plan-parallel

[IMPORTANT] Use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting — including tasks for each file read. This prevents context loss from long files. For simple tasks, AI MUST ask user whether to skip.

Prerequisites: MUST READ .claude/skills/shared/understand-code-first-protocol.md before executing.

Quick Summary

Goal: Create a detailed implementation plan with phases optimized for parallel execution by multiple agents.

Workflow:

1. Research — Spawn up to 2 researcher agents in parallel for different aspects
2. Analyze Codebase — Read summary docs; scout if summary is stale (>3 days)
3. Plan Creation — Planner subagent creates parallel-optimized phases with exclusive file ownership
4. User Review — Present plan for confirmation; optionally validate via interview

Key Rules:

• Each phase MUST have exclusive file ownership -- no file modified by multiple phases
• Phases must be independently executable with clear dependency matrix
• Planning-only skill -- never implement code, always get user approval first

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

Activate planning skill.

PLANNING-ONLY — Collaboration Required

DO NOT use the EnterPlanMode tool — you are ALREADY in a planning workflow. DO NOT implement or execute any code changes. COLLABORATE with the user: ask decision questions, present options with recommendations. After plan creation, ALWAYS run /plan-review to validate the plan. ASK user to confirm the plan before any next step.

Your mission

Workflow

1. Create a directory using naming pattern from ## Naming section in injected context. Make sure you pass the directory path to every subagent during the process.
2. Follow strictly to the "Plan Creation & Organization" rules of planning skill.
3. Use multiple researcher agents (max 2 agents) in parallel to research for this task: Each agent research for a different aspect of the task and are allowed to perform max 5 tool calls.
4. Analyze the codebase by reading backend-patterns-reference.md, frontend-patterns-reference.md, and project-structure-reference.md file. ONLY PERFORM THIS FOLLOWING STEP IF reference docs are placeholders or older than 3 days: Use /scout <instructions> slash command to search the codebase for files needed to complete the task.
5. Main agent gathers all research and scout report filepaths, and pass them to planner subagent with the prompt to create a parallel-optimized implementation plan.
6. Main agent receives the implementation plan from planner subagent, and ask user to review the plan

Post-Plan Validation (Optional)

After plan creation, offer validation interview to confirm decisions before implementation.

Check ## Plan Context -> Validation: mode=X, questions=MIN-MAX:

Mode	Behavior
prompt	Ask user: "Validate this plan with a brief interview?" -> Yes (Recommended) / No
auto	Automatically execute /plan-validate {plan-path}
off	Skip validation step entirely

If mode is prompt: Use AskUserQuestion tool with options above. If user chooses validation or mode is auto: Execute /plan-validate {plan-path} SlashCommand.

Special Requirements for Parallel Execution

CRITICAL: The planner subagent must create phases that:

1. Can be executed independently - Each phase should be self-contained with no runtime dependencies on other phases
2. Have clear boundaries - No file overlap between phases (each file should only be modified in ONE phase)
3. Separate concerns logically - Group by architectural layer, feature domain, or technology stack
4. Minimize coupling - Phases should communicate through well-defined interfaces only
5. Include dependency matrix - Clearly document which phases must run sequentially vs in parallel

Parallelization Strategy:

• Group frontend/backend/database work into separate phases when possible
• Separate infrastructure setup from application logic
• Isolate different feature domains (e.g., auth vs profile vs payments)
• Split by file type/directory (e.g., components vs services vs models)
• Create independent test phases per module

Phase Organization Example:

Phase 01: Database Schema (can run independently)
Phase 02: Backend API Layer (can run independently)
Phase 03: Frontend Components (can run independently)
Phase 04: Integration Tests (depends on 01, 02, 03)

Output Requirements

Plan Directory Structure (use Plan dir: from ## Naming section)

{plan-dir}/
├── research/
│   ├── researcher-XX-report.md
│   └── ...
├── reports/
│   ├── XX-report.md
│   └── ...
├── scout/
│   ├── scout-XX-report.md
│   └── ...
├── plan.md
├── phase-XX-phase-name-here.md
└── ...

Research Output Requirements

• Ensure every research markdown report remains concise (<=150 lines) while covering all requested topics and citations.

Plan File Specification

• Every plan.md MUST start with YAML frontmatter:

  ---
  title: '{Brief title}'
  description: '{One sentence for card preview}'
  status: pending
  priority: P2
  effort: { sum of phases, e.g., 4h }
  branch: { current git branch }
  tags: [relevant, tags]
  created: { YYYY-MM-DD }
  ---
  

• Save the overview access point at {plan-dir}/plan.md. Keep it generic, under 80 lines, and list each implementation phase with status, progress, parallelization group, and links to phase files.

• For each phase, create {plan-dir}/phase-XX-phase-name-here.md containing the following sections in order:

  • Context links (reference parent plan, dependencies, docs)
  • Parallelization Info (which phases can run concurrently, which must wait)
  • Overview (date, description, priority, implementation status, review status)
  • Key Insights
  • Requirements
  • Architecture
  • Related code files (MUST be exclusive to this phase - no overlap with other phases)
  • File Ownership (explicit list of files this phase owns/modifies)
  • Implementation Steps
  • Todo list
  • Success Criteria
  • Conflict Prevention (how this phase avoids conflicts with parallel phases)
  • Risk Assessment
  • Security Considerations
  • Next steps

Main plan.md must include:

• Dependency graph showing which phases can run in parallel
• Execution strategy (e.g., "Phases 1-3 parallel, then Phase 4")
• File ownership matrix (which phase owns which files)

IMPORTANT Task Planning Notes (MUST FOLLOW)

• Always plan and break work into many small todo tasks using TaskCreate
• Always add a final review todo task to verify work quality and identify fixes/enhancements
• MANDATORY FINAL TASKS: After creating all planning todo tasks, ALWAYS add these two final tasks:
  1. Task: "Run /plan-validate" — Trigger /plan-validate skill to interview the user with critical questions and validate plan assumptions
  2. Task: "Run /plan-review" — Trigger /plan-review skill to auto-review plan for validity, correctness, and best practices

Important Notes

IMPORTANT: Analyze the skills catalog and activate the skills that are needed for the task during the process. IMPORTANT: Ensure token efficiency while maintaining high quality. IMPORTANT: Sacrifice grammar for the sake of concision when writing reports. IMPORTANT: In reports, list any unresolved questions at the end, if any. IMPORTANT: Each phase MUST have exclusive file ownership - no file can be modified by multiple phases.

REMINDER — Planning-Only Command

DO NOT use EnterPlanMode tool. DO NOT start implementing. ALWAYS validate with /plan-review after plan creation. ASK user to confirm the plan before any implementation begins. ASK user decision questions with your recommendations when multiple approaches exist.