executing-plans

name	executing-plans
description	Use when you have a written implementation plan to execute in a separate session with review checkpoints

Executing Plans

Overview

Load plan, review critically, execute all tasks, report when complete.

Announce at start: "I'm using the executing-plans skill to implement this plan."

Note: Tell your human partner that this workflow works much better with access to subagents. If subagents are available, use subagent-driven-development instead of this skill.

The Process

Step 1: Load and Review Plan

1. Read plan file
2. Review critically - identify any questions or concerns about the plan
3. If concerns: Raise them with your human partner before starting
4. If no concerns: Create a task tracker and proceed

Step 2: Signal work start (project management)

Before touching any code, check whether skills/project-management/SKILL.md exists. If it does, collect whatever task context is available from the plan and the current workspace.

Spawn a subagent with the available context and instruct it to read and follow skills/project-management/SKILL.md with event started:

Event:  started
Task:   <task-id-or-name-from-plan>
Branch: <current-branch-name>

The subagent is responsible for finding any associated work item and updating its status. Omit fields that are not yet known — the skill handles missing context gracefully. If the skill file is absent, skip this step entirely.

Step 3: Execute Tasks

For each task:

1. Mark as in_progress
2. Follow each step exactly (plan has bite-sized steps)
3. Run verifications as specified
4. End-of-implementation refactoring (mandatory): run the refactoring skill on all files you changed for this task (features and bug fixes), then rerun the plan's fast checks. Do this proactively—do not wait for the user to say "refactor." Ad-hoc tidying while coding does not count.
5. Mark as completed

Step 4: Complete Development

After all tasks complete and verified:

• Announce: "I'm using the finishing-a-development-branch skill to complete this work."
• REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: Use finishing-a-development-branch
• Follow that skill to verify tests, present options, execute choice

Step 5: Signal work complete (project management)

After the PR is opened, check whether skills/project-management/SKILL.md exists. If it does, collect whatever context is available from the completed work.

Compose a brief implementation summary covering what changed, how it was tested, and any known limitations or follow-up items.

Spawn a subagent with the available context and instruct it to read and follow skills/project-management/SKILL.md with event ready-for-merge:

Event:   ready-for-merge
Task:    <task-id-or-name-from-plan>
Branch:  <branch-name>
PR:      <pr-number-if-known>
Summary: <IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY>

The subagent is responsible for finding any associated work item, updating its status, and posting the summary. Omit fields that are not yet known — the skill handles missing context gracefully. If the skill file is absent, skip this step entirely.

When to Stop and Ask for Help

STOP executing immediately when:

• Hit a blocker (missing dependency, test fails, instruction unclear)
• Plan has critical gaps preventing starting
• You don't understand an instruction
• Verification fails repeatedly

Ask for clarification rather than guessing.

When to Revisit Earlier Steps

Return to Review (Step 1) when:

• Partner updates the plan based on your feedback
• Fundamental approach needs rethinking

Don't force through blockers - stop and ask.

Remember

• Review plan critically first
• Follow plan steps exactly
• Don't skip verifications
• Reference skills when plan says to
• Stop when blocked, don't guess
• Never start implementation on main/master branch without explicit user consent

Integration

Required workflow skills and practices:

• using-git-worktrees - REQUIRED: Set up an isolated workspace before starting
• writing-plans - Creates the plan this skill executes
• finishing-a-development-branch - Complete development after all tasks
• project-management - Optional: invoked at start (Step 2) and completion (Step 5) with task context