Agent skill

Plan Mode

by CodeAlive-AI in CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development

A skill your agent uses when the user asks to plan, design, scope, estimate, or implement a feature, bug fix, refactor, migration, integration, API change, UI change, or other project modification.

MITAuto-check passedAgent Workflows

Install Plan Mode

skills CLI

$ npx skills add CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development --skill plan-mode -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development plan-mode --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-mode .claude/skills/plan-mode && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.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/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "plan-mode" agent skill from https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development/tree/main/skills/plan-mode into .claude/skills/plan-mode/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-mode", 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

$skill-installer install https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development/tree/main/skills/plan-mode

Type 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.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development --skill plan-mode -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development plan-mode --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-mode .agents/skills/plan-mode && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "plan-mode" agent skill from https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development/tree/main/skills/plan-mode into .agents/skills/plan-mode/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-mode", 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.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development --skill plan-mode -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development plan-mode --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-mode .cursor/skills/plan-mode && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "plan-mode" agent skill from https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development/tree/main/skills/plan-mode into .cursor/skills/plan-mode/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-mode", 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

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development.git --path skills/plan-mode

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development --skill plan-mode -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development plan-mode --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-mode .gemini/skills/plan-mode && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.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/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "plan-mode" agent skill from https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development/tree/main/skills/plan-mode into .gemini/skills/plan-mode/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-mode", 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.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development plan-mode

Installs 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).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development --skill plan-mode -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-mode .github/skills/plan-mode && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.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/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "plan-mode" agent skill from https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development/tree/main/skills/plan-mode into .github/skills/plan-mode/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-mode", 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.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development --skill plan-mode -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development plan-mode --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/plan-mode .opencode/skills/plan-mode && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "plan-mode" agent skill from https://github.com/CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development/tree/main/skills/plan-mode into .opencode/skills/plan-mode/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plan-mode", 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-mode
GitHub stars: 157
Token cost: ~844 tokens
SKILL.md length: 372 words
Files: 3
Skills in repo: 22
Repo updated: Oct 6, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

A skill your agent uses when the user asks to plan, design, scope, estimate, or implement a feature, bug fix, refactor, migration, integration, API change, UI change, or other project modification.

Works in 8 steps: Investigate project context (read-only). → Analyze the task: goal, current vs… → Classify open issues as ambiguity /… → …
The user asks to plan
SKILL.md covers Default behavior, The gate (core rule), Surfacing blockers and Asking questions, plus 2 more sections
Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Plan Mode is an agent skill from CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development. Use this skill when the user asks to plan, design, scope, estimate, or implement a feature, bug fix, refactor, migration, integration, API change, UI change, or other project modification. Enforces a planning gate before editing code — investigate project context, analyze the task, surface ambiguities, contradictions, risks, dependencies, and blockers, ask focused questions, produce an evidence-based step-by-step plan, and implement only after explicit user approval. Not for trivial one-line edits, pure questions…

Its SKILL.md is about 840 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files (for example `PROTOCOL.md` and `eval_queries.json`).

It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Planning and Debugging. The repository describes itself as: Practices, protocols, and skills for AI-driven software development. Skills and safety hooks for Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cursor, Antigravity, and any agent supporting the… The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

The user asks to plan
Implement a feature
Other project modification

Example prompts

“/plan-mode”

Workflow steps

8 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

Investigate project context (read-only).
Analyze the task: goal, current vs desired behavior, acceptance criteria, scope, edge cases.
Classify open issues as ambiguity / contradiction / blocker / risk / assumption.
Ask the smallest set of focused questions that unblocks planning.
Produce a consistent, evidence-based, step-by-step plan.
Wait for explicit approval.
Implement only the approved plan.
Validate, then report what was and was not checked.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 25b7b1d. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
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 Mode loads about 844 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 157 tokens; SKILL.md has 372 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~157
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~844

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 CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development at commit 25b7b1d, republished under its MIT licence (© CodeAlive-AI). 372 words, ~844 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/plan-mode/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 2 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: plan-mode
description: Use this skill when the user asks to plan, design, scope, estimate, or implement a feature, bug fix, refactor, migration, integration, API change, UI change, or other project modification. Enforces a planning gate before editing code — investigate project context, analyze the task, surface ambiguities, contradictions, risks, dependencies, and blockers, ask focused questions, produce an evidence-based step-by-step plan, and implement only after explicit user approval. Not for trivial one-line edits, pure questions about the codebase, or changes the user has already reviewed and approved for direct implementation.

Plan Mode

Prevent premature implementation. Understand → plan → get approval → implement → validate. Do not skip the gate just because a change looks small.

The full protocol — investigation steps, issue classification, the question and plan templates, validation, and special cases — lives in PROTOCOL.md. Read it before planning or implementing.

Default behavior

Investigate project context (read-only).
Analyze the task: goal, current vs desired behavior, acceptance criteria, scope, edge cases.
Classify open issues as ambiguity / contradiction / blocker / risk / assumption.
Ask the smallest set of focused questions that unblocks planning.
Produce a consistent, evidence-based, step-by-step plan.
Wait for explicit approval.
Implement only the approved plan.
Validate, then report what was and was not checked.

The gate (core rule)

During Plan Mode, do not mutate the project: no editing files, scaffolding, patches, package installs, lockfile updates, migrations, deploys, destructive scripts, or "trying an implementation" to learn the code.

Allowed: read files, search the repo, inspect structure, review tests / docs / configs / API contracts / schemas / migrations, run read-only or non-mutating diagnostic commands, and consult external docs when project context is insufficient.

If a tool or command might mutate state, ask first or avoid it.

Surfacing blockers

Surface ambiguities, contradictions, and blockers before the plan — never bury them inside it. For each, capture: what it is, the evidence, why it matters, whether it blocks implementation, and a proposed default or resolution. If none exist, state No hard blockers found.

Show full SKILL.md (134 more words)Show less

Asking questions

Ask only after investigating context, and never for what the repo, tests, docs, or provided context already answer. Group related questions, give each a recommended default, and explain briefly why each answer matters. Avoid open-ended "What should I do?" questions.

Approval

Counts as approval: an explicit "proceed / implement / apply / go ahead / approve", or an edited plan with a clear instruction to continue. Does not count: answering one question, commenting on the plan, asking for more detail or alternatives, or "is this enough?". When approval is ambiguous, ask for a direct confirmation.

If new evidence contradicts the approved plan mid-implementation, pause and return to planning with what changed, the evidence, the impact, and a revised recommendation.

Reference

Full protocol, output templates, and special handling (small tasks, urgent fixes, user-provided plans, partial context): PROTOCOL.md.

Files

SKILL.md and 2 other files in skills/plan-mode of CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development.

SKILL.md
PROTOCOL.md
eval_queries.json

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 25b7b1d

Compare with similar skills

Plan Mode 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.

Plan Mode compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Plan Mode this skillCodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development	157	—	~844	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	yesterday
Create Featurezacharyfmarion/openscad-studio	238	—	~1.5k	Automated safety check: Pass	GPL-2.0	1 mo ago
Plan Py4vaspvasp-dev/py4vasp	100	—	~2.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
SuperpowersPeiiii/nextclaw	260	—	~2.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Vibe ImplementidiotLeoLYJ/Daliu-Awesome-Skills	140	—	~2.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	None	29 days ago
Workflowbrianlovin/agent-config	376	1 repos	~687	Automated safety check: Pass	None	6 mo ago

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Questions about Plan Mode

What does Plan Mode do?

A skill your agent uses when the user asks to plan, design, scope, estimate, or implement a feature, bug fix, refactor, migration, integration, API change, UI change, or other project modification. Plan Mode is an agent skill from CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development. Use this skill when the user asks to plan, design, scope, estimate, or implement a feature, bug fix, refactor, migration, integration, API change, UI change, or other project modification.

When should I use Plan Mode?

Plan Mode fits situations like: the user asks to plan; implement a feature; other project modification.

How do I install Plan Mode in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development --skill plan-mode -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/plan-mode in CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development) into .claude/skills/plan-mode in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Plan Mode in Codex?

Run `npx skills add CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development --skill plan-mode -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/plan-mode in CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development) into .agents/skills/plan-mode in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Plan Mode 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 CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development --skill plan-mode -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-mode, .gemini/skills/plan-mode, .github/skills/plan-mode and .opencode/skills/plan-mode in your project.

What does Plan Mode need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Plan Mode is instructions for the agent only.

Does Plan Mode access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Plan Mode 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 Mode use?

Plan Mode 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 Mode use?

About 844 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.4k 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 Mode?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Plan Mode: Create Feature (zacharyfmarion/openscad-studio, 238 stars), Plan Py4vasp (vasp-dev/py4vasp, 100 stars), Superpowers (Peiiii/nextclaw, 260 stars) and Vibe Implement (idiotLeoLYJ/Daliu-Awesome-Skills, 140 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Plan Mode?

CodeAlive-AI (a GitHub organization) maintains it in CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development, which has 157 GitHub stars. The repository holds 22 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

Source: CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Plan Mode

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Plan Mode

Default behavior

The gate (core rule)

Surfacing blockers

Asking questions

Approval

Reference

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from CodeAlive-AI/ai-driven-development

Related

Questions about Plan Mode