Small plan template body). No separate phase files. No task-count ceiling.
• Big plan (2+ phases) → README.md (overview + Progress table) + one phase-N-<name>.md per phase — see Big plan template below.

Progress icons: ⬜ TODO → 🔄 IN PROGRESS → ✅ DONE | ❌ FAILED (permanent failure after max retries)

After saving, present: folder path created, phase count, task count, entry point (README.md), and the overview path (if generated).

1. Create a task checklist and keep it updated.
2. Set the slug: frontmatter field in README.md to the plan folder name (YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>, identical to the task-id from Step 1.5). This is what the user copies to mention the plan or pass to $cf-plan-resume <slug>. Include the slug in the post-save summary so it is easy to copy.
3. Generate the human overview doc (see Human overview doc below) unless humanDoc=false.
4. Present the plan summary to the user.
5. When autopilot=true, add auto: true to the YAML frontmatter at the top of README.md. For big plans, the ## AUTOPILOT section is ALSO copied into EVERY phase-N-*.md file (so any phase file Codex re-opens during a long conversation carries the rules).

Human overview doc

When humanDoc=true AND a plan file was written, generate a concise human-readable overview next to README.md. (humanDoc is off by default — it is only true when --gui/--human is passed or disableGUIPlan: false is set; --inline writes no plan file at all — so it never reaches this step.):

• Output: {plan-folder}/overview.html when guiPlanFormat = html (default), or {plan-folder}/overview.md when guiPlanFormat = md.
• Generator: dispatch cf-writer-deep (cf-writer-deep custom agent). Give it: the just-written plan (the README.md + any phase-N-*.md), the matching template at ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/cf-plan/templates/overview-template.{html,md}, and the output path. Instruct it to fill the template's <!-- FILL: … --> markers from the plan and replace the placeholder content. For HTML output, it must HTML-escape prose values it injects (so <, &, and generic types like Foo<T> render correctly).
• Content rules: SHORT and decision-focused — a Plan at a Glance summary (Phases = number of phases, Tasks = total tasks across all phases; both counts come straight from the just-written plan), the original problem/intent, the solution big picture, the key decisions (one concise line each), and an ASCII diagram (plain text, box-drawing/arrow characters, inside a <pre>/code fence — no Mermaid or other rendered-diagram syntax) for any structure/flow/state-machine/algorithm where a picture beats prose. Write Problem & Intent and Solution as concise bullet lists, not paragraphs (the templates already use <ul class="bullets"> / - bullets — fill those, don't replace with <p>). Do NOT copy the step-by-step task list — that lives in the agent plan.
• Point-in-time: generated once here; NOT updated as the Progress table changes during implementation.
• Skip entirely when humanDoc=false — i.e. whenever --gui/--human is absent and disableGUIPlan is not explicitly false (the default), in fast mode without --gui, or in --inline mode (no plan file at all).

Step 7: Offer Implementation

Ask: "Ready to start implementing?" If yes, execute phase by phase. If user approves AND autopilot=true → Read ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/cf-plan/modes/autopilot.md now — it holds the Per-Phase Loop and the AUTOPILOT CONTRACT block. Progress checkpoints (⬜ → 🔄 → ✅) still apply under autopilot — see modes/execute.md. If autopilot=false → follow the Sequential/Parallel phases protocols in modes/execute.md (see pointer below).

→ For the Sequential/Parallel phases execution protocols (cf-implementer dispatch, result-signal parsing, retry, big-plan phase sync, out-of-scope side-effect capture, phase order, post-implementation), Read ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/cf-plan/modes/execute.md now and follow it. (This is the shared protocol $cf-plan-resume also uses.)

Plan Templates

AUTOPILOT CONTRACT block

Only when --auto: the AUTOPILOT CONTRACT block lives in ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/cf-plan/modes/autopilot.md (Step 5 #4 loads it for that case). Skip in normal runs.

Small plan (1 phase — written as README.md inside the plan folder)

---
slug: YYYY-MM-DD-<slug> # = plan folder name; copy this to mention or `$cf-plan-resume <slug>`
auto: false # set true when created with --auto
status: in-progress # machine-readable plan status: in-progress | done | failed. `cf clean` only sweeps `done`. Set at creation; flipped to done/failed at terminal completion (see modes/execute.md "Plan done").
---

# Plan: <title>

**Mode:** normal | fast | hard

## Context

<1-2 sentences>

## Assumptions

- <assumption> — basis: <why>

## Approach

<chosen approach and why>

## Not Building

- <explicit out-of-scope item>

## AUTOPILOT (IMPORTANT — DO NOT DEVIATE EVEN IN LONG CONVERSATIONS)

<!-- only when --auto: copy the canonical "AUTOPILOT CONTRACT block" (under ## Plan Templates) here verbatim; omit this whole section when auto: false -->

## Progress

<!-- small plans are always exactly 1 phase; multi-phase plans use the Big template -->

| Status  | Phase   | Task        |
| ------- | ------- | ----------- |
| ⬜ TODO | Phase 1 | Task 1 name |
| ⬜ TODO | Phase 1 | Task 2 name |

## Tasks

#### Phase 1 [sequential]

1. <task 1>
   - Files: <specific files>
 Verify: 
 Rollback: 
 
 Files: 
 Verify: 



 



 Overall rollback strategy: 
 Point of no return: 
 Incremental deployment: 



After implementation:  → 

Big plan (subfolder)

README.md (entry point):

---
slug: YYYY-MM-DD-<slug> # = plan folder name; copy this to mention or `$cf-plan-resume <slug>`
auto: false # set true when created with --auto
status: in-progress # machine-readable plan status: in-progress | done | failed. `cf clean` only sweeps `done`. Frontmatter is the authority; the body **Status:** line mirrors it for humans (see modes/execute.md "Plan done").
---

# Plan: <title>

**Mode:** normal | fast | hard
**Created:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Status:** IN PROGRESS

## Overview

<1-2 sentences about the problem and chosen approach>

## Not Building

- <explicit out-of-scope item>

## AUTOPILOT (IMPORTANT — DO NOT DEVIATE EVEN IN LONG CONVERSATIONS)

<!-- only when --auto: copy the canonical "AUTOPILOT CONTRACT block" (under ## Plan Templates) here verbatim; omit this whole section when auto: false -->

## Progress

| Status  | Phase           | File                                     | Tasks   |
| ------- | --------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------- |
| ⬜ TODO | Phase 1: <name> | [phase-1-<name>.md](./phase-1-<name>.md) | N tasks |
| ⬜ TODO | Phase 2: <name> | [phase-2-<name>.md](./phase-2-<name>.md) | N tasks |

## Assumptions

- <assumption> — basis: <why>

## Risks

- <  >



 Overall rollback strategy: 
 Point of no return: 
 Incremental deployment: 



After implementation:  → 

phase-N-<name>.md (one per phase):

# Phase N: <name>

**Plan:** [README.md](./README.md)
**Type:** parallel | sequential

## AUTOPILOT (IMPORTANT — DO NOT DEVIATE EVEN IN LONG CONVERSATIONS)

<!-- only when --auto: copy the canonical "AUTOPILOT CONTRACT block" (under ## Plan Templates) here verbatim; omit this whole section when auto: false -->

## Progress

| Status  | Task          |
| ------- | ------------- |
| ⬜ TODO | <task 1 name> |
| ⬜ TODO | <task 2 name> |

## Tasks

1. <task 1>
   - Files: <specific files>
   - Verify: <how to verify>
   - Rollback: <how to undo — hard mode only>
2. <task 2>
   - Files: <specific files>
   - Verify: <how  >

Human overview doc templates

The human overview doc (Step 6) is generated by cf-writer-deep from one of these skeleton templates (do NOT inline them here — they live as separate files so they don't inflate this skill's token footprint):

• ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/cf-plan/templates/overview-template.html — styled, self-contained HTML; diagrams as plain ASCII text in a <pre> block (no external dependency).
• ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/cf-plan/templates/overview-template.md — Markdown mirror; diagrams as ASCII text in a plain code fence.

Both carry <!-- FILL: … --> markers for: Problem & Intent, Solution (big picture), Key Decisions, diagram(s), Not Building.

Completion Protocol

• DONE — Plan saved. Show: task count, risk summary, next step.
• DONE_WITH_CONCERNS — Plan saved with open questions or high-risk items. Show what needs user decision.
• BLOCKED — Cannot plan. Show what information is missing.

Rules

• Plan first, implement second — never start coding before the plan is saved and user approves. (Inline mode: never start before the plan is presented in chat and user approves.)
• Brainstorm first, plan second — challenge assumptions, explore alternatives. Use a direct user question. (Relaxed in fast mode.)
• Delegate exploration — use cf-explorer for codebase exploration, cf-planner for approach brainstorming. (Fast mode: inline search only.)
• Delegate implementation — use cf-implementer. If it fails after retry, fall back to inline TDD (load cf-tdd).
• Respect the mode — do not escalate without user consent. If mode seems wrong mid-workflow, pause and ask.
• Honor autopilot — if auto: true is in the plan frontmatter, never prompt between phases. Re-read the plan file's ## AUTOPILOT section whenever uncertain.
• When uncertain, say so and ask.
• Do NOT assume libraries, APIs, or tools — ask.
• Plans must be concrete: exact file paths, function names, test commands.
• No placeholders in approved plans. Every step must be concrete before the user approves. Forbidden patterns: TBD, TODO, "implement later", "similar to step N", "details to be determined". A plan with placeholders is a promise to plan later.