create-plan

Create Implementation Plan

Generate comprehensive implementation plans that provide strategic guidance without making actual code changes.

When to Use

• User explicitly requests a plan, roadmap, or implementation strategy
• Complex tasks requiring structured breakdown before implementation
• Need for risk assessment and alternative approach analysis
• Pre-implementation analysis of architectural decisions

Planning Process

1. Initial Assessment

Research the codebase to understand:

• Project structure and organization
• Relevant files and components - read thoroughly to understand complete flows
• Existing patterns and conventions
• Potential challenges and risks
• Data flows from entry points to final usage

Use search, sem_search, and read tools to examine the codebase. Use sage if deeper research is required for the use-case. Explicitly cite sources using filepath:line format in your plan.

2. Create Strategic Plan

Generate a Markdown plan file in plans/ directory with naming: plans/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{task-name}-v{N}.md

Example: plans/2025-11-24-add-auth-v1.md

3. Validate Plan

MANDATORY: Run the validation script to ensure the plan meets all requirements:

./.forge/skills/create-plan/validate-plan.sh plans/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{task-name}-v{N}.md

Fix any errors or warnings and re-validate until the plan passes all checks.

4. Plan Structure

# [Task Name]

## Objective

[Clear statement of goal and expected outcomes]

## Implementation Plan

- [ ] 1. [First task with detailed description and rationale]
- [ ] 2. [Second task with detailed description and rationale]
- [ ] 3. [Third task with detailed description and rationale]

## Verification Criteria

- [Criterion 1: Specific, measurable outcome]
- [Criterion 2: Specific, measurable outcome]

## Potential Risks and Mitigations

1. **[Risk Description]**
   Mitigation: [Specific mitigation strategy]

2. **[Risk Description]**
   Mitigation: [Specific mitigation strategy]

## Alternative Approaches

1. [Alternative 1]: [Brief description and trade-offs]
2. [Alternative 2]: [Brief description and trade-offs]