# Plan Phases

> Restructure an existing plan into phases with /verify gates after each phase and critical outcomes, plus blocking pre-action gates for safety prerequisites. Trigger when the user runs /phase-plan or asks to "add phases to this plan", "gate this plan", "restructure the plan", or "add checkpoints". Use plan-create for new plans and plan-deep-dive for inspection without restructuring.

- Skill: `allemaar/plan-phases` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add allemaar/plan-phases`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/allemaar/plan-phases/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: allemaar (https://skillmd.com/u/allemaar)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/allemaar/plan-phases

---


# /phase-plan

Take an existing flat or unstructured plan and restructure it into phased execution. Add `/verify` gates after each phase and critical outcome. Add blocking gates before actions whose safety prerequisites must already be true.

> **Structured execution spec:** [`protocol.yon`](protocol.yon). Read it for the canonical rules and step sequence; this file is explanation. The two must stay in sync — if you edit one, update the other and refresh the `@STAMP` date.

> **Plan Restructuring Protocol — transforms any plan into a gated, phased structure for structural legibility and explicit checkpointing.** Restructure, never delete. All original content is preserved.

## What is `/verify`?

`/verify` is a verification gate — a point where execution stops and the current state is validated before proceeding. When you encounter a `/verify` gate in a restructured plan:

1. Review what the gate specifies
2. Verify each condition is met
3. Only continue to the next phase/step once the gate passes

If `/verify` is not a recognized command in your session, replace it with an explicit user confirmation prompt: pause, state what you're verifying, and wait for the user to confirm before continuing.

A `/verify` gate may sit before or after an action. It must block **before** mutation when it proves a prerequisite whose absence would make the action unsafe. Examples include authorization, no-follow target resolution, backup or readback readiness, live-data scope, and destructive-target confirmation. Retain a separate gate **after** the action to verify the intended outcome.

## Phase 1 — Locate & Load Existing Plan

1. **Find the plan** — check `implementation_plan.md`, `PLAN.md`, `task.md`, recent conversation context, or user-provided file. Load the full content. If multiple candidates exist, use the most recently modified file and note the choice.
2. **Assess structure** — flat (single list)? Partially phased? Missing verification steps? Identify structural gaps.

**If no plan is found** after checking all locations → stop. Ask the user to provide the plan before continuing.

## Phase 2 — Decompose Into Phases

1. **Identify natural phase boundaries** — group related steps by dependency order, component, or concern. Each phase must be independently verifiable. Mark critical steps that need individual `/verify` gates.
2. **Define phases** — each phase needs:
   - Clear name
   - Goal / deliverable
   - Ordered steps
   - Success criteria

Ensure phases flow logically — dependencies before dependents.

## Phase 3 — Insert Check Gates

1. **Phase-level gates** — insert a `/verify` gate **after every phase**. Gate focus must be specific to what that phase accomplished and what the next phase depends on.
2. **Critical step gates** — identify steps within phases that warrant individual `/verify` gates:
   - Risky operations
   - Breaking changes
   - Schema migrations
   - Cross-package impacts
   - Security-sensitive changes

   For each critical step, place any safety-prerequisite `/verify` gate before the step, then place an outcome `/verify` gate immediately after it.

### Gate Quality Reference

A gate must validate something observable. If it can't fail, it's ceremonial.

| | Example |
|-|---------|
| **Good gate** | `/verify` — migration applied: `users.email` column is non-null, existing rows have values, no FK errors in test suite |
| **Bad gate** | `/verify` — make sure the migration looks right |

The bad gate has no observable condition. The good gate has three specific pass/fail criteria a different person could verify independently.

### Gate Placement Rules

- MUST insert a `/verify` gate after completing any phase
- MUST insert a blocking pre-action `/verify` gate when authorization, no-follow target proof, backup or readback readiness, live-data scope, destructive-target confirmation, or another safety prerequisite must be established before mutation
- MUST retain a separate post-action `/verify` gate for the operation's outcome; a safety prerequisite cannot be validated only after the action
- MUST insert an inline post-action `/verify` gate after any schema migration, breaking change, or security-sensitive step
- MUST insert an inline `/verify` gate after any step with cross-package impact
- SHOULD split phases with >5 steps into sub-phases with intermediate `/verify` gates

## Phase 4 — Rewrite & Output

1. **Rewrite the plan** — in its original format (`implementation_plan.md`, `PLAN.md`, or `task.md`) with the new phased structure. Preserve all original content — restructure, do not delete. Each phase should clearly show: steps, `/verify` gate, and what the gate validates. **If the plan has no source file** (existed only in conversation context), output the full restructured plan as a fenced code block in the response instead.
2. **Diff report** — summarize what changed: how many phases created, how many `/verify` gates added, any steps reordered or split.

## Rules

- MUST preserve ALL original plan content — restructure, never delete
- MUST maintain original intent and goal alignment
- MUST use the same file format as the original plan
- MUST NOT add new scope or features not in the original plan
- MUST NOT create ceremonial `/verify` gates with vague focus

## Next Steps

- `/plan-execute` — implement the newly phased plan
- `/double-check` — verify the restructured plan before executing

> **Human output.** This skill's handler-facing output obeys the human-output
> contract (`human-output/SKILL.md`).

> **Next skills.** On completion, run the Next Skills protocol (`next-skills/SKILL.md`): surface the `next-skills` recommendations from front-matter for the caller to pick. Offer only — never auto-invoke.

> **Self-improvement.** On completion, run the Self-Improvement Protocol (`self-improve/SKILL.md`): if this run surfaced a concrete, blocking-or-recurring weakness in this skill, propose a specific fix for the handler to approve. Conservative — silent otherwise. Never auto-apply.