spectre-create-plan

name	spectre-create_plan
description	Create the smallest evidence-backed plan for confirmed Scope. Use for HOW after scope or when Plan routes here; not for scope, UX, tasks, or implementation.
user-invocable	true

create_plan

Purpose

Turn confirmed Scope into the smallest correct implementation plan. Behavioral scope is binding; implementation means are not. The primary owns synthesis and plan.md; research agents return evidence only.

Inputs

• $ARGUMENTS: feature root/name or descendant scope/PRD plus --depth {xs|light|standard|comprehensive} (default standard), --no-review, and --execution {direct|structured} (default structured).
• Existing scope/PRD/UX and substantive task_context.md research. Orchestrated calls reuse router research; never redispatch it.

Working Set

• Resolve one managed FEATURE_ROOT for this work from explicit/current-thread evidence only (physical directory wins; never branch/recency/lifecycle/scans). If none is confirmed, including when the candidate path is occupied, standalone MUST first load and follow @skill-spectre:spectre-feature-root through DONE; orchestrated calls escalate. Keep writes beneath it and pass it unchanged. Repair touched stale metadata.
• Read repository rules and real code. Reuse evidence first; otherwise use @finder, @analyst, and @patterns only for unresolved material questions. They do not write planning artifacts.
• Treat canonical IN/OUT/ANTI-SCOPE, success criteria, constraints, and approved design as authoritative. Never silently change them.

Outputs + DONE

Write {FEATURE_ROOT}/specs/plan.md, self-locating below its title with Feature: and Feature Root: derived from the physical directory. Add Execution Mode: direct for --execution direct or --depth xs.

Every plan contains:

1. Overview — requested outcome and smallest viable solution shape.
2. Technical Approach — thinnest end-to-end path, current data flow, closest file:line reuse anchors, decisions, and any complexity exceptions.
3. Critical Files — 1–7 verified files tagged Core logic / Pattern / Interface / Test.
4. External Dependencies — Verify Before Implementation — exact package versions plus existence commands, or No new packages.
5. Verification — How We Know This Works — 1–3 falsifiable test/observable/state signals per major behavior; direct-mode signals are executable.
6. Out-of-Bounds — DO NOT add — carry forward canonical OUT/ANTI-SCOPE and only evidence-backed technical exclusions; never pad a generic list.
7. Risks & Filled Assumptions — current credible risks with minimum mitigation or accept-and-monitor; silent-spec defaults only.
8. Routing Observations — exact ## Routing Observations heading with workstream count, independent workstreams, dependency sequencing, shared-contract consumers, staged rollout/migration, new abstraction, unresolved material decision, and observed uncertainty; observations only, never route selection.

For comprehensive, add sections only when triggered: Current State for a non-obvious existing path; Implementation Phases for real dependency gates; Component/Data Architecture for persisted state or cross-component invariants; API Design for changed public/external contracts; Migration Plan for data/compatibility change; Testing Strategy for risk not captured by Verification. Omit untriggered sections; do not emit N/A ceremony.

DONE when every planned mechanism maps to a current requirement, constraint, prerequisite, or verified repository fact; every new complexity boundary carries a valid exception; all success criteria and Verification signals remain covered; speculative work is absent; Routing Observations are present; and the plan is executable at its routed depth.

Method / guardrails

• Start with one cohesive vertical slice using the closest established local pattern. Keep cross-layer work together when splitting would create foundations or handoffs with no independent value.
• A new abstraction/layer, public interface, dependency, persistence model, configuration surface, process, migration/compatibility mechanism, telemetry surface, or extension point is admitted only when a current requirement/constraint requires it or the simpler local approach demonstrably fails. Record under Technical Approach: Addition | Required now by | Simpler local option | Why it fails now | Verification. No valid row means delete or defer it.
• Reversible decisions take the local default without research or alternatives. For a material irreversible/public/persisted decision, compare at most two realistic options. Unknown feasibility becomes a bounded spike with a question, evidence, and stop condition—not production architecture.
• Keep one representative happy-path and primary-failure test per distinct required behavior; add cases only for another requirement, public boundary, credible regression, or materially different risk.
• Ask only about undiscoverable decisions that materially change behavior or an irreversible boundary; otherwise use a conservative local default and record it. XS/light never stop for clarification or enumerate alternatives.

Handoff

• --no-review / orchestrated: return path, depth, assumptions, complexity exceptions, and unresolved findings to the caller.
• Standalone: save and await approval. Approved direct → /spectre:execute; approved XS structured override → /spectre:create_tasks --depth xs; approved light structured → /spectre:create_tasks; approved standard/comprehensive → /spectre:plan_review. Route unresolved product behavior to UX/prototype first.
• Render one primary recommendation, at most one conditional alternative, and the existing pause handoff when stopping.

Escalate-If

Scope cannot be planned without changing it, a material irreversible decision remains unresolved, evidence cannot justify required complexity, or any write would escape FEATURE_ROOT.