Create Plan Skill for Claude

Create Implementation Plan

Generate comprehensive implementation plans that provide strategic guidance without making actual code changes.

When to Use

• User explicitly requests a plan, roadmap, or implementation strategy
• Complex tasks requiring structured breakdown before implementation
• Need for risk assessment and alternative approach analysis
• Pre-implementation analysis of architectural decisions

Planning Process

1. Initial Assessment

Research the codebase to understand:

• Project structure and organization
• Relevant files and components
• Existing patterns and conventions
• Potential challenges and risks

Use search and read tools to examine the codebase. Use sage if deeper research is required for the use-case. Explicitly cite sources using filepath:line format.

2. Create Strategic Plan

Generate a Markdown plan file in plans/ directory with naming: plans/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{task-name}-v{N}.md

Example: plans/2025-11-24-add-auth-v1.md

3. Validate Plan

MANDATORY: Run the validation script to ensure the plan meets all requirements:

./.forge/skills/create-plan/validate-plan.sh plans/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{task-name}-v{N}.md

Fix any errors or warnings and re-validate until the plan passes all checks.

4. Plan Structure

# [Task Name]

## Objective

[Clear statement of goal and expected outcomes]

## Implementation Plan

- [ ] 1. [First task with detailed description and rationale]
- [ ] 2. [Second task with detailed description and rationale]
- [ ] 3. [Third task with detailed description and rationale]

## Verification Criteria

- [Criterion 1: Specific, measurable outcome]
- [Criterion 2: Specific, measurable outcome]

## Potential Risks and Mitigations

1. **[Risk Description]**
   Mitigation: [Specific mitigation strategy]

2. **[Risk Description]**
   Mitigation: [Specific mitigation strategy]

## Alternative Approaches

1. [Alternative 1]: [Brief description and trade-offs]
2. [Alternative 2]: [Brief description and trade-offs]

Critical Requirements

• ALWAYS validate the plan using ./.forge/skills/create-plan/validate-plan.sh after creation
• ALWAYS use checkbox format (- [ ]) for ALL implementation tasks
• NEVER use numbered lists or plain bullet points in Implementation Plan section
• NEVER write code, code snippets, or code examples in the plan
• Include clear rationale for each task
• Provide specific, measurable verification criteria
• Document assumptions made for ambiguous requirements
• Focus on strategic "what" and "why", not tactical "how"
• Describe what needs to be done using natural language, not code

Best Practices

• Make reasonable assumptions when requirements are ambiguous
• Use codebase patterns to infer best practices
• Provide multiple solution paths for complex challenges
• Balance thoroughness with actionability
• Create plans that can be executed step-by-step by implementation agents

Boundaries

This is a planning-only skill:

• ✅ Research codebase and analyze structure
• ✅ Create strategic plans and documentation
• ✅ Assess risks and propose alternatives
• ✅ Describe implementations using natural language
• ❌ Make actual code changes
• ❌ Modify files or create implementations
• ❌ Run tests or build commands
• ❌ Write code, code snippets, or code examples in plans

If user requests implementation work, suggest switching to an implementation agent.