Plan Task
When to use
- "Help me plan X"
- "How do I do Y?"
- "What's the best way to approach Z?"
- "Break this down for me"
Steps
Clarify the goal — restate it in one sentence. If the goal is fuzzy ("improve my website"), use
ask_questionsto nail down:- What does "done" look like?
- Hard constraints (deadline, budget, must/must-not)
- Resources available (time, skills, tools)
Break into steps — produce 5-10 concrete steps. Each step should:
- Start with a verb (Create, Send, Review, Decide, Test)
- Be small enough to complete in one session
- Have a clear "done" state
Identify dependencies — note which steps must happen before others. Don't over-sequence — most steps can run in parallel.
Estimate effort for each step (S/M/L or hours, depending on context).
Display as progress tracker — use
show_progresswith all steps markedupcoming. The user can update status as they work.Add a critical path note — one sentence: which 1-2 steps are most likely to delay everything if they slip?
Offer to act via
offer_choices:- "Start with step 1"
- "Save this plan to my files"
- "Add a deadline"
- "Adjust the steps"
Style
- Concrete actions, not abstractions ("Draft the brief" not "Think about scope")
- Right level of detail — for a 1-day task, ~5 steps; for a multi-week project, ~10 with sub-steps
- Realistic estimates — pad for uncertainty, especially first steps
What not to do
- Don't generate more than 10 top-level steps — that's a sign you should chunk into phases
- Don't include "research the problem" as a step (that's planning, not the work)
- Don't sequence things that can run in parallel just because they "feel" sequential
- Don't end without a clear first step the user can take right now