# Create Durable Plan > Create an advanced durable plan pack under repo-root plans/ (PLAN, STATUS, TRACE, CONTRACT, EXECUTION, optional phase files) so any later coding agent can execute file-level, contracted, verifiable work without guessing. Use when the user invokes $create-durable-plan, says "create durable plan", "durable plan", "write a plan to /plans", "plans folder", or asks for a highly specific, phased, file-level plan persisted in the codebase. If root plans/ is missing, set it up from scratch first. - Skill: `dobroslavradosavljevic/create-durable-plan` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 13 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add dobroslavradosavljevic/create-durable-plan` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/dobroslavradosavljevic/create-durable-plan/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: dobroslavradosavljevic (https://skillmd.com/u/dobroslavradosavljevic) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/dobroslavradosavljevic/create-durable-plan --- # Create Durable Plan ## Overview Write a **durable plan pack in the repo**. Target `plans//`. A later coding agent with **no chat history** must know what to do, where, how, in what order, which invariants to preserve, when to stop, and how to prove a phase is done. This skill **researches and writes plan files**. It does **not** implement product work unless the user explicitly asks after the pack exists. ## Output pack ```text plans/ README.md -/ PLAN.md # mission, graph, file map, phase index, verification matrix STATUS.md # progress machine (authoritative for where we are) TRACE.md # evidence: facts vs inferences, sources, dead ends CONTRACT.md # types, APIs, invariants, phase seams, do-not-break EXECUTION.md # load order, stop conditions, drift, amendment rules phases/ # only when phases are split (see pack rules) P00-.md ``` Required on every create: `PLAN.md`, `STATUS.md`, `TRACE.md`, `CONTRACT.md`, `EXECUTION.md`. Pack rules: [references/plan-pack.md](references/plan-pack.md). Templates: [references/plan-template.md](references/plan-template.md), [references/status-template.md](references/status-template.md), [references/trace-template.md](references/trace-template.md), [references/contract-template.md](references/contract-template.md), [references/phase-template.md](references/phase-template.md), [references/execution.md](references/execution.md). ## Safety - Never overwrite an existing `plans//` without an explicit user choice (new slug, overwrite, or abort). - Never delete other plan folders. - No secrets: env var **names** only. - **Planning writes only:** `plans/**` plus an optional pointer in an **existing** root `AGENTS.md`. Do not create `AGENTS.md`. Do not implement product code, install deps, migrate data, or mutate the rest of the repo. - Research is read-only until the pack is written. - Do not commit unless the user asks. - If `.gitignore` ignores `plans/` / `plans/**`, stop and ask to un-ignore or confirm local-only. Do not add `plans/` to gitignore. - If an existing plan already covers the same mission, link it and ask whether to extend, supersede (new dated folder), or abort. Do not silently duplicate. ## Workflow ### 1. Bootstrap `plans/` if missing If repo-root `plans/` does not exist, set it up completely. Follow [references/layout.md](references/layout.md). Copy [assets/plans-readme.md](assets/plans-readme.md) to `plans/README.md`. If `plans/` exists without `README.md`, add it from the asset. Do not rewrite a custom README; append an index row for the new plan. ### 2. Preflight Record in `TRACE.md` (and summarize in `PLAN.md` metadata): - Repo root, branch, dirty-tree note (names only; do not stash or revert). - Package manager and real verify commands from manifests/CI. - Related files under `plans/` (supersedes / related / conflicts). - Plan **kind**: `feature` | `fix` | `migrate` | `extract` | `delete` | `infra` | `spike`. - Blast-radius guess: modules, apps, packages, generated code, public APIs. A `spike` must name the decision it unblocks and the artifact that ends the spike. It is not an unbounded research folder. ### 3. Lock the mission Restate mission, goals, non-goals, and success as **testable claims**. If the request cannot yield an executable pack, ask a small batch of high-leverage questions, each with a recommended default. If the user proceeds on assumptions, each assumption gets: statement, why it was needed, blast if wrong, and which phase absorbs the risk. ### 4. Evidence (mandatory) Follow [references/research.md](references/research.md). Do not write implementation steps from memory of libraries or of unread files. Minimum: - Inspect canonical paths, symbols, tests, schemas, and callers for every area the plan will touch. - Fetch current official docs for libraries, APIs, CLIs, or cloud behavior the plan depends on. Record URL, version/date, and the exact takeaway. - Separate **facts**, **inferences**, and **unknowns** in `TRACE.md`. - Confidence gate: if a subsystem is not understood well enough to name files and verify steps, that work becomes an explicit **discover** phase with a written investigation protocol — not invented certainty. ### 5. Name the folder - `plans/YYYY-MM-DD-kebab-slug` using the user's local date. - Slug: 3–8 words, lowercase, digits, hyphens. - Collision: ask. `-2` suffix is fine. Never overwrite by default. - Superseding an older plan: new dated folder; in both `PLAN.md` files set `Supersedes` / `Superseded by` paths. ### 6. Design the work graph before prose Before filling templates, invent: 1. **File map** — every create / modify / delete / do-not-touch path. 2. **Phase graph** — `P00…Pn`, dependencies, optional disjoint **lanes**, critical path. 3. **Seams** — what each phase must leave behind for the next (types, flags, tests, data). Those seams go in `CONTRACT.md`. 4. **Verification matrix** — every success criterion maps to a command or named test. Parallel lanes are allowed only when file maps are disjoint **and** `CONTRACT.md` defines the shared seam. Default is a single ordered path. ### 7. Write the pack Fill every required file. Omit empty sections inside a file; do not omit required files. Depth rule: **a stranger agent must not rediscover scope, files, sequence, contracts, or stop rules.** Each phase (in `PLAN.md` and/or `phases/Pxx-*.md`) must include the fields in [references/phase-template.md](references/phase-template.md): objective, kind, deps, blast radius, file table, **patch recipes**, invariants to preserve, tests, verify commands, rollback, done-when, stop-if, and phase-local resources. `PLAN.md` always keeps a phase **index** even when bodies live under `phases/`. Meet [references/quality-bar.md](references/quality-bar.md). Run the self-audit there **before** telling the user the pack is ready. If it fails, fix the pack; do not ship a shallow plan. ### 8. Index and optional AGENTS.md pointer - Append a row to the index table in `plans/README.md`. - If root `AGENTS.md` exists and has no `plans/` pointer, add: `- [plans/](plans/) — durable plan packs; read EXECUTION.md, then STATUS.md, then PLAN.md` - If `AGENTS.md` is missing, skip. ### 9. Deliver Report: - Bootstrapped `plans/` or not. - Folder path, kind, phase count, whether phases were split. - Critical path and any parallel lanes. - Open assumptions / risks. - Self-audit result (pass / what you tightened). - Resume line: ```text Read plans//EXECUTION.md, then STATUS.md, then PLAN.md, then CONTRACT.md. Execute the next incomplete phase only. Follow stop conditions. Update STATUS.md after each phase. Do not skip verification or file recipes. ``` Do not implement in the same turn unless the user explicitly asked to execute after the pack exists. ## Isolation This skill stands alone. Do not mention, link to, or depend on other skills. Reference only the target repo, user input, official docs, and this skill's `references/` and `assets/`. ## Out of Scope - Implementing the planned product work while authoring the pack. - Chat-only plans. - Phase titles without file recipes and verify steps. - Creating `AGENTS.md` when missing. - Committing, opening PRs, or changing issue trackers unless the user asks.