Plan Hard

[IMPORTANT] Use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting — including tasks for each file read. This prevents context loss from long files. For simple tasks, AI MUST ask user whether to skip.

Prerequisites: MUST READ .claude/skills/shared/understand-code-first-protocol.md before executing.

• docs/project-reference/domain-entities-reference.md — Domain entity catalog, relationships, cross-service sync (read when task involves business entities/models)
• docs/test-specs/ — Test specifications by module (read existing TCs to include test strategy in plan)

Phase Quality: MUST READ .claude/skills/shared/iterative-phase-quality-protocol.md. Each phase file MUST satisfy: ≤5 files per phase, ≤3h effort, clear success criteria, mapped test cases.

Evidence Gate: MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST — every claim, finding, and recommendation requires file:line proof or traced evidence with confidence percentage (>80% to act, <80% must verify first).

External Memory: For complex or lengthy work (research, analysis, scan, review), write intermediate findings and final results to a report file in plans/reports/ — prevents context loss and serves as deliverable.

Quick Summary

Goal: Research, analyze the codebase, and create a detailed phased implementation plan with user collaboration.

Workflow:

1. Pre-Check — Detect active/suggested plan or create new directory
2. Research — Parallel researcher subagents explore different aspects (max 5 tool calls each)
3. Codebase Analysis — Read backend-patterns-reference.md, frontend-patterns-reference.md, project-structure-reference.md; scout if needed
4. Plan Creation — Planner subagent creates plan.md + phase-XX files with full sections
5. Post-Validation — Optionally interview user to confirm decisions via /plan-validate

Key Rules:

• PLANNING ONLY: do NOT implement or execute code changes
• Always run /plan-review after plan creation
• Ask user to confirm before any next step
• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST detect new tech/lib in plan and create validation task (see New Tech/Lib Gate below)

New Tech/Lib Gate (MANDATORY for all plans)

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST after plan creation, detect new tech/packages/libraries not in the project. If found: TaskCreate per lib → WebSearch top 3 alternatives → compare (fit, size, community, learning curve, license) → recommend with confidence % → AskUserQuestion to confirm. Skip if plan uses only existing dependencies.

Greenfield Mode

Auto-detected: If no existing codebase is found (no code directories like src/, app/, lib/, server/, packages/, etc., no manifest files like package.json/*.sln/go.mod, no populated project-config.json), this skill switches to greenfield mode automatically. Planning artifacts (docs/, plans/, .claude/) don't count — the project must have actual code directories with content.

When greenfield is detected:

1. Skip codebase analysis phase (researcher subagents that grep code)
2. Replace with: market research + business evaluation phase using WebSearch + WebFetch
3. Delegate architecture decisions to solution-architect agent
4. Output: plans/{id}/plan.md with greenfield-specific phases (domain model, tech stack, project structure)
5. Skip "MUST READ project-structure-reference.md" (won't exist)
6. Enable broad web research for tech landscape, best practices, framework comparisons
7. Every decision point requires AskUserQuestion with 2-4 options + confidence %
8. [CRITICAL] Business-First Protocol: Tech stack decisions come AFTER full business analysis. Do NOT ask user to pick a tech stack upfront. Instead: complete business evaluation → derive technical requirements → research current market options → produce comparison report → present to user for decision. See solution-architect agent for the full tech stack research methodology.

• Research reports <=150 lines; plan.md <=80 lines
• External Memory: Write all research and analysis to .ai/workspace/analysis/{task-name}.analysis.md. Re-read ENTIRE analysis file before generating plan.

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

Activate planning skill.

Scaffolding-First Protocol (Conditional)

Activation conditions (ALL must be true):

1. Active workflow is greenfield-init OR big-feature
2. AI MUST self-investigate for existing base/foundational abstractions using these patterns:
   • Abstract/base classes: abstract class.*Base|Base[A-Z]\w+|Abstract[A-Z]\w+
   • Generic interfaces: interface I\w+<|IGeneric|IBase
   • Infrastructure abstractions: IRepository|IUnitOfWork|IService|IHandler
   • Utility/extension layers: Extensions|Helpers|Utils|Common (directories or classes)
   • Frontend foundations: base.*component|base.*service|base.*store|abstract.*component (case-insensitive)
   • DI/IoC registration: AddScoped|AddSingleton|providers:|NgModule|@Injectable
3. If existing scaffolding found → SKIP. Log: "Existing scaffolding detected at {file:line}. Skipping Phase 1 scaffolding."
4. If NO foundational abstractions found → PROCEED with scaffolding phase.

When activated:

Phase 1 of the plan MUST be Architecture Scaffolding — all base abstract classes, generic interfaces, infrastructure abstractions, and DI registration with OOP/SOLID principles. Runs BEFORE feature stories. AI self-investigates what base classes the tech stack needs. All infrastructure behind interfaces with at least one concrete implementation (Dependency Inversion).

When skipped: Plan proceeds normally — feature stories build on existing base classes.

PLANNING-ONLY — Collaboration Required

DO NOT use the EnterPlanMode tool — you are ALREADY in a planning workflow. DO NOT implement or execute any code changes. COLLABORATE with the user: ask decision questions, present options with recommendations. After plan creation, ALWAYS run /plan-review to validate the plan. ASK user to confirm the plan before any next step.

Your mission

Pre-Creation Check (Active vs Suggested Plan)

Check the ## Plan Context section in the injected context:

• If "Plan:" shows a path -> Active plan exists. Ask user: "Continue with this? [Y/n]"
• If "Suggested:" shows a path -> Branch-matched hint only. Ask if they want to activate or create new.
• If "Plan: none" -> Create new plan using naming from ## Naming section.

Workflow

1. If creating new: Create directory using Plan dir: from ## Naming section, then run node .claude/scripts/set-active-plan.cjs {plan-dir} If reusing: Use the active plan path from Plan Context. Make sure you pass the directory path to every subagent during the process.
2. Follow strictly to the "Plan Creation & Organization" rules of planning skill.
3. Use multiple researcher agents (max 2 agents) in parallel to research for this task: Each agent research for a different aspect of the task and are allowed to perform max 5 tool calls.
4. Analyze the codebase by reading backend-patterns-reference.md, frontend-patterns-reference.md, and project-structure-reference.md file. ONLY PERFORM THIS FOLLOWING STEP IF reference docs are placeholders or older than 3 days: Use /scout <instructions> slash command to search the codebase for files needed to complete the task.
5. Main agent gathers all research and scout report filepaths, and pass them to planner subagent with the prompt to create an implementation plan of this task.
6. Main agent receives the implementation plan from planner subagent, and ask user to review the plan

Post-Plan Validation (Optional)

After plan creation, offer validation interview to confirm decisions before implementation.

Check ## Plan Context -> Validation: mode=X, questions=MIN-MAX:

If mode is prompt: Use AskUserQuestion tool with options above. If user chooses validation or mode is auto: Execute /plan-validate {plan-path} SlashCommand.

Output Requirements

Plan Directory Structure (use Plan dir: from ## Naming section)

{plan-dir}/
├── research/
│   ├── researcher-XX-report.md
│   └── ...
├── reports/
│   ├── XX-report.md
│   └── ...
├── scout/
│   ├── scout-XX-report.md
│   └── ...
├── plan.md
├── phase-XX-phase-name-here.md
└── ...

Research Output Requirements

• Ensure every research markdown report remains concise (<=150 lines) while covering all requested topics and citations.

Plan File Specification

• Every plan.md MUST start with YAML frontmatter:

  ---
  title: '{Brief title}'
  description: '{One sentence for card preview}'
  status: pending
  priority: P2
  effort: { sum of phases, e.g., 4h }
  story_points: { sum of phase SPs, e.g., 8 }
  branch: { current git branch }
  tags: [relevant, tags]
  created: { YYYY-MM-DD }
  ---
  

• Save overview at {plan-dir}/plan.md (<80 lines): list each phase with status, progress, and links to phase files.

• For each phase, create {plan-dir}/phase-XX-phase-name-here.md with sections: Context links, Overview, Key Insights, Requirements, Alternatives Considered (minimum 2 approaches with pros/cons), Design Rationale (WHY chosen approach), Architecture, UI Layout (see below), Related code files, Implementation Steps, Todo list, Success Criteria, Risk Assessment, Security Considerations, Next steps.

• UI Layout: For frontend-facing phases, include ASCII wireframe per .claude/skills/shared/ui-wireframe-protocol.md. Classify components by tier (common/domain-shared/page-app). For backend-only phases: ## UI Layout → N/A — Backend-only change.

IMPORTANT Task Planning Notes (MUST FOLLOW)

• Always plan and break work into many small todo tasks using TaskCreate
• Always add a final review todo task to verify work quality and identify fixes/enhancements
• MANDATORY FINAL TASKS: After creating all planning todo tasks, ALWAYS add these two final tasks:
  1. Task: "Run /plan-validate" — Trigger /plan-validate skill to interview the user with critical questions and validate plan assumptions
  2. Task: "Run /plan-review" — Trigger /plan-review skill to auto-review plan for validity, correctness, and best practices

Important Notes

IMPORTANT: Analyze the skills catalog and activate the skills that are needed for the task during the process. IMPORTANT: Ensure token efficiency while maintaining high quality. IMPORTANT: Sacrifice grammar for the sake of concision when writing reports. IMPORTANT: In reports, list any unresolved questions at the end, if any.

REMINDER — Planning-Only Command

DO NOT use EnterPlanMode tool. DO NOT start implementing. ALWAYS validate with /plan-review after plan creation. ASK user to confirm the plan before any implementation begins. ASK user decision questions with your recommendations when multiple approaches exist.

Standalone Review Gate (Non-Workflow Only)

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST: If this skill is called outside a workflow (standalone /plan-hard), the generated plan MUST include /review-changes as a final phase/task in the plan. This ensures all implementation changes get reviewed before commit even without a workflow enforcing it.

If already running inside a workflow (e.g., feature, bugfix), skip this — the workflow sequence handles /review-changes at the appropriate step.

Next Steps

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST after completing this skill, use AskUserQuestion to recommend:

• "/plan-review (Recommended)" — Validate plan before implementation
• "/plan-validate" — Interview user to confirm plan decisions
• "Skip, continue manually" — user decides

Closing Reminders

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST break work into small todo tasks using TaskCreate BEFORE starting. MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST validate decisions with user via AskUserQuestion — never auto-decide. MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST add a final review todo task to verify work quality.