pre-plan-workflow

Pre-Plan Workflow — Definition Floor

When entering plan mode, use the MCP to set the definition floor before writing your plan.

The definition floor is the baseline of existing work, documentation requirements, and gate constraints that the plan must account for.

If MCP is unreachable: Proceed with planning based on conversation context. Note in the plan that MCP state could not be verified — existing work may overlap. Re-check after MCP reconnects.

Step 1: Check Existing MCP State

Resolve the project rootId first: check session context for a rootId injected by the SessionStart hook, or read .taskorchestrator/config.yaml's top-level project.rootId (a file read, not an MCP call).

Call the health check to see what's already tracked:

get_context()

When a rootId is known, pass it to scope the check to this project: get_context(ancestorId="<rootId>"). When no rootId is known, call unscoped exactly as shown — this is the same behavior as before project scoping existed.

If active or stalled items exist:

• Identify items related to the current request — avoid planning work that duplicates what's already tracked
• For each relevant active item, call get_context(itemId=...) to inspect:
  • Note schema — which notes are expected for this item's tags
  • Gate status — which required notes are filled vs. missing, and whether the item can advance
  • Guidance key — guidanceKey names the first unfilled required note; resolve its authoring guidance via query_items(operation="schema", itemId=...)

If no items exist (clean slate):

• The definition floor is simply "no existing MCP state to account for"
• Proceed with planning, but still check Step 2 for schema awareness

Step 2: Discover Note Schema Requirements

Read .taskorchestrator/config.yaml in the project root (this is a file read, not an MCP call):

• If the file exists, list the discovered schemas and their required notes per phase
• Schemas are defined under work_item_schemas: (preferred) or note_schemas: (legacy)
• Each schema key (e.g., feature-implementation, bug-fix) is a type identifier — set it as the item's type field to activate gate enforcement. Tags can be used for additional categorization but are no longer the primary schema activator.
• Required queue-phase notes define what documentation must exist before work starts
• Required work-phase notes define what must be captured during implementation
• Use guidanceKey from get_context(itemId=...), resolved via query_items(operation="schema", itemId=...), to understand how to author each note