Skill Deck Plan

Deck Plan Skill

Interactive pitch deck planning skill that gathers user preferences (pattern, theme, content, ordering) via AskUserQuestion pickers before delegating plan generation to deck-planner-agent. Handles preflight/postflight status management and all interactive selection.

IMPORTANT: This skill implements the skill-internal postflight pattern. After the subagent returns, this skill handles all postflight operations (status update, artifact linking, git commit) before returning.

Context Pointers

Reference (do not load eagerly):

• Path: .claude/context/formats/subagent-return.md
• Purpose: Return validation
• Load at: Subagent execution only
• Path: .context/deck/index.json
• Purpose: Library index for building AskUserQuestion options
• Load at: Stage 4.1 (Library Initialization)

Trigger Conditions

This skill activates when:

Direct Invocation

• /plan command on a task with language: founder and task_type: deck
• Extension routing lookup finds routing.plan["founder:deck"]

Task-Type-Based Routing

• Task type is "founder" AND task_type is "deck"
• /plan {N} where task {N} has language="founder" and task_type="deck"

When NOT to trigger

Do not invoke for:

• Non-deck founder tasks (use skill-founder-plan)
• Tasks with other language types (general, meta, neovim, etc.)
• Tasks already in [PLANNED] or [COMPLETED] status

Note: The --quick flag is handled inside this skill (skips pattern and theme questions, uses defaults). It is NOT a reason to skip this skill.

Execution

Stage 1: Input Validation

Validate inputs from delegation context:

• task_number - Required, integer
• session_id - Required, string

# Validate task_number is present
if [ -z "$task_number" ]; then
  return error "task_number is required"
fi

# Validate session_id is present
if [ -z "$session_id" ]; then
  return error "session_id is required"
fi

Stage 2 + Stage 3: Preflight Status Update and Postflight Marker

Source skill-base.sh once, then follow @.claude/context/patterns/skill-preflight-flow.md in full for Stage 2 (preflight status update) and Stage 3 (marker creation):

source .claude/scripts/skill-base.sh
padded_num=$(printf "%03d" "$task_number")
project_name=$(jq -r --argjson num "$task_number" \
  '.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == $num) | .project_name' \
  specs/state.json)
task_dir="specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}"
mkdir -p "$task_dir"
skill_name="skill-deck-plan"
operation="plan"

Stage 4: Context Preparation

Extract task_type and research_path from state.json:

# Extract task_type from state.json (null-safe)
task_type=$(jq -r --argjson num "$task_number" \
  '.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == $num) | .task_type // null' \
  specs/state.json)

# Find research report path
research_path=$(jq -r --argjson num "$task_number" \
  '.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == $num) | .artifacts[] | select(.type == "research") | .path' \
  specs/state.json 2>/dev/null | head -1)

Prepare base delegation context (enhanced in Stage 4.4):

{
  "task_context": {
    "task_number": 234,
    "project_name": "{project_name}",
    "description": "{description}",
    "task_type": "founder",
    "task_type": "deck"
  },
  "research_path": "specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/reports/01_{short-slug}.md",
  "metadata_file_path": "specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/.return-meta.json",
  "metadata": {
    "session_id": "sess_{timestamp}_{random}",
    "delegation_depth": 2,
    "delegation_path": ["orchestrator", "plan", "skill-deck-plan"]
  }
}

Stage 4.1: Library Initialization

If .context/deck/index.json does not exist, initialize the deck library from the extension seed:

if [ ! -f .context/deck/index.json ]; then
  mkdir -p .context/deck
  cp -r .claude/extensions/founder/context/project/founder/deck/* .context/deck/
  echo "Initialized deck library from extension seed"
fi

This ensures the reusable deck library is available for building AskUserQuestion options.

Stage 4.2: Load Research Report

Read the research report at research_path. Extract:

1. Slide Content Analysis: For each slide, whether content is populated or MISSING
2. Appendix Content: Any content listed under "Additional Content for Appendix"
3. Information Gaps: Critical vs nice-to-have gaps
4. Purpose: Deck purpose (INVESTOR, UPDATE, INTERNAL, PARTNERSHIP)

If no research report exists, return with status "failed" and message: "No research report found. Run /research {N} first."

Stage 4.3: Interactive Questions

Execute 4 sequential AskUserQuestion calls to gather user preferences. Each question uses the structured JSON format.

--quick flag handling: If --quick flag is set in the command arguments, skip questions 1 and 2 (pattern and theme). Use defaults: pattern = "yc-10-slide", theme = "dark-blue". Still execute questions 3 and 4 (content and ordering).

Question 1: Pattern Selection (single select)

Query the library index for available patterns:

jq -r '.entries[] | select(.category == "pattern") | "\(.id)|\(.name)|\(.description)"' .context/deck/index.json

Present via AskUserQuestion:

{
  "question": "Select a deck pattern for your pitch deck:",
  "header": "Deck Pattern",
  "multiSelect": false,
  "options": [
    {
      "label": "YC 10-Slide Investor Pitch",
      "description": "Standard Y Combinator format (10 slides) [yc-10-slide]"
    },
    {
      "label": "Lightning Talk",
      "description": "5-minute format (5 slides) [lightning-talk]"
    },
    {
      "label": "Product Demo",
      "description": "Screenshots, code, demo (8-12 slides) [product-demo]"
    },
    {
      "label": "Investor Update",
      "description": "Quarterly update (8 slides) [investor-update]"
    },
    {
      "label": "Partnership Proposal",
      "description": "Business partnership (8 slides) [partnership-proposal]"
    }
  ]
}

Build options dynamically from index.json entries where category == "pattern".

Store selected_pattern with the pattern id and slide sequence from the pattern JSON.

Question 2: Theme Selection (single select)

Query the library index for available themes:

jq -r '.entries[] | select(.category == "theme") | "\(.id)|\(.name)|\(.description)|\(.tags.color_schema)"' .context/deck/index.json

Present via AskUserQuestion:

{
  "question": "Select a visual theme:",
  "header": "Visual Theme",
  "multiSelect": false,
  "options": [
    {
      "label": "Dark Blue (AI Startup)",
      "description": "Deep navy + blue accents [dark] [dark-blue]"
    },
    {
      "label": "Minimal Light",
      "description": "Clean white + blue accent [light] [minimal-light]"
    },
    {
      "label": "Premium Dark (Gold)",
      "description": "Near-black + gold accents [dark] [premium-dark]"
    },
    {
      "label": "Growth Green",
      "description": "Mint/white + green accents [light] [growth-green]"
    },
    {
      "label": "Professional Blue",
      "description": "White + navy/blue [light] [professional-blue]"
    }
  ]
}

Build options dynamically from index.json entries where category == "theme".

Store selected_theme with theme id and config path.

Question 3: Content Selection (multi select per slide position)

For each slide position in the selected pattern:

1. Query content library for matching slide_type entries
2. Check research report for available content
3. Present existing library content + option to create NEW

Present via AskUserQuestion:

{
  "question": "Assign content for each slide position. Select library content or mark as NEW.\n\nSlide 1 (cover): cover-standard, cover-hero, NEW\nSlide 2 (problem): problem-statement, problem-story, NEW\n...",
  "header": "Slide Content Assignment",
  "multiSelect": true,
  "options": [
    {
      "label": "Slide 1 (cover): cover-standard",
      "description": "Standard title + tagline + round"
    },
    {
      "label": "Slide 1 (cover): NEW",
      "description": "Create new cover content from research"
    },
    {
      "label": "Slide 2 (problem): problem-statement",
      "description": "Bold single-sentence + 3 evidence points"
    },
    {
      "label": "Slide 2 (problem): NEW",
      "description": "Create new problem content from research"
    }
  ]
}

Build options dynamically per slide position from index.json content entries + NEW option.

Also ask which slides should be MAIN vs APPENDIX. If the pattern defines default main/appendix split, present that as the default selection.

Validation: If fewer than 3 main slides selected, present a confirmation question:

{
  "question": "You selected fewer than 3 main slides. A deck needs at least 3 slides to be useful. Would you like to restart slide selection?",
  "header": "Slide Count Warning",
  "multiSelect": false,
  "options": [
    {"label": "Yes, let me select slides again", "description": "Return to content selection"},
    {"label": "No, continue with current selection", "description": "Proceed with fewer slides"}
  ]
}

If "Yes": Repeat Question 3.

Store:

• content_manifest: Mapping of slide positions to content IDs or NEW markers
• main_slides: Slide positions for the main deck
• appendix_slides: Slide positions for appendix

Question 4: Slide Ordering (single select)

Present ordering strategies from the selected pattern:

{
  "question": "Select slide ordering strategy:",
  "header": "Slide Ordering",
  "multiSelect": false,
  "options": [
    {
      "label": "YC Standard",
      "description": "Title, Problem, Solution, Traction, Why Us/Now, Business Model, Market, Team, Ask, Closing"
    },
    {
      "label": "Story-First",
      "description": "Title, Problem, Solution, Why Us/Now, Traction, Business Model, Market, Team, Ask, Closing"
    },
    {
      "label": "Traction-Led",
      "description": "Title, Traction, Problem, Solution, Why Us/Now, Market, Business Model, Team, Ask, Closing"
    }
  ]
}

Build options from selected pattern's ordering_strategies. Filter to only include slides in main_slides.

Store ordering_strategy and final slide_order.

User Abandonment: If the user cancels any AskUserQuestion interaction (empty response or explicit cancel), return with partial status:

Deck planning interrupted by user. No plan created.
Status remains [PLANNING]. Run /plan {N} again to restart.

Stage 4.4: Prepare Enhanced Delegation Context

Bundle all user selections into the delegation context for the agent:

{
  "task_context": {
    "task_number": 234,
    "project_name": "{project_name}",
    "description": "{description}",
    "task_type": "founder",
    "task_type": "deck"
  },
  "research_path": "specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/reports/01_{short-slug}.md",
  "metadata_file_path": "specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/.return-meta.json",
  "metadata": {
    "session_id": "sess_{timestamp}_{random}",
    "delegation_depth": 2,
    "delegation_path": ["orchestrator", "plan", "skill-deck-plan"]
  },
  "user_selections": {
    "pattern": {"id": "yc-10-slide", "name": "YC 10-Slide Investor Pitch"},
    "theme": {"id": "dark-blue", "name": "Dark Blue (AI Startup)"},
    "content_manifest": {"cover": "cover-standard", "problem": "NEW", "solution": "solution-overview"},
    "main_slides": [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10],
    "appendix_slides": [11, 12],
    "ordering": "yc-standard"
  }
}

Stage 5: Invoke Agent

CRITICAL: You MUST use the Agent tool to spawn the agent.

Required Tool Invocation:

Tool: Agent (NOT Skill, NOT Plan)
Parameters:
  - subagent_type: "deck-planner-agent"
  - prompt: [Include task_context, research_path, metadata_file_path, metadata, user_selections]
  - description: "Pitch deck plan generation from user-selected pattern, theme, content, and ordering"

The agent will:

• Parse user_selections from delegation context (no interactive questions)
• Read the deck research report for content details
• Generate plan artifact with Deck Configuration section
• Write metadata file for postflight consumption
• Return brief text summary

Stage 5b: Self-Execution Fallback

CRITICAL: If you performed the work above WITHOUT using the Agent tool (i.e., you read files, wrote artifacts, or updated metadata directly instead of spawning a subagent), you MUST write a .return-meta.json file now before proceeding to postflight. Use the schema from return-metadata-file.md with the appropriate status value for this operation.

If you DID use the Agent tool, skip this stage -- the subagent already wrote the metadata.

Postflight (ALWAYS EXECUTE)

The following stages MUST execute after work is complete, whether the work was done by a subagent or inline (Stage 5b). Do NOT skip these stages for any reason.

Stage 6: Read Metadata File

padded_num=$(printf "%03d" "$task_number")
metadata_file="specs/${padded_num}_${project_name}/.return-meta.json"

if [ -f "$metadata_file" ] && jq empty "$metadata_file" 2>/dev/null; then
    status=$(jq -r '.status' "$metadata_file")
    artifact_path=$(jq -r '.artifacts[0].path // ""' "$metadata_file")
    artifact_type=$(jq -r '.artifacts[0].type // ""' "$metadata_file")
    artifact_summary=$(jq -r '.artifacts[0].summary // ""' "$metadata_file")
else
    status="failed"
fi

Stage 7: Postflight Status Update

If agent succeeded (status == "planned"):

# Update state.json
bash .claude/scripts/state-write.sh \
   '(.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == $num)) += {
     status: "planned",
     last_updated: $ts
   }' \
   --session-id "$session_id" \
   --argjson num "$task_number" \
   --arg ts "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)"

# Link artifact in state.json
plan_path=$(echo "$metadata" | jq -r '.artifacts[0].path')
plan_summary=$(echo "$metadata" | jq -r '.artifacts[0].summary')
bash .claude/scripts/state-write.sh \
   '(.active_projects[] | select(.project_number == $num)).artifacts += [{
     type: "plan",
     path: $path,
     summary: $summary
   }]' \
   --session-id "$session_id" \
   --argjson num "$task_number" \
   --arg path "$plan_path" \
   --arg summary "$plan_summary"

Update TODO.md status marker to [PLANNED] and link plan artifact per @.claude/context/patterns/artifact-linking-todo.md with field_name=**Plan**, next_field=**Description**.

Stage 8: Git Commit

Apply the plan scope from .claude/context/standards/git-staging-scope.md — targeted staging, never a repo-wide add:

git add "${task_dir}/" "specs/TODO.md" "specs/state.json"
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
task {N}: create implementation plan

Session: {session_id}

EOF
)"

Stage 9: Cleanup

Follow @.claude/context/patterns/skill-postflight-flow.md's Stage 9 (cleanup):

skill_cleanup "$padded_num" "$project_name"

Stage 10: Return Brief Summary

Return brief text summary to caller.

MUST NOT (Postflight Boundary)

After the agent returns -- whether with status planned, partial, or failed -- this skill MUST proceed immediately to postflight (Stage 6). The skill MUST NOT:

1. Edit plan/report files - All plan generation is done by agent
2. Run domain analysis or calculations - Analysis is agent work
3. Use MCP or WebSearch tools - Domain tools are for agent use only
4. Analyze or grep source - Analysis is agent work
5. Write plan artifacts - Artifact creation is done by agent

PROHIBITION: If the subagent returned partial or failed status, the lead skill MUST NOT attempt to continue, complete, or "fill in" the subagent's work. Report the partial/failed status and let the user re-run /plan to resume.

The postflight phase is LIMITED TO:

• Reading agent metadata file
• Calling update-task-status.sh for status updates (state.json + TODO.md)
• Linking artifacts in state.json
• Git commit
• Cleanup of temp/marker files

Reference: @.claude/context/standards/postflight-tool-restrictions.md

Return Format

Brief text summary (NOT JSON).

Expected successful return:

Deck plan created for task {N}:
- Pattern: {pattern_name} ({slide_count} slides)
- Theme: {theme_name} ({color_schema})
- Main slides: {N} slides in {ordering_name} order
- Appendix: {M} slides
- Content from library: {L}, New content to create: {C}
- Content gaps: {G} identified
- Plan: specs/{NNN}_{SLUG}/plans/{NN}_{short-slug}.md
- Status updated to [PLANNED]
- Changes committed with session {session_id}
- Next: Run /implement {N} to generate the Slidev pitch deck

Error Handling

Session ID Missing

Return immediately with failed status.

Task Not Found

Return error with guidance to check task number.

Agent Errors

Pass through the agent's error return verbatim.

User Abandonment (during AskUserQuestion)

If user cancels any interactive question, return partial status with progress made. Keep status as "planning" so the user can re-run /plan {N} to restart.

All Slides Deselected (during content selection)

If user deselects all slides in Question 3, present a confirmation question offering to restart slide selection or cancel planning.