| name | planning |
| description | ONLY for coordinated multi-artifact work: multiple workflows with dependencies, shared data-table schema/migration across tasks, or the user explicitly asked to review a plan first. Load create-tasks via load_tool before calling it (search "create tasks" if not visible). Do NOT use for new one-off workflows, single-workflow edits, verification-only requests, or standalone data-table ops — use workflow-builder or data-table-manager instead. |
| recommended_tools | ["create-tasks","workflows","nodes","credentials","data-tables","parse-file","research","ask-user"] |
Planning
Use this skill to design a dependency-aware task graph in the orchestrator and
submit it with create-tasks. Do not spawn another agent and do not use
incremental plan item tools.
Before calling create-tasks, load it via load_tool (search "create tasks" if
it is not visible).
When NOT to use this skill
Stop and use workflow-builder + build-workflow instead when the request is:
- A new or one-off single workflow, even if it sounds large or unfamiliar
- An edit to one existing workflow (nodes, expressions, credentials, schedule, Code)
- Verification, setup, or credential collection for a workflow you just built
- A workflow-local data table whose schema ships with that same workflow
- Standalone data-table list/schema/query/create/mutation work
Do not call create-tasks just to get approval, verification, or a checklist for
a single workflow. Workflow verification is automatic from structured build
outcomes after build-workflow.
When to use this skill
Planning is only for work that needs coordination: multiple workflows,
dependencies between workflows, shared data-table schema or migration work across
tasks, multiple durable artifacts, broad best-practice research across many
sources, genuinely ambiguous business-process architecture that cannot be
resolved with one build-workflow call, or an explicit user request to review a
plan first.
If shared data tables are involved, load data-table-manager before this skill
and carry the relevant table guidance into workflow task specs. Clear
single-workflow builds and existing-workflow edits use workflow-builder with
build-workflow directly. Standalone data-table work uses data-table-manager
with direct data-tables and parse-file calls.
Knowledge Base
Consult the knowledge base before planning. It lives at the workspace root.
Read the relevant .md guides and templates for each technique the request
involves (${N8N_WORKSPACE_DIR}/knowledge-base/index.json,
${N8N_WORKSPACE_DIR}/knowledge-base/best-practices/index.json, and linked
files). Use workspace_execute_command with rg or find under
${N8N_WORKSPACE_DIR}/knowledge-base/templates/ to locate matching SDK
examples — never load templates/index.json wholesale.
Skip only for trivial mechanical edits you have already reviewed in this thread.
Method
-
Decide whether the request is plan-worthy by coordination need, not by
whether a workflow is new.
-
Discover what materially affects the plan with normal tools:
nodes(action="suggested"), credentials(action="list"),
data-tables(action="list"), parse-file, workflows, and research
when relevant.
-
Prefer reasonable assumptions over questions. Ask the user only when the
answer would materially change the plan and cannot be discovered.
-
Build a dependency-aware graph. Producers must come before consumers.
Independent tasks should not depend on each other.
-
Put single workflow-local table requirements inside that workflow task spec.
Do not create separate data-table tasks unless the table work is a durable
artifact shared across tasks.
-
Add checkpoint tasks only for exceptional semantic checks that normal
workflow verification cannot cover.
-
Load create-tasks via load_tool if needed, then call create-tasks with
planningContext.source: "planning-skill",
a concise summary, optional assumptions, postBuildRunRequested: true
only when the user explicitly asked to run, execute, or test a workflow
after building it, and the final task graph.
-
After calling create-tasks, do not write visible text. The approval card is
the user-visible surface.
Task Graph Rules
- Use task kinds exactly as supported:
build-workflow and checkpoint.
- Each task
id must be stable and referenced by dependency edges.
- Each
title should be short and user-facing.
- Each
spec must be the complete executor briefing for that task. The task
executor may not see your broader planning notes.
- For
build-workflow tasks, make spec a structured executor briefing, not
freeform prose. Include these labels in this order: Outcome,
Trigger mode, External systems, Required effects, Required branches,
Required data, Explicit constraints, Empty/invalid behavior, and
Done when.
- In
Required effects, list every observable action the user asked for, such
as send email, send Telegram, write Google Sheets, create Notion pages, upsert
Data Table rows, or post one Slack summary.
- In
Required branches, state partial-failure behavior when multiple effects
start from the same trigger, and state whether no-results or invalid-input
paths need an explicit notification, fallback, log, or no-op.
- In
Required data, name fields needed by later conditions, filters, ranking,
response messages, or downstream effects, and note when those fields must
remain available after side-effect nodes that replace item JSON.
- In
Explicit constraints, preserve concrete user-provided resource names,
channels, tables, labels, URLs, and required node families or mechanisms. If
the user explicitly says to use a node family or mechanism such as HTTP
Request, webhook, form, MCP, or a service-native node, treat that as a hard
requirement unless it is impossible or contradicts another stated requirement.
Do not move those values to assumptions, replace them with placeholders, or
silently swap them for a more convenient alternative.
- In
Empty/invalid behavior, distinguish data that invalidates the whole item
from data that only affects one requested effect. For multi-effect intake
workflows, do not turn a field into a workflow-wide rejection requirement
merely because one message or side effect uses it.
- In
Done when, write observable acceptance checks, including final actions
and branch behavior. Do not write node-by-node wiring or fake user data.
- If a
build-workflow task's final deliverable is a supporting sub-workflow,
set on that task. Do not set it for helper
sub-workflows that are only intermediate artifacts inside a larger main
workflow task.
Assumptions And Questions
- Never ask about things tools can discover, such as available credentials,
existing data tables, workflow names, node availability, or attached-file
structure.
- Never ask for implementation details such as node choices, column names, or
trigger mechanics when a sensible default exists.
- Never ask for the user's timezone when the current date/time section includes
it. Use that timezone for schedule times, cron assumptions, and digest windows.
- Never default resource identifiers the user did not mention, such as Slack
channels, calendars, spreadsheets, folders, databases, or recipient lists.
Leave them for the builder to resolve or collect through setup.
- Trust already-collected briefing context. If the conversation or task briefing
includes already-collected answers or already-discovered resources, treat them
as authoritative and do not ask again for purpose, trigger, integrations,
schedule, model, resource, or credential choices already listed there.
- A question is asked at most once. Once the user has answered, deferred
("later"), or skipped it, never re-present it. On a skip or deferral, record a
sensible assumption in
planningContext.assumptions where a default exists
(for example a default morning time for a digest), otherwise leave the detail
for the builder or setup — do not block on it and do not ask again.
- If exactly one matching credential exists, assume it and mention the
credential name in
planningContext.assumptions.
- If no matching credential exists, plan normally. The builder will mock or
leave it unresolved and route setup after verification.
- If multiple matching credentials exist and the user did not name one, ask once
with
ask-user because the choice cannot be discovered.
- Use credential-backed resource investigation only when it changes the plan,
for example validating a named Slack channel that affects the architecture. Do
not turn resource lookup into a credential-choice question unless the
multiple-credentials rule applies.
Checkpoints
Workflow verification is automatic from structured build outcomes. Do not add
routine "verify this workflow" checkpoint tasks for every workflow.
Checkpoint tasks are exceptional semantic checks. Use them for cross-workflow
contracts, confirming a report combines upstream data correctly, validating a
business invariant across deliverables, or checking a condition that cannot be
covered by normal runtime verification.
Do not add checkpoints for routine verification-only work.
Revisions
If the user rejects the plan with requested changes, revise surgically, load
create-tasks via load_tool if needed, and call create-tasks again in the
same orchestrator run with
planningContext.source: "planning-skill".
If the user denies the plan outright, stop. Do not call create-tasks again in
the same message group.
