adityaarakeri Plan First
Convert uncertainty into explicit decisions before implementation.
Select the Mode
- Plan only: When the user asks only for a plan, create only the requested plan artifact or response, then stop. Do not write tests or implementation code.
- Plan and execute: When implementation is requested and the task is clear and reversible, state the plan and proceed phase by phase.
- Decision required: When ambiguity changes behavior, security, data, cost, or external effects, present the options and obtain direction before crossing that boundary.
Plan Format
Keep the plan concise and include:
- goal and user-visible outcome;
- non-goals and scope boundaries;
- known facts, assumptions, and decisions still requiring input;
- approach and expected files or systems;
- ordered steps with an observable check for each phase;
- compatibility, security, data, and coordination risks;
- rollout, monitoring, rollback, and recovery where relevant;
- final verification, including unavailable environments or credentials.
Execution Rules
- Base the plan on repository evidence, not guessed files or APIs.
- Prefer risk, reversibility, uncertainty, and coordination cost over file count as planning signals.
- Update the plan when evidence invalidates an assumption. Explain material pivots instead of silently improvising.
- Keep at most one phase active and reconcile every item as completed, blocked, or cancelled before handoff.
- Treat non-goals as constraints. Do not expand the task because an adjacent improvement looks useful.