# Recursive Planning

> How to decompose projects into wave plans -- module identification, dependency mapping, wave assignment, contract guidance, deliverables.

- Skill: `jartan-llc/recursive-planning` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jartan-llc/recursive-planning`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jartan-llc/recursive-planning/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: Jartan-LLC (https://skillmd.com/u/jartan-llc)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jartan-llc/recursive-planning

---


# Recursive Planning

## Decomposition Process

1. **Survey** -- greenfield or existing? For existing: read README, types, error classes, test setup, conventions. These are constraints.
2. **Identify domains** -- genuinely different kinds of work (parsing vs querying vs aggregating vs formatting)
3. **Map dependencies** -- which domains need outputs from others? Dependencies flow through interfaces only.
4. **Assign waves** -- no dependencies -> Wave 1. Depends on Wave 1 -> Wave 2. Wave 0 is always contracts/setup. Integration is final wave.
5. **Assign scopes** -- each module gets a directory or file set. Zero overlap between parallel modules.
6. **Specify conventions** -- language, test framework, type system, DI pattern, path handling, package manager
7. **Plan deliverables** -- README, CHANGELOG, `--version`, runtime version access, coverage config

## Module Split Criteria

See `recursive-development` skill for split principle and examples. Goal: natural, best-practice file structure.

## Contract Guidance

Wave 0 agent designs contracts. The plan specifies what they should cover:

- **Enumerate capabilities** -- list all operations/formats/modes, not just common ones
- **Error handling** -- "Parsers yield Record | ParseError" not "Parsers raise on bad input"
- **Batch interfaces** -- "Aggregator takes list[AggregationSpec]" not single-item
- **Injectable I/O** -- "Formatters accept a write callable"
- **Types only** -- contracts file has protocols, dataclasses, enums, type aliases, constants. No callable stubs.
- **Exception hierarchy** -- base exception + subtypes per failure domain
- **Logging** -- modules use named loggers, CLI configures at entry point

For existing projects: extend existing contracts, match established patterns.

## Wave Plan Format

Save to `.claude/workspace/wave-plan-<project-name>.md`.

```text
## Implementation Plan -- `<name>` <description>
### Issue Summary
### Language & Conventions
### Language-Specific Standards
(Standards shaped to this project's language and domain -- specifics that all agents must follow.
These go beyond generic conventions. Think about what a senior developer in this language would
insist on in a code review.)
### Existing Patterns (existing projects only)
### Chosen Approach

## Wave 0: Contracts & Project Setup
## Wave 1: <name> (N parallel)
### Module A -- Owns: <scope>, Responsibility: <one line>
## Wave 2: <name>
### Module C -- Owns: <scope>, Depends on: <interfaces>, Responsibility: <one line>
## Wave N: Integration + Documentation (README.md, CHANGELOG.md)

## File Ownership Map
### Complexity: Simple | Moderate | Complex
```