Executing Plans Inline
obra/superpowers
Has the agent carry out an implementation plan itself, task by task in the current session, keeping a ledger, proving each step with a test and ending with one whole-branch review.
Generate execution-ready implementation plans from research docs - planning ONLY, no fixing or verifying.
Install Plan Phase
$ npx skills add alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering --skill plan-phase -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering plan-phase --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-phase .claude/skills/plan-phase && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "plan-phase" agent skill from https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/plan-phase into .claude/skills/plan-phase/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-phase", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/plan-phaseType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering --skill plan-phase -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering plan-phase --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-phase .agents/skills/plan-phase && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "plan-phase" agent skill from https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/plan-phase into .agents/skills/plan-phase/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-phase", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering --skill plan-phase -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering plan-phase --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-phase .cursor/skills/plan-phase && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "plan-phase" agent skill from https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/plan-phase into .cursor/skills/plan-phase/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-phase", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering.git --path skills/plan-phase--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering --skill plan-phase -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering plan-phase --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-phase .gemini/skills/plan-phase && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "plan-phase" agent skill from https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/plan-phase into .gemini/skills/plan-phase/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-phase", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering plan-phaseInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering --skill plan-phase -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-phase .github/skills/plan-phase && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "plan-phase" agent skill from https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/plan-phase into .github/skills/plan-phase/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-phase", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering --skill plan-phase -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering plan-phase --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-phase .opencode/skills/plan-phase && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "plan-phase" agent skill from https://github.com/alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/plan-phase into .opencode/skills/plan-phase/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-phase", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
plan-phase- GitHub stars
- 105
- Token cost
- ~1.8k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 420 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 8
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Generate execution-ready implementation plans from research docs - planning ONLY, no fixing or verifying.
- Works in 4 steps: Read Research Doc → Verify Git Freshness → Generate Plan File → …
- Tasks that involve Planning
- SKILL.md covers Overview, North Star Rule, When to Use and What This Skill Does NOT Do, plus 9 more sections
- Calls git
What it does
Plan Phase is an agent skill from alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering. Generate execution-ready implementation plans from research docs - planning ONLY, no fixing or verifying. North Star is whether a JR developer can execute the plan with zero additional context.
Its SKILL.md is about 1.8k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Planning. The repository describes itself as: harness-engineering discussion of shortcuts, automation, hacks and overall productivity with code agents like claude code, codex, and other harness. The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Tasks that involve Planning
Example prompts
- “/plan-phase”
Requirements
- Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Read, Edit, Write, Bash(git:*), Bash(grep:*), Bash(sed:*), Bash(awk:*), Bash(jq:*), Bash(date:*), Bash(find:*)
Workflow steps
4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 7a9fa15. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:
ReadEditWriteBash(git:*)Bash(grep:*)Bash(sed:*)Bash(awk:*)Bash(jq:*)Bash(date:*)Bash(find:*)
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
git
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Plan Phase loads about 1.8k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 51 tokens; SKILL.md has 420 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
The full file from alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering at commit 7a9fa15, republished under its MIT licence (© alchemiststudiosDOTai). 420 words, ~1,801 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/plan-phase/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- plan-phase
- description
- Generate execution-ready implementation plans from research docs - planning ONLY, no fixing or verifying. North Star is whether a JR developer can execute the plan with zero additional context.
- allowed-tools
- Read, Edit, Write, Bash(git:*), Bash(grep:*), Bash(sed:*), Bash(awk:*), Bash(jq:*), Bash(date:*), Bash(find:*)
- writes-to
- .artifacts/plan/
- hard-guards
- NO code modifications during planning, NO fixes or verification, Focus ONLY on generating clear executable plans, Every task must be unambiguous to a JR…
Plan Phase
Overview
Generate execution-ready, coding-only implementation plans from research documents. The goal is to produce plans that any JR developer can execute immediately with zero ambiguity.
North Star Rule
If a JR developer picked this up, could they start coding immediately?
If the answer is "no" or "they'd need to ask clarifying questions," the plan is incomplete.
When to Use
- User asks to "create a plan from research"
- User references a research doc in
.artifacts/research/ - User wants "implementation steps" from findings
- User asks to "break down into tasks" a researched topic
What This Skill Does NOT Do
| ❌ DON'T | ✅ DO INSTEAD |
|---|---|
| Fix code issues | Document them as tasks to fix |
| Verify implementations | Plan verification steps |
| Run tests | Plan what tests to write |
| Deploy anything | Plan deployment as a task |
| Make code changes | Document exactly what changes to make |
Planning Workflow
1. Read Research Doc
Read from: .artifacts/research/<topic>.md
Extract: scope, constraints, target files, unresolved questions, proposed solutions2. Verify Git Freshness
# Capture current state
git rev-parse HEAD # Commit SHA
git status --short # Working tree status3. Generate Plan File
Save as: .artifacts/plan/YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS_<topic>.md
4. Plan Structure
---
title: "<topic> implementation plan"
link: "<topic>-plan"
type: implementation_plan
ontological_relations:
- relates_to: [[<research-link>]]
tags: [plan, <topic>, coding]
uuid: "<uuid>"
created_at: "<ISO-8601 timestamp>"
parent_research: ".artifacts/research/<file>.md"
git_commit_at_plan: "<short_sha>"
---
## Goal
- ONE singular coding-focused outcome
- Explicitly state what is OUT of scope (ops, deploy, excessive testing)
## Scope & Assumptions
- IN scope: (technical items only)
- OUT of scope: (what we're NOT doing)
- Assumptions: (frameworks, environments, libraries)
## Deliverables
- Source code modules, functions, or APIs
- Documentation limited to developer-level notes (not user docs)
## Readiness
- Preconditions: repos, libs, data schemas, sample inputs
- What must exist before starting
## Milestones
- M1: Skeleton & architecture setup
- M2: Core logic & data flow
- M3: Feature completion & refinement
- M4: Basic test(s) & integration hooks
## Work Breakdown (Tasks)
For EACH task, specify:
- **Task ID**: T001, T002, etc.
- **Summary**: What to do (present tense, actionable)
- **Owner**: who does it
- **Estimate**: time/complexity
- **Dependencies**: other task IDs
- **Target milestone**: M1-M4
- **Acceptance test**: Exactly ONE test that proves it works
- **Files/modules touched**: List exact paths
## Risks & Mitigations
Keep technical:
- Library stability issues
- API version drift
- Schema mismatch risks
- Breaking changes in dependencies
## Test Strategy
At most ONE new test per task, only for validating main coding work.
Focus on proving correctness, not coverage.
## References
- Research doc sections
- Key code references (file:line format)
## Final Gate
- **Output summary**: plan path, milestone count, tasks ready
- **Next step**: proceed to execute-phase with the generated plan pathTask Writing Guidelines
✅ Good Task
T003: Add user authentication middleware
- Create src/middleware/auth.ts with verifyToken() function
- Import in src/app.ts and apply to /api/* routes
- Acceptance: curl /api/users returns 401 without header, 200 with valid token
- Files: src/middleware/auth.ts, src/app.ts
- Milestone: M2❌ Bad Task
T003: Fix auth
- Handle the auth stuff properly
- Make sure it worksRules for Tasks
- Present tense, actionable: "Add function X" not "Function X should be added"
- File paths explicit: No "find the right place to put it"
- One acceptance test per task: Single proof of correctness
- No hand-waving: "Implement caching" → "Add Redis caching to src/cache.ts with get/set methods"
- Depend on tasks, not people: "Depends on T001" not "Wait for backend team"
Git Freshness Check
Always capture and include:
COMMIT_SHA=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)
STATUS=$(git status --short)If research doc mentions specific commits/branches and they've changed:
- Mark affected tasks for re-verification
- Note the discrepancy in plan frontmatter
Show full SKILL.md (163 more words)Show less
Issue Opening (When Available)
If planning reveals blockers or prerequisites that need tracking:
- Check for Gitea/GitHub availability
- Open issues ONLY for:
- External dependencies
- Prerequisites that aren't in scope
- Decisions needed before execution
- Link issue IDs to relevant tasks
Validation Questions
Before finalizing, ask:
- Ambiguity check: Could a JR developer understand every task without questions?
- Completeness: Are all prerequisites and dependencies listed?
- Executability: Does each task specify exact files and acceptance criteria?
- Scope creep: Is ops/deploy work leaking into the plan?
Output Format
After plan generation, output:
✓ Plan written to: .artifacts/plan/YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS_<topic>.md
✓ Milestones: 4
✓ Tasks: 12
✓ Git state: <short_sha>
Next step: Execute phase using the generated plan pathExamples
Example Plan Entry
## Task T004: Add rate limiting to API endpoints
**Summary**: Implement token-bucket rate limiting for public API endpoints
**Files**:
- src/middleware/rateLimit.ts (new)
- src/app.ts (modify)
**Changes**:
1. Create src/middleware/rateLimit.ts with TokenBucket class
- Constructor takes capacity and refillRate
- consume(tokens) method returns true if allowed
2. Add rateLimit instance to src/app.ts
3. Apply to /api/public/* routes only
**Acceptance Test**:
- Send 100 requests in 1 second to /api/public/data
- First 60 succeed (200)
- Next 40 fail (429)
- Headers include X-RateLimit-Remaining
**Dependencies**: T001 (Express app setup)
**Milestone**: M2
**Estimate**: 2 hoursSubagent Usage (Sparingly)
Only spawn subagents if:
- Research doc is large (>500 lines)
- Need to map tasks to existing codebase structure
- Need parallel analysis of multiple subsystems
Typical subagents:
codebase-analyzer: Find where new code fitscontext-synthesis: Extract structured tasks from prose research
Default: Don't use subagents. Trust the research doc.
Handoff
After writing the plan document to .artifacts/plan/, proceed to execute-phase if the next step is the Execute phase.
© alchemiststudiosDOTai, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
Just SKILL.md in skills/plan-phase of alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 7a9fa15
Compare with similar skills
Plan Phase next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan Phase this skillalchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering | 105 | — | ~1.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Executing Plans Inlineobra/superpowers | 296k | 2 repos | ~5.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Interview Meaddyosmani/agent-skills | 103k | 6 repos | ~3.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| OpenSpec Guided OnboardingFission-AI/OpenSpec | 71k | 1 repos | ~4.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Writing Plansgeeksblabla/stateofdev.ma | 163 | 57 repos | ~661 | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Subagent Driven DevelopmentAsvarox/allkaraoke | 261 | 38 repos | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | None |
Similar skills
Interview Me
addyosmani/agent-skills
Asks one question at a time, each with a best guess attached, until the agent is about 95 percent sure what you really want, before any plan, spec or code.
OpenSpec Guided Onboarding
Fission-AI/OpenSpec
Walks you through a complete OpenSpec workflow cycle with narration while doing real work in your codebase.
Writing Plans
geeksblabla/stateofdev.ma
A skill your agent uses when design is complete and you need detailed implementation tasks for engineers with zero codebase context - creates comprehensive implementation plans with exact file…
Subagent Driven Development
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A skill your agent uses when executing implementation plans with independent tasks in the current session
Planning With Files
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Implements Manus-style file-based planning for complex tasks.
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Related
Categories
Questions about Plan Phase
What does Plan Phase do?
Generate execution-ready implementation plans from research docs - planning ONLY, no fixing or verifying. Plan Phase is an agent skill from alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering. Generate execution-ready implementation plans from research docs - planning ONLY, no fixing or verifying.
When should I use Plan Phase?
Plan Phase fits situations like: tasks that involve Planning.
How do I install Plan Phase in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering --skill plan-phase -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/plan-phase in alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering) into .claude/skills/plan-phase in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Plan Phase in Codex?
Run `npx skills add alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering --skill plan-phase -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/plan-phase in alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering) into .agents/skills/plan-phase in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Plan Phase in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering --skill plan-phase -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/plan-phase, .gemini/skills/plan-phase, .github/skills/plan-phase and .opencode/skills/plan-phase in your project.
What does Plan Phase need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Plan Phase needs the command-line tools its instructions call (git). Its frontmatter pre-approves these tools: Read, Edit, Write, Bash(git:*), Bash(grep:*), Bash(sed:*), Bash(awk:*), Bash(jq:*), Bash(date:*), Bash(find:*).
Does Plan Phase access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Plan Phase safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Plan Phase use?
Plan Phase is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Plan Phase use?
About 1.8k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 7.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Plan Phase?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Plan Phase: Executing Plans Inline (obra/superpowers, 296k stars), Interview Me (addyosmani/agent-skills, 103k stars), OpenSpec Guided Onboarding (Fission-AI/OpenSpec, 71k stars) and Writing Plans (geeksblabla/stateofdev.ma, 163 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Plan Phase?
alchemiststudiosDOTai (a GitHub organization) maintains it in alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering, which has 105 GitHub stars. The repository holds 8 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on March 17, 2026.
Source: alchemiststudiosDOTai/harness-engineering on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.