Use when you have a written implementation plan to execute in a separate session with review checkpoints
npx skills add inkwell-finance/claude-skills --skill "plan"
Install specific skill from multi-skill repository
# Description
Decompose a feature, migration, or initiative into structured plans with dependency graphs and batched parallel execution. Use when the user describes something they want to BUILD (not fix).
# SKILL.md
name: plan
description: Decompose a feature, migration, or initiative into structured plans with dependency graphs and batched parallel execution. Use when the user describes something they want to BUILD (not fix).
argument-hint: "
disable-model-invocation: true
Plan
Decompose a goal into structured, executable plans. Then optionally execute them.
Unlike /remediate (reactive — find what's broken, fix it), /plan is proactive — the user has a goal, this skill decomposes it into work.
EXPLORE → DESIGN → DECOMPOSE → (optional) EXECUTE → AUDIT → CLOSE
Phase 1: EXPLORE
Understand what exists before deciding what to build.
Launch Explore agents to map the relevant parts of the codebase:
- What components/modules already exist that relate to the goal?
- What patterns does the codebase use? (frameworks, logging, testing, config)
- What interfaces/contracts exist between components?
- What would need to change vs what needs to be created from scratch?
Output: a landscape summary — what exists, what's relevant, what the goal needs from the codebase.
Gate: Present landscape to user. Confirm understanding of the goal before designing.
Phase 2: DESIGN
Make architectural decisions before writing concern files.
For non-trivial goals, launch a Plan agent (opus or sonnet) to:
- Identify the key design decisions (technology choices, patterns, data flow)
- Propose 2-3 approaches with tradeoffs
- Identify risks and unknowns
- Recommend an approach
For simple goals, skip this phase — go straight to DECOMPOSE.
Output: a design brief — approach chosen, key decisions made, risks identified.
Write to plans/<goal-name>/DESIGN.md:
# Design: <goal>
## Approach
## Key Decisions
| Decision | Choice | Alternatives considered | Rationale |
## Risks
## Open Questions (if any — resolve before DECOMPOSE)
Gate: User approves design before decomposition. Open questions must be resolved.
Phase 3: DECOMPOSE
Break the design into executable concern files. Same structure as /remediate plans.
Plan directory
plans/<goal-name>/
├── DESIGN.md # From Phase 2
├── 00-overview.md # Scope, deps, remediation order
├── 01-concern.md # First task
├── 02-concern.md # Second task
└── ...
Concern file format
# Title
STATUS: open
PRIORITY: p0 | p1 | p2
REPOS: affected repos
COMPLEXITY: mechanical | architectural | research
TOUCHES: list of file paths this will create or modify
## Goal
What this concern achieves (not what's broken — what's being built).
## Approach
How to implement it. Code samples for non-obvious parts.
## Cross-Repo Side Effects
What changes in other repos as a result.
## Verify
How to confirm this works.
COMPLEXITY → model mapping
| Tag | Model | Use when |
|---|---|---|
mechanical |
haiku | Clear implementation, schema, config, boilerplate, < 10 files |
architectural |
sonnet | System integration, cross-repo, new abstractions, 10+ files |
research |
opus | Only for the single most critical design decision. Rare. |
Dependency graph
Create 00-overview.md with:
- Scope table (all concerns with COMPLEXITY and TOUCHES)
- BLOCKED_BY + VERIFY_BLOCKER for each dependency
- Batch order (which concerns can parallelize)
- Estimated total batches
Every BLOCKED_BY must have a VERIFY_BLOCKER — a concrete 30s check to confirm the blocker is real at execution time.
Shared-file analysis
Before finalizing the plan, check: do any concerns have overlapping TOUCHES? If so:
- Combine into a single concern, OR
- Mark as sequential with explicit ordering, OR
- Note which agent gets priority and what context the later agent needs
Gate: Present the decomposition to user. Confirm concern list, batch order, and complexity assignments.
Phase 4: EXECUTE (optional)
User can say "execute" or "just plan" (skip to CLOSE).
If executing, follow the same rules as /remediate Phase 3:
Batch formation
- Zero-blocker tasks first
- Model by COMPLEXITY tag
- SAME-FILE RULE: overlapping TOUCHES → same agent or sequential
- CROSS-REPO ATOMIC RULE: shared type changes → same agent/batch for all consumers
- Max 10 agents per batch
Pre-batch blocker verification
Before each batch, verify BLOCKED_BY claims are still real.
Context propagation
Later agents get PRIOR CHANGES summaries for shared files.
Cross-repo agents get CONTRACT specifications.
Per-agent prompt template
You are implementing the plan at {plan_file_path}
TASK: {description}
{PRIOR CHANGES if applicable}
{CROSS-REPO CONTRACTS if applicable}
RULES:
- If you use SQL DDL + application queries, verify the queries don't assume constraints/indexes the DDL didn't create
- If you instantiate a component, verify it's wired to its consumer AND cleaned up in shutdown
- If you modify a shared type/interface, all downstream consumers (including tests) must be updated to match
- If you embed dynamic values in code strings, sanitize them before interpolation
{additional rules from CALIBRATION.md if it exists}
1. Read the relevant source files first
2. {instructions from Approach section}
3. Write the code. Edit existing files where possible. Create new files only when necessary.
IMPORTANT: If you discover the task is already done, partially done,
or blocked differently than expected, REPORT THIS instead of forcing.
After each batch
- TodoWrite progress update
- Scorecard (task, model, time, result)
- Shared-file changelog for next batch
- Unblocked task check
Gate: User approves each batch (or "keep going" for autonomous).
Phase 5: AUDIT
If Phase 4 was executed, audit is mandatory. Same as /remediate:
5a: Self-check
- Type check / lint / build across affected repos
- Run existing test suites
- Grep for
TODO,FIXME,HACKintroduced by agents
5b: Re-analyze changed files
Launch audit agents scoped to git diff --name-only. Check for:
- Multi-agent conflicts: inconsistent edits to shared files
- Incomplete wiring: components created but not connected
- Type drift: tests/consumers using old shapes after type changes
- SQL mismatches: queries assuming nonexistent constraints
- Security: injection, unsafe casts, unhandled rejections
5c: Decision
- Minor issues → fix inline
- Significant → new concerns, loop to Phase 3
- Shared-file conflicts → single agent reads ALL changes
Gate: User decides: close, fix, or loop.
Phase 6: CLOSE
- Update concern files: STATUS: done, Resolution notes
- Update 00-overview.md with completion stats
- If CALIBRATION.md exists, append learnings
- If this was a new codebase pattern, suggest
/plan calibrateto bake learnings into the skill
Calibrate
Scope: /plan calibrate
Same mechanism as /remediate calibrate:
1. Read plans/CALIBRATION.md RULES section
2. Read this skill file
3. For each rule, update the relevant section of the skill
4. Present diff for approval
Scope Interpretation
| Input | Behavior |
|---|---|
<goal description> |
Full pipeline: explore → design → decompose |
plans/<name> |
Skip explore/design, execute existing plan |
execute plans/<name> |
Execute a plan that was created with "just plan" |
audit |
Skip to Phase 5 on recent changes |
calibrate |
Bake CALIBRATION.md rules into this skill |
Key Behaviors
- Explore before designing — understand what exists before deciding what to build
- Design before decomposing — make key decisions before writing concern files
- TOUCHES analysis — identify shared files before batching to prevent conflicts
- Never guess file contents — always read before editing
- Preserve existing patterns — new code should look like it belongs
- Verify blockers at execution time — don't trust the plan blindly
- Propagate context between batches — agents must know what previous agents did
- Agents report anomalies — don't force, report
Differences from /remediate
| Aspect | /remediate | /plan |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Something is broken | Something needs to be built |
| Phase 1 | Gap analysis (find problems) | Explore (map what exists) |
| Phase 2 | Plan (group problems into fixes) | Design (make architectural decisions) |
| Concern format | Problem → Evidence → Fix | Goal → Approach → Verify |
| Typical complexity | More mechanical fixes | More architectural concerns |
| Design doc | No | Yes (DESIGN.md) |
# Supported AI Coding Agents
This skill is compatible with the SKILL.md standard and works with all major AI coding agents:
Learn more about the SKILL.md standard and how to use these skills with your preferred AI coding agent.