Planning Commands

Commands for creating implementation plans with research and analysis.

Overview

Command	Complexity	Agents	Use Case
/plan	Simple	1 planner	Quick features
/plan:fast	Minimal	1 analyzer	Rapid analysis
/plan:hard	Complex	2+ researchers + planner	Multi-phase features
/plan:parallel	Complex	Parallel researchers	Large scope
/plan:validate	-	1 validator	Pre-implementation check
/plan:continue	-	Resume	Continue existing plan
/plan:status	-	-	Check plan progress
/plan:list	-	-	List all plans

Commands

/plan

Simple planning for straightforward features.

/plan Add a logout button to the header

Process:

1. Analyzes codebase structure
2. Creates single-phase plan
3. Outputs to plans/YYMMDD-HHMM-{slug}/

Best for: Single-file changes, small features, bug fixes.

/plan:fast

Quick analysis without deep research.

/plan:fast Add loading spinner to button

Process:

1. Quick codebase scan
2. Identifies relevant files
3. Creates minimal plan
4. No research phase

Best for: Obvious changes, UI tweaks, simple additions.

/plan:hard

Complex planning with research phase.

/plan:hard Implement user authentication with OAuth2

Process:

1. Spawns researcher agents for investigation
2. Analyzes existing patterns
3. Creates multi-phase plan
4. Includes risk assessment

Output structure:

plans/YYMMDD-HHMM-{slug}/
├── plan.md           # Overview
├── phase-01-*.md     # Phase details
├── phase-02-*.md
└── research/
    └── researcher-01-report.md

Best for: Multi-file changes, new systems, integrations.

/plan:parallel

Parallel research for large scope planning.

/plan:parallel Build a complete e-commerce checkout system

Process:

1. Spawns multiple researchers in parallel
2. Consolidates findings
3. Creates comprehensive plan
4. May produce 5+ phases

Best for: Large features, system rewrites, major integrations.

/plan:validate

Validate assumptions before implementation.

/plan:validate

Process:

1. Reads active plan
2. Identifies decision points
3. Asks clarifying questions
4. Documents answers in plan

Use when: Before running /code:auto on complex plans.

/plan:continue

Resume work on existing plan.

/plan:continue plans/241224-1030-user-auth

Process:

1. Loads specified plan
2. Sets as active plan
3. Shows current status
4. Ready for /code commands

/plan:status

Check progress of active plan.

/plan:status

Shows:

• Current phase
• Completed tasks
• Remaining work
• Blockers if any

/plan:list

List all plans in project.

/plan:list

Shows:

• Plan name and date
• Status (active/completed/abandoned)
• Phase count

Plan Output

Plans follow consistent structure:

plan.md

# Plan: Feature Name

## Overview
Brief description of what will be built.

## Phases
1. Phase 1 - Setup
2. Phase 2 - Core implementation
3. Phase 3 - Testing

## Risks
- Risk 1: Description
- Risk 2: Description

## Validation Summary
(Added after /plan:validate)

phase-XX-*.md

# Phase XX: Phase Name

## Objective
What this phase accomplishes.

## Tasks
- [ ] Task 1
- [ ] Task 2

## Files to Modify
- path/to/file.ts

## Acceptance Criteria
- Criterion 1
- Criterion 2

Tips

• Use /plan for quick features (< 1 hour)
• Use /plan:hard for anything touching 3+ files
• Always /plan:validate before /code:auto on complex plans
• Review generated plans before execution
• Plans are git-ignored by default

Related

• Coding Commands - Execute plans
• SPARC Methodology - Agent roles