Planning First

Planning First

Use this skill when the implementation is large enough that rushing straight into edits is likely to create churn. It creates a portable version of a planning-first workflow for agents that do not have Claude Code's native /model opusplan or /ultraplan commands.

Runtime Choice

• Claude Code: prefer native /model opusplan for multi-step coding and /ultraplan for complex multi-system tasks when available.
• Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Antigravity, shared .agents, or local project agents: use this skill.
• If the user explicitly asks to skip planning, keep only a one-paragraph plan and proceed.

Workflow

1. Explore:
   • Inspect the repo, instructions, relevant files, tests, scripts, and existing patterns.
   • Identify unknowns, constraints, and blast radius.
   • Use clarify-and-plan first if ambiguity would change the work.
2. Plan:
   • Produce a short ordered plan with verification after each phase.
   • Name files or modules likely to change when known.
   • State what is intentionally out of scope.
3. Implement:
   • Make the smallest complete changes that satisfy the plan.
   • Keep diffs surgical and preserve user-owned changes.
   • Update the plan as phases complete.
4. Verify:
   • Run the narrowest meaningful tests/checks first.
   • Add browser, build, lint, typecheck, or manual verification when the risk justifies it.
   • If verification fails, loop on the failure before declaring completion.
5. Close:
   • Summarize what changed, what passed, and any residual risk.

Planning Rules

• Plans should usually be 3-6 steps, not a dissertation.
• One in-progress step at a time.
• If implementation reveals a better route, update the plan and explain the pivot.
• For destructive, publishing, auth, billing, production-data, or account-affecting actions, ask before acting.

Hard Avoids

• Do not use for one-line fixes, short explanations, or quick factual answers.
• Do not create architecture documents unless the task needs them.
• Do not keep planning after the user has already approved a clear plan and expects implementation.

Attribution

Original Overdrive skill by Stefan / Radu Stefan Dumitru, designed to give non-Claude agents a lightweight planning-first workflow.