plan

name	plan
description	Stage 3 of 5 orchestrator that reads DESIGN-CONTEXT.md, runs optional research (phase-researcher / pattern-mapper / assumptions-analyzer / synthesizer), spawns design-planner + design-plan-checker, and writes DESIGN-PLAN.md. Use when DESIGN-CONTEXT.md is locked and you need a wave-ordered execution plan. Activates for requests involving breaking design work into steps, sequencing implementation, or planning a build.
argument-hint	[--auto] [--parallel]
user-invocable	true
tools	Read, Write, Bash, Glob, Task, AskUserQuestion, ToolSearch, mcp__gdd_state__get, mcp__gdd_state__transition_stage, mcp__gdd_state__add_decision, mcp__gdd_state__add_must_have, mcp__gdd_state__update_progress, mcp__gdd_state__set_status, mcp__gdd_state__add_blocker, mcp__gdd_state__checkpoint, mcp__gdd_state__probe_connections

Get Design Done - Plan

Stage 3 of 5 in the get-design-done pipeline. Thin orchestrator. All planning intelligence lives in agents/design-planner.md.

Full procedure detail: ./plan-procedure.md.

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Stage entry

1. mcp__gdd_state__transition_stage with to: "plan". Gate failure surfaces error.context.blockers; do not advance.
2. mcp__gdd_state__get -> snapshot state for <position>, <connections>, <must_haves>, <blockers>, <decisions>. Do not re-read STATE.md directly.
3. Abort only if .design/DESIGN-CONTEXT.md is missing - that is the true prerequisite, not STATE.md.

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Flags + parallelism

• --auto -> auto_mode=true (skip approvals, skip optional research).
• --parallel -> parallel_mode=true (planner fills Touches:/Parallel: fields).
• Parallelism decision: read .design/config.json + reference/parallelism-rules.md. Plan pipeline is inherently sequential (researcher -> pattern-mapper -> planner -> checker) so the expected verdict is serial (rule 1). Record via mcp__gdd_state__update_progress with status: "plan_parallelism_decided: batch_size=<N>, reason=<short-reason>".

Probe Chromatic connection

Probe chromatic (CLI presence + CHROMATIC_PROJECT_TOKEN check; auto-unavailable if storybook: not_configured), then write status via mcp__gdd_state__probe_connections (single-entry array, never edit <connections> directly). Detail: ./plan-procedure.md §Probe Chromatic connection.

When chromatic: available, run change-risk scoping before writing DESIGN-PLAN.md: identify token/component files in scope from DESIGN-CONTEXT.md, run npx chromatic --trace-changed=expanded --dry-run, count story files that depend on changed source files, and pass the story count to the design-planner spawn prompt. Detail: ./plan-procedure.md §Chromatic Change-Risk Scoping.

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Step 1 - Optional Research (skip if auto_mode)

Complexity heuristic: DESIGN-CONTEXT.md <domain> spans 3+ scopes OR <decisions> count > 6 -> spawn design-phase-researcher -> .design/DESIGN-RESEARCH.md (~100 lines, ~2 min). Wait for ## RESEARCH COMPLETE, then update_progress task_progress: "1/3". Full prompt: ./plan-procedure.md §Step 1.

Step 1.5 - Pattern Mapping (mandatory, brownfield protection)

Spawn design-pattern-mapper -> .design/DESIGN-PATTERNS.md (classify by design concern, not by code architecture - no controllers/services/middleware vocabulary). Wait for ## MAPPING COMPLETE. Full prompt: ./plan-procedure.md §Step 1.5.

Step 1.6 - Assumptions Analysis (skip if auto_mode)

If assumptions analysis is enabled: spawn design-assumptions-analyzer -> surfaces hidden design assumptions with confidence + evidence. Wait for ## ANALYSIS COMPLETE. Full prompt: ./plan-procedure.md §Step 1.6.

Step 1.7 - Synthesize pre-plan inputs (Plan 10.1-04, D-13/D-15)

If 2+ pre-plan agents ran (Step 1, 1.5, 1.6), invoke Skill("synthesize", { outputs, directive, output_shape: "markdown" }) to merge their outputs into .design/DESIGN-PREPLAN-BRIEF.md (~150 lines, per-source headers preserved). Add the brief to the planner's <required_reading> in Step 2. If only one agent ran, skip. Full call signature + parallel-synthesizer note: ./plan-procedure.md §Step 1.7.

Research-synthesis persistence: for each D-XX the synthesizer produces, mcp__gdd_state__add_decision; for each M-XX, mcp__gdd_state__add_must_have. Issue sequentially (lockfile-bound). Detail: ./plan-procedure.md §Research-synthesis persistence.

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Step 2 - Plan

Spawn design-planner with <required_reading> covering STATE.md, DESIGN-CONTEXT.md, DESIGN-PATTERNS.md, plus (conditionally) DESIGN-RESEARCH.md, DESIGN-ASSUMPTIONS.md, DESIGN-PREPLAN-BRIEF.md (preferred when 1.7 ran), all .design/sketches/*/WINNER.md, all .design/spikes/*/FINDINGS.md, and all ./.claude/skills/design-*-conventions.md + ~/.claude/gdd/global-skills/*.md (project-local D-XX overrides globals). Wait for ## PLANNING COMPLETE, then update_progress task_progress: "2/3". Full prompt + conditional include syntax: ./plan-procedure.md §Step 2.

Step 3 - Check

Spawn design-plan-checker to validate DESIGN-PLAN.md against DESIGN-CONTEXT.md across 5 dimensions: requirement coverage, task completeness, wave ordering, must-have derivation, auto-mode compliance. Wait for ## PLAN CHECK COMPLETE, then update_progress task_progress: "3/3". On ## PLAN CHECK RESULT: ISSUES FOUND + BLOCKER: offer revise/accept/abort (auto_mode: auto-accept WARN, abort on BLOCKER). Full prompt + branching: ./plan-procedure.md §Step 3.

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Stage exit

1. mcp__gdd_state__set_status -> "plan_complete".
2. mcp__gdd_state__checkpoint - stamps last_checkpoint and finalizes the plan stage.

The next stage (design) calls mcp__gdd_state__transition_stage on entry - this skill does NOT issue the transition itself, preserving the stage-owned-transition discipline.

After Completion

Print: plan tasks (N waves, M total tasks), files written (.design/DESIGN-PLAN.md, plus .design/DESIGN-RESEARCH.md if research ran), next step /get-design-done:design.

Spec self-review (before transition)

Run this final spec-quality pass over .design/DESIGN-PLAN.md before the plan→design transition:

• Placeholder scan: no TBD / TODO / <placeholder> / lorem left in the artifact.
• Internal consistency: sections don't contradict each other.
• Scope check: nothing in the artifact exceeds (or silently drops) the agreed scope.
• Ambiguity check: every requirement/decision is specific enough to act on without a follow-up question.

Do NOT transition to design (or invoke `/gdd:design`) until `.design/DESIGN-PLAN.md` is committed AND the user has approved it. If this project uses a custom `.design` location, read the artifact path from `.design/STATE.md` rather than assuming the default.

Rationalizations - Thought to Reality

The reasons an agent gives to skip planning or rush DESIGN-PLAN.md, and what each one costs:

Thought	Reality
"This change is small, I can design straight from DESIGN-CONTEXT.md."	Plan-skipped tasks blow scope per cycle telemetry; the plan gate is for the typical case, not the exception you think you're in.
"Pattern mapping is brownfield ceremony, I'll skip it."	Step 1.5 is mandatory because an unmapped brownfield is where the executor silently re-implements an existing pattern.
"The plan-checker will just rubber-stamp it, skip the spawn."	The checker's 5 dimensions (coverage, wave order, must-have derivation) catch the gaps you can't see in your own plan.
"I'll let the planner infer wave ordering at design time."	Unordered waves serialize work that could parallelize - or worse, run dependent tasks concurrently and corrupt the tree.
"Research is overkill for this scope."	The complexity heuristic exists precisely because agents under-estimate scope; skipping research on a 3+-scope domain guarantees a mid-design surprise.
"I can record decisions in DESIGN-PLAN.md prose instead of D-XX."	Prose decisions never reach STATE.md, so verify's integration-checker can't trace them and flags them orphaned.

PLAN COMPLETE