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/
└── {date}-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 via session state.

Active vs Suggested Plans

Type	Env Var	Meaning
Active	$CK_ACTIVE_PLAN	Explicitly set via set-active-plan.cjs - use for reports
Suggested	$CK_SUGGESTED_PLAN	Branch-matched, hint only - do NOT auto-use

How It Works

Plan context is managed through:

1. $CK_ACTIVE_PLAN env var: Only set for explicitly activated plans (via session state)
2. $CK_SUGGESTED_PLAN env var: Branch-matched plans shown as hints, not directives
3. Session temp file: /tmp/ck-session-{id}.json stores explicit activations only
4. SubagentStart hook: Injects differentiated context (Active vs Suggested)

Rules

1. Check $CK_ACTIVE_PLAN first: If set and valid directory, ask "Continue with existing plan? [Y/n]"
2. Check $CK_SUGGESTED_PLAN second: If set, inform user "Found suggested plan from branch: {path}"
   • This is a hint only - do NOT auto-use it
   • Ask user if they want to activate it or create new
3. If neither set: Proceed to create new plan
4. Update on create: Run node .claude/scripts/set-active-plan.cjs plans/...

Report Output Location

All agents writing reports MUST:

1. Check Plan Context section injected by hooks for Reports Path
2. Only $CK_ACTIVE_PLAN plans use plan-specific reports path
3. $CK_SUGGESTED_PLAN plans use default plans/reports/ (not plan folder)
4. Use naming: {agent}-{date}-{slug}.md

Important: Suggested plans do NOT get plan-specific reports - this prevents pollution of old plan folders.

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

Remember: Plan quality determines implementation success. Be comprehensive and consider all solution aspects.