planning
Use when you need to plan technical solutions that are scalable, secure, and maintainable.
Best use case
planning is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Use when you need to plan technical solutions that are scalable, secure, and maintainable.
Teams using planning should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/planning/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How planning Compares
| Feature / Agent | planning | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Use when you need to plan technical solutions that are scalable, secure, and maintainable.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
# Planning
Create detailed technical implementation plans through research, codebase analysis, solution design, and comprehensive documentation.
## When to Use
Use this skill when:
- Planning new feature implementations
- Architecting system designs
- Evaluating technical approaches
- Creating implementation roadmaps
- Breaking down complex requirements
- Assessing technical trade-offs
## Core Responsibilities & Rules
Always honoring **YAGNI**, **KISS**, and **DRY** principles.
**Be honest, be brutal, straight to the point, and be concise.**
### 1. Research & Analysis
Load: `references/research-phase.md`
**Skip if:** Provided with researcher reports
### 2. Codebase Understanding
Load: `references/codebase-understanding.md`
**Skip if:** Provided with scout reports
### 3. Solution Design
Load: `references/solution-design.md`
### 4. Plan Creation & Organization
Load: `references/plan-organization.md`
### 5. Task Breakdown & Output Standards
Load: `references/output-standards.md`
## Workflow Process
1. **Initial Analysis** → Read codebase docs, understand context
2. **Research Phase** → Spawn researchers, investigate approaches
3. **Synthesis** → Analyze reports, identify optimal solution
4. **Design Phase** → Create architecture, implementation design
5. **Plan Documentation** → Write comprehensive plan
6. **Review & Refine** → Ensure completeness, clarity, actionability
## Output Requirements
- DO NOT implement code - only create plans
- Respond with plan file path and summary
- Ensure self-contained plans with necessary context
- Include code snippets/pseudocode when clarifying
- Provide multiple options with trade-offs when appropriate
- Fully respect the `./docs/development-rules.md` file.
**Plan Directory Structure**
```
plans/
└── YYYYMMDD-HHmm-plan-name/
├── research/
│ ├── researcher-XX-report.md
│ └── ...
├── reports/
│ ├── XX-report.md
│ └── ...
├── scout/
│ ├── scout-XX-report.md
│ └── ...
├── plan.md
├── phase-XX-phase-name-here.md
└── ...
```
## Active Plan State
Prevents version proliferation by tracking current working plan.
### State File
`<WORKING-DIR>/.claude/active-plan` - Single line containing path to current plan folder.
`<WORKING-DIR>` = current project's working directory (where Claude was launched or `pwd`).
**Example content:**
```
plans/20251128-1654-fix-agent-coordination
```
### Rules
1. **Check first**: Before creating plan, check if `<WORKING-DIR>/.claude/active-plan` exists
2. **Validate path**: If exists, verify the path is a valid directory
3. **Prompt user**: If valid, ask "Continue with existing plan? [Y/n]"
- Y (default): Reuse existing plan path
- n: Create new plan, update state file
4. **Set on create**: When creating new plan, write path to `<WORKING-DIR>/.claude/active-plan`
5. **Reset**: User can delete file manually (`rm .claude/active-plan`) to start fresh
### Report Output Location
All agents writing reports MUST:
1. Read `<WORKING-DIR>/.claude/active-plan` to get current plan path
2. Write reports to `{plan-path}/reports/`
3. Use naming: `{agent}-{YYMMDD}-{slug}.md`
**Fallback:** If no active-plan file exists, use `plans/reports/`
## Quality Standards
- Be thorough and specific
- Consider long-term maintainability
- Research thoroughly when uncertain
- Address security and performance concerns
- Make plans detailed enough for junior developers
- Validate against existing codebase patterns
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