# Implementation Plan Review > Expert review of an implementation plan against a GitHub issue/enhancement description (provided as a local file or a GitHub issue URL) and the current repository codebase. Use when asked to critique a plan for correctness, completeness, codebase alignment, risks, and test/rollout readiness (do not implement). - Skill: `blockscout/implementation-plan-review` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 9 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add blockscout/implementation-plan-review` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/blockscout/implementation-plan-review/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: blockscout (https://skillmd.com/u/blockscout) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/blockscout/implementation-plan-review --- # Implementation Plan Review (Expert) Review an implementation plan for coverage, correctness, and fit with the current codebase. Do not implement. ## Inputs - Implementation plan: a local file path. - Issue/requirements: either (a) a local file path, or (b) a GitHub issue number (run from the target repo so `gh` resolves it). If the user provides a GitHub issue number, prefer fetching it into a local file using the bundled script: ```bash bash scripts/fetch_github_issue.sh --out /tmp/issue.md ``` Run this command from the skill directory when that directory is inside the target repository. If it is not, keep the command agent-agnostic by resolving the script path relative to this skill directory while running `gh` from the target repo so the issue number resolves against the correct repository. Fetching is a network operation. When command execution is sandboxed, request network escalation (`require_escalated`) for this exact fetch command rather than granting a reusable broad `bash` permission. On failure, follow the script's self-contained `ACTION` line. It distinguishes unavailable network (exit `6`), credentials unavailable to the process (exit `3`), other GitHub fetch failures (exit `4`), and local output failures (exit `5`). ## Workflow 1) Prepare a clean review run: - Before reading or listing any scratchpad files, run from this skill directory: ```bash bash scripts/new_scratchpads_dir.sh ``` - Use exactly the absolute path the script printed on stdout as this review's run directory; never glob or guess a path under `scratchpads/` yourself. - Each run creates a fresh timestamped directory (`scratchpads//`); nothing is deleted. Directories from earlier reviews belong to a different run — never read or reuse them for this review. (If the printed path is ever lost from context, the lexicographically-last timestamp subdirectory is the most recent, since the format sorts chronologically — but prefer the printed path.) - If the script fails (non-zero exit; `error: ` on stderr), stop and report the failure. 2) Read the two inputs in full: - Plan file - Issue description file (or the fetched `/tmp/issue.md`) 3) Apply versioning neutrality policy: - Do **not** request a missing version bump (package version, `server.json`, manifests, etc.) unless a repo rule, user instruction, release plan, or issue text explicitly requires one. - Do **not** suggest removing version bump steps merely because the issue does not mention versioning. Issues usually describe the problem, motivation, or code-level improvement; they are not expected to spell out release mechanics. - If the plan already includes version bump steps, review them only for correctness and consistency with applicable repo rules: required files, matching version strings, valid version format, and no unrelated version/manifests changed. - Raise a versioning finding only when the plan's versioning steps are internally inconsistent, contradict explicit requirements, or are objectively attached to the wrong files/surfaces. 4) Apply review-noise policy: - Do not raise findings only because an implementation plan omits developer execution mechanics such as checking `/.dockerenv`, choosing host vs devcontainer command prefixes, or spelling out both command variants. - Do not teach command invocation mechanics in recommendations. - Review verification semantically: required test/lint/integration categories, targets, and coverage, not how a developer invokes commands in their environment. - Still flag objectively wrong verification scope, such as requiring only a narrow test subset when repo rules require the full default suite. 5) Validate codebase reality (start targeted, expand as needed): - Start by finding referenced modules/configs/env vars/tests with `rg` (fast and low-noise). - Prefer opening the minimal set of files *first* to confirm patterns and naming, but broaden freely if you suspect hidden coupling or cross-cutting behavior (e.g., shared helpers, config loading, response models, pagination, truncation). - If the plan touches MCP tools, REST API, docs, or tests, cross-check relevant `.cursor/rules/*.mdc` guidance. - If it improves confidence, use any other repo investigation strategy (e.g., inspect docs like `SPEC.md`/`API.md`, check tests, use `git blame`, or run unit tests/lint locally). Suggested commands (adapt as needed): ```bash rg -n "name_in_plan|function_in_plan|ENV_VAR_IN_PLAN" -S . rg -n "ToolResponse\\[|@mcp\\.tool\\(|log_tool_invocation" blockscout_mcp_server -S rg -n "ServerConfig\\(|BaseSettings\\(|BLOCKSCOUT_" blockscout_mcp_server/config.py -S rg -n "pytest\\.mark\\.integration|tests/integration|tests/tools" tests -S ``` 6) Independently adjudicate candidate findings: Read these two skill resources completely before creating candidate inputs or launching adjudicators: - `references/finding-adjudication-protocol.md` - `assets/finding-adjudication-report.md` Treat every initially suspected problem as a **candidate**, not a final finding. Do not create candidates for pure summary text or obvious nits. For each candidate, create a directory in the clean run: ```text finding-01-short-slug/ ├── input.md ├── full-report.md # written by the adjudicator └── brief.md # generated by the finalizer ``` Create `input.md` with: - candidate ID; - absolute plan, issue snapshot, template, protocol, and output paths; - one neutral, falsifiable candidate hypothesis; - focused research questions; - candidate-specific scope or edge cases; - an explicit statement that `Confirmed`, `Downgraded`, `Question`, and `Closed` are all successful outcomes. Do not include prior scratchpad conclusions, a preferred solution, expected disposition, or another adjudicator's work. Launch one independent subagent per candidate, batching when concurrency is limited. Use `fork_turns="none"` so the adjudicator receives only the candidate input and stable protocol. Prefer a strong reasoning model (`gpt-5.6-sol` with `xhigh` reasoning when available) unless the user requests otherwise. The launcher prompt should contain only: - the absolute protocol path and instruction to read it completely; - the absolute `input.md` path; - the exact writable candidate directory; - the absolute template path; - the requirement to run the protocol's finalization loop before returning. Each adjudicator must write `full-report.md`, run `scripts/finalize_adjudication.py`, fix every validation error, and return only the protocol's short completion record. The script deterministically generates `brief.md`; the adjudicator must not edit the brief. After all adjudicators finish, independently verify the complete run: ```bash python3 scripts/verify_adjudication_run.py \ --run \ --expected-count ``` If verification fails, send the exact errors back to the responsible adjudicator and require it to correct and re-finalize its report. Do not use an invalid or stale brief. Read all valid `brief.md` files first. Open the full report or extract a tagged section only when progressive disclosure is warranted, for example: - unexpected `Closed` or `Downgraded` disposition; - low confidence or a close variant result; - a decision that depends on an unresolved product assumption; - overlap or conflict between candidates; - a recommendation that materially expands plan scope; - a challenged finding. Extract one validated section without loading the full report: ```bash python3 scripts/finalize_adjudication.py \ --report /full-report.md \ --extract ``` The main agent owns cross-finding work: deduplicate overlapping candidates, resolve conflicts, apply one common severity scale, and assess cumulative scope. Case-specific rubric totals are not comparable across candidates. Only `Confirmed`, actionable `Downgraded`, and unresolved `Question` candidates may reach final §4. Omit `Closed` candidates. Point the final comment's `Scratchpad` field to the candidate's generated `brief.md`, never directly to `full-report.md`. The brief's generated `Source` link is the progressive-disclosure path to the full report. 7) Produce the review in the required format (next section). ## Required output format Produce a review with these sections: ### 1) Understanding - Issue summary - Acceptance criteria (bulleted) ### 2) Plan ↔ Requirements coverage - What is covered well - What is missing / ambiguous ### 3) Codebase alignment - Key files/modules you inspected (with paths) - Assumptions in the plan that match the codebase - Assumptions that don’t match (explain and suggest correction) ### 4) Review comments (actionable) Provide comments as a list. Each comment must include: - Severity: `Blocker | Major | Minor | Question | Nit` - Location: plan section/step + (when relevant) repo file/function/class - Problem: what’s wrong / missing - Recommendation: concrete change to the plan - Rationale: why it matters (bug risk / security / perf / maintainability) - Scratchpad: path to the candidate's generated `brief.md`, when the comment is actionable and not a pure `Question`; never link `full-report.md` directly from the final review **Testing gaps rule:** - List every specific missing/incorrect test as an actionable comment in **§4**. - In **§6**, provide a consolidated checklist that references those items **without repeating full explanations**. ### 5) Junior-dev readiness check - Missing task-specific prerequisites, step ordering, and verification coverage - Do not flag omitted environment-specific command invocation details - Where the plan needs more explicit detail ### 6) Test & rollout strategy - Consolidated test checklist (Unit / Integration / E2E / Negative & security / Performance & regression), referencing §4 test comments - Migration/rollback plan if applicable - Feature flags / safe rollout suggestions if applicable ## Review focus checklist (use as prompts, not new requirements) - Coverage: every acceptance criterion mapped to plan steps. - Codebase alignment: paths, module structure, naming, existing helpers and patterns. - Edge cases & compatibility: pagination, timeouts, empty results, truncation limits, backward compatibility. - Security: input validation, SSRF/DNS rebinding boundaries, secrets handling, logging redaction, auth assumptions. - Performance/scale: API call counts, caching, pagination strategy, long-running tasks/progress updates. - Ops/observability: error handling, logs, metrics/telemetry/analytics implications, rollout/rollback. - Versioning: only comment if explicitly required by the issue description; otherwise assume omission is intentional.