Create Technical Plan

Note: The current year is 2026. Use this when dating plans and searching for recent documentation.

spec-brainstorm defines WHAT to build. spec-plan defines HOW to build it. spec-work executes the plan. A prior brainstorm is useful context but never required — spec-plan works from any input: a requirements doc, a bug report, a feature idea, or a rough description.

When directly invoked, always plan. Never classify a direct invocation as "not a planning task" and abandon the workflow. If the input is unclear, ask clarifying questions or use the planning bootstrap (Phase 0.4) to establish enough context — but always stay in the planning workflow.

This workflow produces a durable implementation plan. It does not implement code, run tests, or learn from execution-time results. If the answer depends on changing code and seeing what happens, that belongs in spec-work, not here.

Workflow Contract Summary

When To Use

Use when the desired outcome is clear enough to plan, when a requirements document is ready for implementation planning, or when an existing plan needs a deepening pass.

When Not To Use

Do not use to implement code, run tests as proof, review a finished document without planning changes, resolve unclear product framing that belongs in spec-brainstorm, generate task-pack state, or rewrite generated runtime assets.

Inputs

A feature/request description, requirements document path, existing plan path to deepen, bug report, rough task description, or non-software planning prompt; optional project standards, graph readiness facts, package/test context, and nearby source evidence as planning context.

Outputs

A durable plan document or in-place plan deepening with goals, non-goals, requirements, implementation units, file/test references, sequencing, risks, assumptions, and post-plan handoff options.

Artifacts

Plan files under the appropriate docs location, reused source-document links, optional doc-review findings or plan-handoff outputs, and no execution-run artifact.

Failure Modes

Empty or ambiguous input requires a blocking clarification or planning bootstrap; missing/unreadable source documents are surfaced instead of silently ignored; degraded standards/graph facts stay advisory; implementation-dependent questions are deferred to spec-work.

Workflow

Resolve source and scope, gather required repo/research context, structure the plan, run confidence/doc-review checks when required, then present the appropriate plan handoff.

Downstream Consumers

spec-write-tasks, spec-work, spec-doc-review, issue creation, Proof/HITL review paths, and human implementation reviewers.

Context Orientation Anchor

Orient from the current user request or requirement, existing plans or task packs, AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md / project role docs, .spec-first/standards/project-shape.json, .spec-first/standards/standards-candidates.json, .spec-first/standards/glue-map.json, and the latest standards validation result when present, package manifests and command registries, nearby implementation files, nearby tests, and git diff or changed files when applicable. Standards consumption contract: confirmed -> hard project context; observed / imported / suggested -> advisory context; conflict -> risk context to resolve or call out in the plan; unknown -> question context for user/project evidence. If validation failed, is missing, reports trust_level=degraded, reports consumption_boundary=advisory_only, or carries workspace-advisory-only, consume standards artifacts as degraded/advisory only；遇到 workspace-advisory-only 时，可建议用户运行 spec-standards --repo <child> 获取 child-local standards baseline。 Use glue-map.json for reuse-first implementation boundaries, not as a workflow state machine. See docs/examples/standards-glue-consumption-examples.md for concrete consumption examples; the examples clarify usage and do not expand plan scope. External tools may prioritize inspection, but they do not define scope authority. The LLM still chooses the candidate change surface from explicit repo context and source-plan constraints.

Interaction Method

When asking the user a question, use the platform's blocking question tool: AskUserQuestion in Claude Code (call ToolSearch with select:AskUserQuestion first if its schema isn't loaded) or request_user_input in Codex. Fall back to numbered options in chat only when no blocking tool exists in the harness or the call errors (e.g., Codex edit modes) — not because a schema load is required. Never silently skip the question.

Ask one question at a time. Prefer a concise single-select choice when natural options exist.

Feature Description

<feature_description> #$ARGUMENTS </feature_description>

If the feature description above is empty, ask the user: "What would you like to plan? Describe the task, goal, or project you have in mind." Then wait for their response before continuing.

If the input is present but unclear or underspecified, do not abandon — ask one or two clarifying questions, or proceed to Phase 0.4's planning bootstrap to establish enough context. The goal is always to help the user plan, never to exit the workflow.

IMPORTANT: All file references in the plan document must use repo-relative paths (e.g., src/models/user.rb), never absolute paths (e.g., /Users/name/Code/project/src/models/user.rb). This applies everywhere — implementation unit file lists, pattern references, origin document links, and prose mentions. Absolute paths break portability across machines, worktrees, and teammates.

Core Principles

1. Use requirements as the source of truth - If spec-brainstorm produced a requirements document, planning should build from it rather than re-inventing behavior.
2. Decisions, not code - Capture approach, boundaries, files, dependencies, risks, and test scenarios. Do not pre-write implementation code or shell command choreography. Pseudo-code sketches or DSL grammars that communicate high-level technical design are welcome when they help a reviewer validate direction — but they must be explicitly framed as directional guidance, not implementation specification.
3. Research before structuring - Explore the codebase, institutional learnings, and external guidance when warranted before finalizing the plan.
4. Right-size the artifact - Small work gets a compact plan. Large work gets more structure. The philosophy stays the same at every depth.
5. Separate planning from execution discovery - Resolve planning-time questions here. Explicitly defer execution-time unknowns to implementation.
6. Keep the plan portable - The plan should work as a living document, review artifact, or issue body without embedding tool-specific executor instructions.
7. Carry execution posture lightly when it matters - If the request, origin document, or repo context clearly implies test-first, characterization-first, or another non-default execution posture, reflect that in the plan as a lightweight signal. Do not turn the plan into step-by-step execution choreography.
8. Honor user-named resources - When the user names a specific resource — a CLI, MCP server, URL, file, doc link, or prior artifact — treat it as authoritative input, not a suggestion. Discover it if unknown (command -v, fetch, read) before assuming it's unavailable. Use it in place of generic alternatives. If it fails or doesn't exist, say so explicitly rather than silently substituting.

Plan Quality Bar

Every plan should contain:

• A clear problem frame and scope boundary
• Concrete requirements traceability back to the request or origin document
• Repo-relative file paths for the work being proposed (never absolute paths — see Planning Rules)
• Explicit test file paths for feature-bearing implementation units
• Decisions with rationale, not just tasks
• Existing patterns or code references to follow
• Enumerated test scenarios for each feature-bearing unit, specific enough that an implementer knows exactly what to test without inventing coverage themselves
• Clear dependencies and sequencing

A plan is ready when an implementer can start confidently without needing the plan to write the code for them.

Workflow

Phase 0: Resume, Source, and Scope

0.1 Resume Existing Plan Work When Appropriate

If the user references an existing plan file or there is an obvious recent matching plan in docs/plans/:

• Read it
• Confirm whether to update it in place or create a new plan
• If updating, revise only the still-relevant sections. Plans do not carry per-unit progress state — progress is derived from git by spec-work, so there is no progress to preserve across edits

Deepen intent: The word "deepen" (or "deepening") in reference to a plan is the primary trigger for the deepening fast path. When the user says "deepen the plan", "deepen my plan", "run a deepening pass", or similar, the target document is a plan in docs/plans/, not a requirements document. Use any path, keyword, or context the user provides to identify the right plan. If a path is provided, verify it is actually a plan document. If the match is not obvious, confirm with the user before proceeding.

Words like "strengthen", "confidence", "gaps", and "rigor" are NOT sufficient on their own to trigger deepening. These words appear in normal editing requests ("strengthen that section about the diagram", "there are gaps in the test scenarios") and should not cause a holistic deepening pass. Only treat them as deepening intent when the request clearly targets the plan as a whole and does not name a specific section or content area to change — and even then, prefer to confirm with the user before entering the deepening flow.

Once the plan is identified and appears complete (all major sections present, implementation units defined, status: active):

• If the plan lacks YAML frontmatter (non-software plans use a simple # Title heading with Created: date instead of frontmatter), route to references/universal-planning.md for editing or deepening instead of Phase 5.3. Non-software plans do not use the software confidence-first check.
• Otherwise, short-circuit to Phase 5.3 (Confidence-first Check and Deepening) in interactive mode. This avoids re-running the full planning workflow and gives the user control over which findings are integrated.

Normal editing requests (e.g., "update the test scenarios", "add a new implementation unit", "strengthen the risk section") should NOT trigger the fast path — they follow the standard resume flow.

If the plan already has a deepened: YYYY-MM-DD frontmatter field and there is no explicit user request to re-deepen, the fast path still applies the same confidence-gap evaluation — it does not force deepening.

0.1b Classify Task Domain

If the task involves building, modifying, or architecting software (references code, repos, APIs, databases, or asks to build/modify/deploy), continue to Phase 0.2.

If the domain is genuinely ambiguous (e.g., "plan a migration" with no other context), ask the user before routing.

Otherwise, read references/universal-planning.md and follow that workflow instead. Skip all subsequent phases. Named tools or source links don't change this routing — they're inputs, handled per Core Principle 8.

0.2 Find Upstream Requirements Document

Before asking planning questions, search docs/brainstorms/ for files matching *-requirements.md.

Relevance criteria: A requirements document is relevant if:

• The topic semantically matches the feature description
• It was created within the last 30 days (use judgment to override if the document is clearly still relevant or clearly stale)
• It appears to cover the same user problem or scope

If multiple source documents match, ask which one to use using the platform's blocking question tool when available (see Interaction Method). Otherwise, present numbered options in chat and wait for the user's reply before proceeding.

0.3 Use the Source Document as Primary Input

If a relevant requirements document exists:

1. Read it thoroughly
2. Announce that it will serve as the origin document for planning
3. Carry forward all of the following:
   • spec_id when the origin frontmatter contains one. Preserve it exactly in the plan frontmatter; it is the cross-artifact identity for this spec chain.
   • Problem frame
   • Actors (A-IDs), Key Flows (F-IDs), and Acceptance Examples (AE-IDs) when present — preserve these as constraints that implementation units must honor
   • Requirements and success criteria
   • Scope boundaries (including "Deferred for later" and "Outside this product's identity" subsections when present)
   • Key decisions and rationale
   • Dependencies or assumptions
   • Outstanding questions, preserving whether they are blocking or deferred
4. Use the source document as the primary input to planning and research
5. Reference important carried-forward decisions in the plan with (see origin: <source-path>)
6. Do not silently omit source content — if the origin document discussed it, the plan must address it even if briefly. Before finalizing, scan each section of the origin document to verify nothing was dropped.

If the origin requirements document is a legacy document without spec_id, do not edit the origin by default. Generate a new plan-local spec_id, note in the plan that origin identity was not inherited, and treat the requirements-to-plan link as weak trace. If the user explicitly asks to backfill the origin requirements document, handle that as a separate scoped edit.

If no relevant requirements document exists, planning may proceed from the user's request directly.

0.4 Planning Bootstrap (No Requirements Doc or Unclear Input)

If no relevant requirements document exists, or the input needs more structure:

• Assess whether the request is already clear enough for direct technical planning — if so, continue to Phase 0.5
• If the ambiguity is mainly product framing, user behavior, or scope definition, recommend spec-brainstorm as a suggestion — but always offer to continue planning here as well
• If the user wants to continue here (or was already explicit about wanting a plan), run the planning bootstrap below

The planning bootstrap should establish:

• Problem frame
• Intended behavior
• Scope boundaries and obvious non-goals
• Success criteria
• Blocking questions or assumptions

Keep this bootstrap brief. It exists to preserve direct-entry convenience, not to replace a full brainstorm.

If the bootstrap uncovers major unresolved product questions:

• Recommend spec-brainstorm again
• If the user still wants to continue, require explicit assumptions before proceeding

If the bootstrap reveals that a different workflow would serve the user better:

• Bug-shaped prompt (user describes broken behavior, an error message, a regression, or "doesn't work") — surface spec-debug as a route-out option alongside continuing with spec-plan when the bug surface is reachable in the current repo or at a named local repo path. Stay in spec-plan when the named code cannot be found locally; paper planning may be the only useful output for unreachable surfaces.

  When the bug is at another local path, announce the target before any cross-repo investigation: which path will be read and where the plan output will land. Default to the target repo for both investigation and plan writing unless the user redirects. Cross-repo target location and workflow choice are separate decisions; do not silently write a plan into the wrong repository.

  In headless mode, skip the route-out menu and continue with spec-plan. Auto-routing into debugging would change workflows without synchronous user authorization.

• Clear task ready to execute (known root cause, obvious fix, no architectural decisions) — suggest spec-work as a faster alternative alongside continuing with planning. The user decides.

0.5 Classify Outstanding Questions Before Planning

If the origin document contains Resolve Before Planning or similar blocking questions:

• Review each one before proceeding
• Reclassify it into planning-owned work only if it is actually a technical, architectural, or research question
• Keep it as a blocker if it would change product behavior, scope, or success criteria

If true product blockers remain:

• Surface them clearly
• Ask the user, using the platform's blocking question tool when available (see Interaction Method), whether to:
  1. Resume spec-brainstorm to resolve them
  2. Convert them into explicit assumptions or decisions and continue
• Do not continue planning while true blockers remain unresolved

0.6 Assess Plan Depth

Classify the work into one of these plan depths:

• Lightweight - small, well-bounded, low ambiguity
• Standard - normal feature or bounded refactor with some technical decisions to document
• Deep - cross-cutting, strategic, high-risk, or highly ambiguous implementation work

If depth is unclear, ask one targeted question and then continue.

0.7 Solo-Mode Scope Summary

STOP. Before composing the synthesis, read references/synthesis-summary.md. The discipline rules, prose-summary requirement, three-bucket structure, anti-pattern guidance, soft-cut behavior, self-redirect support, solo-variant content focus, and routing into plan sections all live there.

Surface a synthesis to the user after the brief Phase 0.4 bootstrap and before Phase 1 research begins. This protects against spending research and sub-agent attention on the wrong scope.

Fires only when all guards are true:

• Phase 0.2 found no upstream brainstorm doc
• Phase 0.4 stayed in spec-plan rather than routing to debug, work, or universal planning
• Phase 0.5 cleared without unresolved blockers
• The run is not on a Phase 0.1 fast path such as resume-normal or deepen-intent

Skip Phase 0.7 for brainstorm-sourced invocations; those use Phase 5.1.5 after research. In headless mode, compose the synthesis but do not ask for confirmation. Continue to Phase 1 research, then route inferred bets to ## Assumptions at plan-write time.

Phase 1: Gather Context

1.1 Local Research (Always Runs)

Prepare a concise planning context summary (a paragraph or two) to pass as input to the research agents:

• If an origin document exists, summarize the problem frame, requirements, and key decisions from that document
• Otherwise use the feature description directly

Planning research agents are read-only. A direct plan workflow invocation authorizes this documented research phase when host capability exists; do not ask for a second subagent confirmation. Use the active host's agent-dispatch primitive when available (including spawn_agent where provided), omit permission-mode overrides, and keep dispatch bounded to the named research agents below. Do not downgrade solely because the host is Codex.

If dispatch is unavailable, explicitly disabled, or fails for a non-capacity reason, run the same research sequentially in the current agent by reading the corresponding agent profile and applying it inline as an explicit fallback. Plan generation must still complete when research dispatch is unavailable; dispatch improves latency and context separation, not correctness.

Dispatch these read-only research agents in parallel when available, or run the explicit sequential/inline fallback:

• spec-repo-research-analyst — Scope: technology, architecture, patterns. Input: {planning context summary}.
• spec-learnings-researcher — Input: {planning context summary}. Collect:
• Technology stack and versions (used in section 1.2 to make sharper external research decisions)
• Architectural patterns and conventions to follow
• Implementation patterns, relevant files, modules, and tests
• AGENTS.md guidance that materially affects the plan, with CLAUDE.md used only as compatibility fallback when present
• Institutional learnings from docs/solutions/

Slack context (opt-in) — never auto-dispatch. Route by condition:

• Tools available + user asked: Dispatch spec-slack-researcher with the planning context summary in parallel with other Phase 1.1 agents. If the origin document has a Slack context section, pass it verbatim so the researcher focuses on gaps. Include findings in consolidation.
• Tools available + user didn't ask: Note in output: "Slack tools detected. Ask me to search Slack for organizational context at any point, or include it in your next prompt."
• No tools + user asked: Note in output: "Slack context was requested but no Slack tools are available. Install and authenticate the Slack plugin to enable organizational context search."

1.1a Graph Readiness Facts (Optional, Bounded)

If the current cwd is a non-Git parent workspace that contains child Git repos, first resolve the intended project target. A single-repo plan must name a top-level target_repo using the workspace-relative child path before reading graph readiness. A cross-repo plan must name target_repo per implementation unit instead of implying workspace-wide write scope. If no active repo or explicit cross-repo scope is available, ask the user to choose before writing a repo-specific plan; do not let scripts or graph facts choose semantically between child repos.

For parent-workspace read-only planning questions, consume the advisory workspace-graph-targets.v1 facts when available, or run the read-only workspace graph target resolver to produce them. Treat primary children as bounded candidate repos for GitNexus-first evidence, include degraded-fallback children only with their limitations, and exclude stale, dirty-uncertain, setup-ready-bootstrap-required, and unavailable children from primary evidence unless the plan explicitly records the degraded fallback. The LLM still chooses the semantic target repo from the user request and evidence; the resolver only supplies deterministic readiness facts. Any implementation plan that can lead to edits, tests, changelog updates, or commits must still name target_repo at the plan or implementation-unit level.

Check whether canonical graph readiness artifacts exist:

• .spec-first/graph/graph-facts.json
• .spec-first/impact/bootstrap-impact-capabilities.json

If both artifacts exist, read them as compiled readiness facts before deciding how much graph evidence to trust. Compare recorded source_revision and worktree_dirty to the current repo snapshot. If either differs from the current snapshot, report the graph facts as stale and do not treat them as current primary evidence.

If either artifact cannot be read as valid JSON, treat graph readiness as blocked with reason invalid-json, name the exact artifact path and parse/read error in the Graph Readiness block, and continue planning with live MCP evidence or bounded direct repo reads. Do not rewrite, delete, or silently regenerate graph artifacts from spec-plan; deterministic repair belongs to spec-graph-bootstrap / spec-mcp-setup.

If the artifacts are missing, blocked, setup-not-ready, stale, or degraded, planning still continues. Before falling all the way back to bounded direct repo reads, try live MCP evidence when a relevant MCP tool is loaded in the current session and the planning question would benefit from it. For GitNexus, this means calling the MCP tools such as gitnexus_query, gitnexus_context, or gitnexus_impact for the concrete planning question and treating a successful response as session-local evidence. If live GitNexus returns definitions but no processes / process_symbols, record runtime_mcp_evidence: partial-definitions-only; use those definitions only as local file/symbol pointers, then supplement with code-review-graph, Serena, or bounded direct repo reads. A successful or partial live MCP call does not change compiled query_ready, does not make .spec-first/graph/graph-facts.json current, and must not be written back as graph readiness. If the MCP tool is unavailable, fails, or the provider status reports graph_ready=false / provider-crash, say so and use bounded direct repo reads and local research as needed; graph readiness is evidence context, not a planning gate.

In the generated plan, include a machine-testable Graph Readiness block before Context & Research:

## Graph Readiness

- target_repo:
- status: primary | degraded-fallback | stale | blocked | setup-not-ready | unavailable
- source_revision:
- current_revision:
- stale:
- primary_providers:
- degraded_providers:
- fallback_capabilities:
- runtime_mcp_evidence:
- confidence:
- limitations:

Use status: unavailable when canonical artifacts are missing. For degraded-fallback, state usable primary providers, fallback capabilities, and any successful, partial, or failed live MCP evidence with limitations. For blocked or setup-not-ready, report the fact and proceed with live MCP evidence only if the tool is actually responsive; otherwise use bounded direct repo reads where possible. Do not expand this into context selection, impact analysis, review evidence, or task-level artifacts.

1.1b Detect Execution Posture Signals

Decide whether the plan should carry a lightweight execution posture signal.

Look for signals such as:

• The user explicitly asks for TDD, test-first, or characterization-first work
• The origin document calls for test-first implementation or exploratory hardening of legacy code
• Local research shows the target area is legacy, weakly tested, or historically fragile, suggesting characterization coverage before changing behavior

When the signal is clear, carry it forward silently in the relevant implementation units.

Ask the user only if the posture would materially change sequencing or risk and cannot be responsibly inferred.

1.2 Decide on External Research

Based on the origin document, user signals, and local findings, decide whether external research adds value.

Read between the lines. Pay attention to signals from the conversation so far:

• User familiarity — Are they pointing to specific files or patterns? They likely know the codebase well.
• User intent — Do they want speed or thoroughness? Exploration or execution?
• Topic risk — Security, payments, external APIs warrant more caution regardless of user signals.
• Uncertainty level — Is the approach clear or still open-ended?

Leverage spec-repo-research-analyst's technology context:

The spec-repo-research-analyst output includes a structured Technology & Infrastructure summary. Use it to make sharper external research decisions:

• If specific frameworks and versions were detected (e.g., Rails 7.2, Next.js 14, Go 1.22), pass those exact identifiers to spec-framework-docs-researcher so it fetches version-specific documentation
• If the feature touches a technology layer the scan found well-established in the repo (e.g., existing Sidekiq jobs when planning a new background job), lean toward skipping external research -- local patterns are likely sufficient
• If the feature touches a technology layer the scan found absent or thin (e.g., no existing proto files when planning a new gRPC service), lean toward external research -- there are no local patterns to follow
• If the scan detected deployment infrastructure (Docker, K8s, serverless), note it in the planning context passed to downstream agents so they can account for deployment constraints
• If the scan detected a monorepo and scoped to a specific service, pass that service's tech context to downstream research agents -- not the aggregate of all services. If the scan surfaced the workspace map without scoping, use the feature description to identify the relevant service before proceeding with research

Always lean toward external research when:

• The topic is high-risk: security, payments, privacy, external APIs, migrations, compliance
• The codebase lacks relevant local patterns -- fewer than 3 direct examples of the pattern this plan needs
• Local patterns exist for an adjacent domain but not the exact one -- e.g., the codebase has HTTP clients but not webhook receivers, or has background jobs but not event-driven pub/sub. Adjacent patterns suggest the team is comfortable with the technology layer but may not know domain-specific pitfalls. When this signal is present, frame the external research query around the domain gap specifically, not the general technology
• The user is exploring unfamiliar territory
• The technology scan found the relevant layer absent or thin in the codebase

Skip external research when:

• The codebase already shows a strong local pattern -- multiple direct examples (not adjacent-domain), recently touched, following current conventions
• The user already knows the intended shape
• Additional external context would add little practical value
• The technology scan found the relevant layer well-established with existing examples to follow

Announce the decision briefly before continuing. Examples:

• "Your codebase has solid patterns for this. Proceeding without external research."
• "This involves payment processing, so I'll research current best practices first."

1.3 External Research (Conditional)

If Step 1.2 indicates external research is useful, dispatch these read-only agents in parallel when available, or run them sequentially/inline in the current agent as the explicit fallback:

• spec-best-practices-researcher — Input: {planning context summary}.
• spec-framework-docs-researcher — Input: {planning context summary}.

1.4 Consolidate Research

Summarize:

• Relevant codebase patterns and file paths
• Relevant institutional learnings
• Organizational context from Slack conversations, if gathered (prior discussions, decisions, or domain knowledge relevant to the feature)
• External references and best practices, if gathered
• Related issues, PRs, or prior art
• Any constraints that should materially shape the plan

1.4b Reclassify Depth When Research Reveals External Contract Surfaces

If the current classification is Lightweight and Phase 1 research found that the work touches any of these external contract surfaces, reclassify to Standard:

• Environment variables consumed by external systems, CI, or other repositories
• Exported public APIs, CLI flags, or command-line interface contracts
• CI/CD configuration files (.github/workflows/, Dockerfile, deployment scripts)
• Shared types or interfaces imported by downstream consumers
• Documentation referenced by external URLs or linked from other systems

This ensures flow analysis (Phase 1.5) runs and the confidence-first check (Phase 5.3) applies critical-section bonuses. Announce the reclassification briefly: "Reclassifying to Standard — this change touches [environment variables / exported APIs / CI config] with external consumers."

1.5 Flow and Edge-Case Analysis (Conditional)

For Standard or Deep plans, or when user flow completeness is still unclear, dispatch the read-only flow analyzer when available, or run the same analysis sequentially/inline in the current agent as the explicit fallback:

• spec-spec-flow-analyzer — Input: {planning context summary, research findings}.

Use the output to:

• Identify missing edge cases, state transitions, or handoff gaps
• Tighten requirements trace or verification strategy
• Add only the flow details that materially improve the plan

Phase 2: Resolve Planning Questions

Build a planning question list from:

• Deferred questions in the origin document
• Gaps discovered in repo or external research
• Technical decisions required to produce a useful plan

For each question, decide whether it should be:

• Resolved during planning - the answer is knowable from repo context, documentation, or user choice
• Deferred to implementation - the answer depends on code changes, runtime behavior, or execution-time discovery

Ask the user only when the answer materially affects architecture, scope, sequencing, or risk and cannot be responsibly inferred. Use the platform's blocking question tool when available (see Interaction Method).

Do not run tests, build the app, or probe runtime behavior in this phase. The goal is a strong plan, not partial execution.

Phase 3: Structure the Plan

3.1 Title and File Naming

• Draft a clear, searchable title using conventional format such as feat: Add user authentication or fix: Prevent checkout double-submit
• Determine the plan type: feat, fix, or refactor
• Build the filename following the repository convention: docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-NNN-<type>-<descriptive-name>-plan.md
  • Create docs/plans/ if it does not exist
  • Check existing files for today's date to determine the next sequence number (zero-padded to 3 digits, starting at 001)
  • Keep the descriptive name concise (3-5 words) and kebab-cased
  • Examples: 2026-01-15-001-feat-user-authentication-flow-plan.md, 2026-02-03-002-fix-checkout-race-condition-plan.md
  • Avoid: missing sequence numbers, vague names like "new-feature", invalid characters (colons, spaces)
• Set the plan frontmatter spec_id:
  • If the plan has an origin requirements document with spec_id, inherit that value exactly, even though the plan filename also contains <type>.
  • If the origin requirements document is legacy and lacks spec_id, generate a plan-local spec_id from the plan filename sequence and slug, and state in the Problem Frame or Context & Research that origin identity was not inherited.
  • If there is no origin document, generate a new spec_id from the plan filename sequence and slug.
  • Before minting a new spec_id, scan docs/brainstorms/, docs/plans/, and docs/tasks/ frontmatter. If the same spec_id already exists and origin / source_plan links do not prove it belongs to the same spec chain, increment the local sequence or ask the user to confirm.
  • Preserve spec_id across ordinary edits, plan deepening, task-pack rebuilds, and work/review handoffs. For alternative implementation plans, independent delivery chains, or abandon-and-replace work from the same origin, decide whether to inherit or create a new spec chain and record the reason in the plan.

3.2 Stakeholder and Impact Awareness

For Standard or Deep plans, briefly consider who is affected by this change — end users, developers, operations, other teams — and how that should shape the plan. For cross-cutting work, note affected parties in the System-Wide Impact section.

3.3 Break Work into Implementation Units

Break the work into logical implementation units. Each unit should represent one meaningful change that an implementer could typically land as an atomic commit.

Good units are:

• Focused on one component, behavior, or integration seam
• Usually touching a small cluster of related files
• Ordered by dependency
• Concrete enough for execution without pre-writing code

Avoid:

• 2-5 minute micro-steps
• Units that span multiple unrelated concerns
• Units that are so vague an implementer still has to invent the plan

Each unit carries a stable plan-local U-ID assigned in Phase 3.5 (U1, U2, …). U-IDs survive reordering, splitting, and deletion: new units take the next unused number, gaps are fine, and existing IDs are never renumbered. This lets spec-work reference units unambiguously across plan edits.

3.4 High-Level Technical Design (Optional)

Before detailing implementation units, decide whether an overview would help a reviewer validate the intended approach. This section communicates the shape of the solution — how pieces fit together — without dictating implementation.

When to include it:

Work involves...	Best overview form
DSL or API surface design	Pseudo-code grammar or contract sketch
Multi-component integration	Mermaid sequence or component diagram
Data pipeline or transformation	Data flow sketch
State-heavy lifecycle	State diagram
Complex branching logic	Flowchart
Mode/flag combinations or multi-input behavior	Decision matrix (inputs -> outcomes)
Single-component with non-obvious shape	Pseudo-code sketch

When to skip it:

• Well-patterned work where prose and file paths tell the whole story
• Straightforward CRUD or convention-following changes
• Lightweight plans where the approach is obvious

Choose the medium that fits the work. Do not default to pseudo-code when a diagram communicates better, and vice versa.

Frame every sketch with: "This illustrates the intended approach and is directional guidance for review, not implementation specification. The implementing agent should treat it as context, not code to reproduce."

Keep sketches concise — enough to validate direction, not enough to copy-paste into production.

3.4b Output Structure (Optional)

For greenfield plans that create a new directory structure (new plugin, service, package, or module), include an ## Output Structure section with a file tree showing the expected layout. This gives reviewers the overall shape before diving into per-unit details.

When to include it:

• The plan creates 3+ new files in a new directory hierarchy
• The directory layout itself is a meaningful design decision

When to skip it:

• The plan only modifies existing files
• The plan creates 1-2 files in an existing directory — the per-unit file lists are sufficient

The tree is a scope declaration showing the expected output shape. It is not a constraint — the implementer may adjust the structure if implementation reveals a better layout. The per-unit **Files:** sections remain authoritative for what each unit creates or modifies.

3.5 Define Each Implementation Unit

Each unit's heading carries a stable U-ID prefix matching the format used for R/A/F/AE in requirements docs: ### U1. [Name]. The U-ID is plain text in the heading and the unit name is not bolded. Number sequentially within the plan starting at U1. Do not prefix units with - [ ] / - [x] checkbox markers; the plan is a decision artifact, and execution progress is derived from git by spec-work rather than stored in the plan body. When reading, editing, or deepening older plans, continue to recognize legacy - U1. **[Name]** list-item units as valid anchors.

Stability rule. Once assigned, a U-ID is never renumbered. Reordering units leaves their IDs in place (e.g., U1, U3, U5 in their new order is correct; renumbering to U1, U2, U3 is not). Splitting a unit keeps the original U-ID on the original concept and assigns the next unused number to the new unit. Deletion leaves a gap; gaps are fine. This rule matters most during deepening (Phase 5.3), which is the most likely accidental-renumber vector.

For each unit, include:

• Goal - what this unit accomplishes
• Requirements - which requirements or success criteria it advances (cite R-IDs, and A/F/AE IDs when origin supplies them)
• Dependencies - what must exist first (cite by U-ID, e.g., "U1, U3")
• Files - repo-relative file paths to create, modify, or test (never absolute paths)
• Approach - key decisions, data flow, component boundaries, or integration notes
• Execution note - optional, only when the unit benefits from a non-default execution posture such as test-first or characterization-first
• Technical design - optional pseudo-code or diagram when the unit's approach is non-obvious and prose alone would leave it ambiguous. Frame explicitly as directional guidance, not implementation specification
• Patterns to follow - existing code or conventions to mirror
• Test scenarios - enumerate the specific test cases the implementer should write, right-sized to the unit's complexity and risk. Consider each category below and include scenarios from every category that applies to this unit. A simple config change may need one scenario; a payment flow may need a dozen. The quality signal is specificity — each scenario should name the input, action, and expected outcome so the implementer doesn't have to invent coverage. For units with no behavioral change (pure config, scaffolding, styling), use Test expectation: none -- [reason] instead of leaving the field blank. AE-link convention: when a test scenario directly enforces an origin Acceptance Example, prefix it with Covers AE<N>. (or Covers F<N> / AE<N>.). This is sparse-by-design — most test scenarios are finer-grained than AEs and do not link. Do not force AE links onto tests that only cover lower-level implementation details.
  • Happy path behaviors - core functionality with expected inputs and outputs
  • Edge cases (when the unit has meaningful boundaries) - boundary values, empty inputs, nil/null states, concurrent access
  • Error and failure paths (when the unit has failure modes) - invalid input, downstream service failures, timeout behavior, permission denials
  • Integration scenarios (when the unit crosses layers) - behaviors that mocks alone will not prove, e.g., "creating X triggers callback Y which persists Z". Include these for any unit touching callbacks, middleware, or multi-layer interactions
• Verification - how an implementer should know the unit is complete, expressed as outcomes rather than shell command scripts

Every feature-bearing unit should include the test file path in **Files:**.

Use Execution note sparingly. Good uses include:

• Execution note: Start with a failing integration test for the request/response contract.
• Execution note: Add characterization coverage before modifying this legacy parser.
• Execution note: Implement new domain behavior test-first.

Do not expand units into literal RED/GREEN/REFACTOR substeps.

3.6 Keep Planning-Time and Implementation-Time Unknowns Separate

If something is important but not knowable yet, record it explicitly under deferred implementation notes rather than pretending to resolve it in the plan.

Examples:

• Exact method or helper names
• Final SQL or query details after touching real code
• Runtime behavior that depends on seeing actual test failures
• Refactors that may become unnecessary once implementation starts

Phase 4: Write the Plan

NEVER CODE during this skill. Research, decide, and write the plan — do not start implementation.

Use one planning philosophy across all depths. Change the amount of detail, not the boundary between planning and execution.

4.1 Plan Depth Guidance

Lightweight

• Keep the plan compact
• Usually 2-4 implementation units
• Omit optional sections that add little value

Standard

• Use the full core template, omitting optional sections (including High-Level Technical Design) that add no value for this particular work
• Usually 3-6 implementation units
• Include risks, deferred questions, and system-wide impact when relevant

Deep

• Use the full core template plus optional analysis sections where warranted
• Usually 4-8 implementation units
• Group units into phases when that improves clarity
• Include alternatives considered, documentation impacts, and deeper risk treatment when warranted

4.1b Optional Deep Plan Extensions

For sufficiently large, risky, or cross-cutting work, add the sections that genuinely help:

• Alternative Approaches Considered
• Success Metrics
• Dependencies / Prerequisites
• Risk Analysis & Mitigation
• Phased Delivery
• Documentation Plan
• Operational / Rollout Notes
• Future Considerations only when they materially affect current design

Do not add these as boilerplate. Include them only when they improve execution quality or stakeholder alignment.

Alternatives Considered — what to vary. When this section is included, alternatives must differ on how the work is built: architecture, sequencing, boundaries, integration pattern, rollout strategy. Tiny implementation variants (which hash function, which serialization format) belong in Key Technical Decisions, not Alternatives. Product-shape alternatives (different actors, different core outcome, different positioning) belong in spec-brainstorm, not here — surface them back upstream rather than re-litigating product questions during planning.

4.2 Core Plan Template

Read skills/spec-plan/references/plan-template.md before writing the plan. That file is the source of truth for the core plan skeleton, optional Deep extensions, current heading names, and the implementation-unit heading format. Do not reconstruct the template from memory and do not inline the full template in this skill.

Use ### U1. [Name] heading-style implementation units for new plans. Continue to read legacy - U1. **[Name]** list-item units when editing or deepening older plans; do not rewrite old unit anchors unless the user asked for a format cleanup.

4.3 Planning Rules

• Horizontal rules (---) between top-level sections in Standard and Deep plans, mirroring the spec-brainstorm requirements doc convention. Improves scannability of dense plans where many H2 sections sit close together. Omit for Lightweight plans where the whole doc fits on a single screen.
• All file paths must be repo-relative — never use absolute paths like /Users/name/Code/project/src/file.ts. Use src/file.ts instead. Absolute paths make plans non-portable across machines, worktrees, and teammates. When a plan targets a different repo than the document's home, state the target repo once at the top of the plan (e.g., **Target repo:** my-other-project) and use repo-relative paths throughout
• Prefer path plus class/component/pattern references over brittle line numbers
• Do not include implementation code — no imports, exact method signatures, or framework-specific syntax
• Pseudo-code sketches and DSL grammars are allowed in the High-Level Technical Design section and per-unit technical design fields when they communicate design direction. Frame them explicitly as directional guidance, not implementation specification
• Mermaid diagrams are encouraged when they clarify relationships or flows that prose alone would make hard to follow — ERDs for data model changes, sequence diagrams for multi-service interactions, state diagrams for lifecycle transitions, flowcharts for complex branching logic
• Do not include git commands, commit messages, or exact test command recipes
• Do not expand implementation units into micro-step RED/GREEN/REFACTOR instructions
• Do not pretend an execution-time question is settled just to make the plan look complete

4.4 Visual Communication in Plan Documents

When the plan contains 4+ implementation units with non-linear dependencies, 3+ interacting surfaces in System-Wide Impact, 3+ behavioral modes/variants in Summary or Problem Frame, or 3+ interacting decisions in Key Technical Decisions or alternatives in Alternative Approaches, read references/visual-communication.md for diagram and table guidance. Legacy plans may still use Overview; treat it as the old Summary slot. This covers plan-structure visuals (dependency graphs, interaction diagrams, comparison tables) — not solution-design diagrams, which are covered in Section 3.4.

Phase 5: Final Review, Write File, and Handoff

5.1 Review Before Writing

Before finalizing, check:

• The plan does not invent product behavior that should have been defined in spec-brainstorm
• If there was no origin document, the bounded planning bootstrap established enough product clarity to plan responsibly
• Every major decision is grounded in the origin document or research
• Each implementation unit is concrete, dependency-ordered, and implementation-ready
• If test-first or characterization-first posture was explicit or strongly implied, the relevant units carry it forward with a lightweight Execution note
• Each feature-bearing unit has test scenarios from every applicable category (happy path, edge cases, error paths, integration) — right-sized to the unit's complexity, not padded or skimped
• Test scenarios name specific inputs, actions, and expected outcomes without becoming test code
• Feature-bearing units with blank or missing test scenarios are flagged as incomplete — feature-bearing units must have actual test scenarios, not just an annotation. The Test expectation: none -- [reason] annotation is only valid for non-feature-bearing units (pure config, scaffolding, styling)
• Deferred items are explicit and not hidden as fake certainty
• spec_id is present for software plans, is inherited from origin requirements when available, and is not changed during deepening or ordinary plan edits
• If the origin requirements document lacks spec_id, the plan explicitly says it uses a plan-local spec_id and that origin identity was not inherited
• If this plan is an alternative, independent delivery chain, or replacement for another plan from the same origin, the plan states why it inherits the existing spec_id or starts a new spec chain
• If a High-Level Technical Design section is included, it uses the right medium for the work, carries the non-prescriptive framing, and does not contain implementation code (no imports, exact signatures, or framework-specific syntax)
• Per-unit technical design fields, if present, are concise and directional rather than copy-paste-ready
• If the plan creates a new directory structure, would an Output Structure tree help reviewers see the overall shape?
• If Scope Boundaries lists items that are planned work for a separate PR, issue, or repo, are they under ### Deferred to Follow-Up Work rather than mixed with true non-goals?
• U-IDs are unique within the plan and follow the stability rule — no two units share an ID; reordering or splitting did not renumber existing units; gaps from deletions are preserved
• Would a visual aid (dependency graph, interaction diagram, comparison table) help a reader grasp the plan structure faster than scanning prose alone?

If the plan originated from a requirements document, re-read that document and verify:

• The chosen approach still matches the product intent
• Scope boundaries and success criteria are preserved
• Blocking questions were either resolved, explicitly assumed, or sent back to spec-brainstorm
• Every section of the origin document is addressed in the plan — scan each section to confirm nothing was silently dropped
• If origin supplies A/F/AE IDs: every origin R/F/AE that affects implementation is referenced in Requirements, a U-ID unit, test scenarios, verification, scope boundaries, or explicitly deferred. Actors are carried forward when they affect behavior, permissions, UX, orchestration, handoff, or verification. The standard is preservation of product intent, not mandatory ID spam — irrelevant origin IDs may be omitted
• If origin was Deep-product (origin contains an Outside this product's identity subsection): the plan's Scope Boundaries preserves the three-way split — Deferred for later and Outside this product's identity carried verbatim from origin, Deferred to Follow-Up Work reserved for plan-local implementation sequencing

5.1.5 Brainstorm-Sourced Scope Summary

STOP. Before composing the synthesis, read references/synthesis-summary.md. The discipline rules, prose-summary requirement, three-bucket structure, anti-pattern guidance, soft-cut behavior, self-redirect support, brainstorm-sourced content focus, doc-body reading rules, and routing into plan sections all live there.

Surface the agent's plan-time decisions to the user before Phase 5.2 commits the plan to disk. The upstream brainstorm validated WHAT to build; this phase surfaces HOW the plan will execute it, including patterns extended, files or modules touched, test scope, and deliberate exclusions.

Fires only when the plan was sourced from an upstream brainstorm requirements doc and the run is not on a Phase 0.1 fast path. Skip it in solo invocation because solo plans use Phase 0.7.

In headless mode, compose the synthesis but do not ask for confirmation. Proceed to Phase 5.2 and route inferred bets to ## Assumptions instead of Key Technical Decisions.

5.2 Write Plan File

REQUIRED: Write the plan file to disk before presenting any options.

Use the Write tool to save the complete plan to:

docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-NNN-<type>-<descriptive-name>-plan.md

Confirm using an absolute path so the reference is clickable in modern terminals:

Plan written to <absolute path to plan>

Pipeline mode: If invoked from an automated workflow such as LFG or any disable-model-invocation context, skip interactive questions. Make the needed choices automatically and proceed to writing the plan.

5.3 Confidence-first Check and Deepening

After writing the plan file, automatically evaluate whether the plan needs strengthening.

Two deepening modes:

• Auto mode (default during plan generation): Runs without asking the user for approval. The user sees what is being strengthened but does not need to make a decision. Sub-agent findings are synthesized directly into the plan.
• Interactive mode (activated by the re-deepen fast path in Phase 0.1): The user explicitly asked to deepen an existing plan. Sub-agent findings are presented individually for review before integration. The user can accept, reject, or discuss each agent's findings. Only accepted findings are synthesized into the plan.

Interactive mode exists because on-demand deepening is a different user posture — the user already has a plan they are invested in and wants to be surgical about what changes. This applies whether the plan was generated by this skill, written by hand, or produced by another tool.

spec-doc-review and this confidence-first check are different:

• Use the spec-doc-review workflow when the document needs clarity, simplification, completeness, or scope control
• This confidence-first check strengthens rationale, sequencing, risk treatment, and system-wide thinking when the plan is structurally sound but still needs stronger grounding

Pipeline mode: This phase always runs in auto mode in pipeline/disable-model-invocation contexts. No user interaction needed.

5.3.1 Classify Plan Depth and Topic Risk

Determine the plan depth from the document:

• Lightweight - small, bounded, low ambiguity, usually 2-4 implementation units
• Standard - moderate complexity, some technical decisions, usually 3-6 units
• Deep - cross-cutting, high-risk, or strategically important work, usually 4-8 units or phased delivery

Build a risk profile. Treat these as high-risk signals:

• Authentication, authorization, or security-sensitive behavior
• Payments, billing, or financial flows
• Data migrations, backfills, or persistent data changes
• External APIs or third-party integrations
• Privacy, compliance, or user data handling
• Cross-interface parity or multi-surface behavior
• Significant rollout, monitoring, or operational concerns

5.3.2 Gate: Decide Whether to Deepen

• Lightweight plans usually do not need deepening unless they are high-risk
• Standard plans often benefit when one or more important sections still look thin
• Deep or high-risk plans often benefit from a targeted second pass
• Thin local grounding override: If Phase 1.2 triggered external research because local patterns were thin (fewer than 3 direct examples or adjacent-domain match), always proceed to scoring regardless of how grounded the plan appears. When the plan was built on unfamiliar territory, claims about system behavior are more likely to be assumptions than verified facts. The scoring pass is cheap — if the plan is genuinely solid, scoring finds nothing and exits quickly

If the plan already appears sufficiently grounded and the thin-grounding override does not apply, report "Confidence-first check passed — no sections need strengthening", then load references/plan-handoff.md now and execute 5.3.8 → 5.3.9 → 5.4 in sequence. Document review is mandatory — do not skip it because the confidence-first check passed. The two tools catch different classes of issues.

5.3.3–5.3.7 Deepening Execution

When deepening is warranted, read references/deepening-workflow.md for confidence-first scoring checklists, section-to-agent dispatch mapping, execution mode selection, research execution, interactive finding review, and plan synthesis instructions. Execute steps 5.3.3 through 5.3.7 from that file, then return here for 5.3.8.

5.3.8–5.4 Document Review, Final Checks, and Post-Generation Options

STOP. Load references/plan-handoff.md now before continuing. It contains the full instructions for 5.3.8 (document review), 5.3.9 (final checks and cleanup), and 5.4 (post-generation handoff, including the Proof HITL flow, post-HITL re-review, and Issue Creation branching). This load is non-optional: without it, agents can render the menu, capture a selection, and stop without firing the routed action. Document review is mandatory — do not skip it even if the confidence-first check already ran.

After document review and final checks, present this menu using the platform's blocking question tool: AskUserQuestion in Claude Code (call ToolSearch with select:AskUserQuestion first if its schema isn't loaded) or request_user_input in Codex. Fall back to numbered options in chat only when no blocking tool exists in the harness or the call errors (e.g., Codex edit modes) — not because a schema load is required. Never silently skip the question.

Question: "Plan ready at <absolute path to plan>. What would you like to do next?"

Options:

1. Start work (recommended) - Begin implementing this plan in the current session using the current host's work entrypoint
2. Compile task pack with spec-write-tasks - Use the standalone skill when the plan is large, dependency-heavy, or would benefit from a derived docs/tasks/*-tasks.md execution input
3. Create Issue - Create a tracked issue from this plan in your configured issue tracker (GitHub or Linear)
4. Open in Proof (web app) — review and comment to iterate with the agent - Open the doc in Every's Proof editor, iterate with the agent via comments, or copy a link to share with others
5. Done for now - Pause; the plan file is saved and can be resumed later

Routing each selection, contextual surfacing of residual spec-doc-review findings, and the post-HITL resync logic all live in references/plan-handoff.md — follow it for every branch. Act on the user's selection; do not only tell the user which command to run.

Completion check: This skill is not complete until the post-generation menu above has been presented, the user has selected an action, and the routed action has executed or been explicitly declined. Presenting the menu and stopping at the selection is not completion.

Pipeline mode exception: In LFG or any disable-model-invocation context, skip the interactive menu and return control to the caller after the plan file is written, confidence-first check has run, and spec-doc-review has run in headless mode (per references/plan-handoff.md).