Writing Plans Skill | Agent Skills

Writing Plans

Overview

Write comprehensive implementation plans assuming the engineer has zero context for our codebase and questionable taste. Document everything they need to know: which files to touch for each task, code, testing, docs they might need to check, how to test it. Give them the whole plan as bite-sized tasks. DRY. YAGNI. TDD. Frequent commits.

Assume they are a skilled developer, but know almost nothing about our toolset or problem domain. Assume they don't know good test design very well.

Announce at start: "I'm using the writing-plans skill to create the implementation plan."

Context: This should be run in a dedicated worktree (created by obra-brainstorming).

Save plans to: docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature-name>.md

Copilot-Friendly Rules

Output format: Intent → (optional) Assumptions → numbered Plan → Validation commands.
Keep steps concrete and testable; avoid vague verbs.
Avoid platform-specific orchestration or slash commands. If parallelism helps, describe it as optional.

Bite-Sized Task Granularity

Each step is one action (2-5 minutes):

"Write the failing test" - step
"Run it to make sure it fails" - step
"Implement the minimal code to make the test pass" - step
"Run the tests and make sure they pass" - step
"Commit" - step

Plan Document Header

Every plan MUST start with this header:

# [Feature Name] Implementation Plan

> **For Copilot:** REQUIRED SKILL: Use `obra-executing-plans` to implement this plan task-by-task.

**Goal:** [One sentence describing what this builds]

**Architecture:** [2-3 sentences about approach]

**Tech Stack:** [Key technologies/libraries]

---

Task Structure

### Task N: [Component Name]

**Files:**
- Create: `exact/path/to/file.py`
- Modify: `exact/path/to/existing.py:123-145`
- Test: `tests/exact/path/to/test.py`

**Step 1: Write the failing test**

```python
def test_specific_behavior():
    result = function(input)
    assert result == expected

Step 2: Run test to verify it fails

Run: pytest tests/path/test.py::test_name -v Expected: FAIL with "function not defined"

Step 3: Write minimal implementation

def function(input):
    return expected

Step 4: Run test to verify it passes

Run: pytest tests/path/test.py::test_name -v Expected: PASS

Step 5: Commit

git add tests/path/test.py src/path/file.py
git commit -m "feat: add specific feature"


## Remember
- Exact file paths always
- Complete code in plan (not "add validation")
- Exact commands with expected output
- Reference relevant skills with @ syntax
- DRY, YAGNI, TDD, frequent commits

## Execution Handoff

After saving the plan, offer execution choice:

**"Plan complete and saved to `docs/plans/<filename>.md`. Two execution options:**

**1. Same session (if available)** - Use `obra-subagent-driven-development` for per-task execution and reviews.

**2. New session** - Open a new session with `obra-executing-plans`, batch execution with checkpoints.

**Which approach?"**

**If Same Session chosen:**
- **REQUIRED SKILL:** Use `obra-subagent-driven-development`
- Stay in this session
- Per-task execution + review

**If New Session chosen:**
- Guide them to open a new session in the worktree
- **REQUIRED SKILL:** New session uses `obra-executing-plans`

Agent Skills: Writing Plans