Plan

Create a new implementation plan (or bug fix)

Transform feature descriptions, bug reports, or improvement ideas into well-structured markdown files that follow VGV conventions and best practices. This command provides flexible detail levels to match your needs.

Feature Description

<feature_description>$ARGUMENTS</feature_description>

0. Idea Refinement

Check for brainstorm output first — before asking the user anything.

ls docs/brainstorm/

A brainstorm is relevant if created within the last 7 days and its topic semantically matches the feature description (if provided).

Do not proceed until you have a clear feature description — from arguments, a brainstorm, or the user.

Skip option: if the description is already detailed enough, ask the user if they want to skip idea refinement and proceed directly to planning.

1. Tasks to complete

1.1 Local research (always runs, and runs in parallel)

Do not re-run codebase-review-agent here. Codebase context was already captured in the brainstorm from /brainstorm.

Instead, extract what's needed from the brainstorm and run targeted searches:

1. From the brainstorm doc: Extract the architecture patterns, conventions, and relevant file paths already identified.
2. Targeted codebase search: Use Glob and Grep to search only the areas this plan will touch — the specific packages, layers, or features mentioned in the feature description and brainstorm.
   • Example: If planning a new repository, search for existing repository patterns in the relevant package.
   • Example: If planning a new state management unit, search for existing implementations in the same feature area.
3. Read referenced files: Read any specific files called out in the brainstorm as relevant context.

1.1.1 Research decision

Based on the findings from 0. Idea Refinement and 1.1 Local research, decide whether external research is needed:

Announce the decision briefly and proceed. User can redirect if needed.

1.1.1.1 Conditional external research

Only run this step if 1.1.1 Research decision determines that external research is needed.

Run these agents in parallel to gather external information:

• @official-docs-research-agent: Fetches and synthesizes official documentation for relevant frameworks, libraries, and APIs.
• @best-practices-research-agent: Researches and synthesizes best practices for the project's technology stack, following VGV conventions first, then official documentation, and finally industry standards.

1.1.2. Consolidate research findings

After all research steps complete, consolidate findings:

• Document relevant file paths from repo research (e.g., src/authentication/forms/authentication_form:42)
• Include relevant institutional learnings from project documentation (key insights, gotchas to avoid)
• Note external documentation URLs and best practices (if external research was done)
• List related issues or PRs discovered
• Capture CLAUDE.md conventions

Optional validation: Briefly summarize findings and ask if anything looks off or missing before proceeding to planning.

2. Issue planning and structure

Think like a product manager — what would make this issue clear and actionable?

Title & Categorization:

• Draft clear, searchable issue title using the conventional commits format (e.g., feat: add user authentication, fix: cart total calculation)
• Determine issue type: enhancement, bug, refactor
• Convert title to filename: add today's date prefix, strip prefix colon, kebab-case, add -plan suffix
  • Example: feat: add user authentication → 2026-01-21-feat-add-user-authentication-plan.md
  • Keep it descriptive (3-5 words after prefix) so plans are findable by context

Stakeholder Analysis:

• Identify who will be affected by this issue (end users, developers, operations)
• Consider implementation complexity and required expertise

Content Planning:

• Choose appropriate detail level based on issue complexity and audience
• List all necessary sections for the chosen template
• Gather supporting materials (error logs, screenshots, design mockups)
• Prepare code examples or reproduction steps if applicable, name the mock filenames in the lists

3. User Flow Analysis

After planning the issue structure, run the user-flow-analysis-agent to analyze the plan for flow completeness and gap identification:

• Task @user-flow-analysis-agent(feature_description, research_findings)

Flow Analysis Output:

• Review flow analysis results
• Incorporate any identified gaps or edge cases into the issue
• Update success criteria based on flow analysis findings

4. Success Criteria Gate

Before selecting a template, derive the plan's success criteria and make each one machine-checkable. This block is the contract /build consumes, so it must be precise.

For each criterion, apply one rule — can a command prove this without human judgment?

• Yes → attach verify: <command> (exit code 0 = pass).
• No, but a human can check it → attach verify: manual <numbered steps>.
• Neither (vacuous or unmeasurable, e.g. "make it work", "code is clean") → reject it and rewrite it into a concrete, provable criterion.

Surface every rejected or rewritten criterion to the user with AskUserQuestion before writing the plan file — do not silently change the spec they approved.

These criteria populate the success-criteria block defined in success-criteria.md; fill it in when you write the plan file in Step 6. That reference shows the block's shape and the verify: convention.

verify: commands reflect the project's own toolchain. If the project has a companion verification skill available, its gates are the canonical verify: commands.