Skill: session-planning — Mandatory Planning Workflow for All AI Agents

When to use: At the start of EVERY non-trivial agentic session, before writing any code.
This skill is universal — it works with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Aider, and any other AI tool
that reads AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md.

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The 10-Step Workflow

Run these steps in order. Do not skip steps 6 (draft PR) or 7 (user confirmation).

Step 1 — Orient (free)

cat AGENTS.md                                    # cross-tool ground truth
cat CLAUDE.md                                    # project-specific rules
cat graphify-out/GRAPH_REPORT.md                 # codebase map (no token cost)
cat .claude/state/active-tasks.md               # what's already in flight
cat docs/changelog.md | head -40                # what recently changed

Step 2 — Understand the Task

• If from a GitHub issue: read the issue body, comments, linked PRs
• If from a user message: restate the task in one sentence to confirm understanding
• If resuming: read .claude/state/NEXT_ACTION.md and active-tasks.md

Step 3 — Load Relevant Skills

ls .claude/skills/                               # see all available skills
# Load skills matching the task type:
# Multi-file change       → implementation-planner
# Tests needed            → test-first-executor
# Auth/key/agent-tools    → risky-module-review
# Pre-merge review        → council-review
# Adding deps             → dependency-audit
# Codebase exploration    → graphify
# Cross-harness routing   → ecc-harness-patterns

Step 4 — Research (if novel task)

• If the task involves techniques not in the codebase, search OSS reference projects
• Use web search or GitHub MCP to read relevant repos
• Cite sources in the plan

Step 5 — Write the Plan

Use the implementation-planner skill or write directly:

## Plan: <task name>

**Goal:** one sentence

**Files to change:**
- `path/to/file.py` — what changes and why
- `path/to/other.py` — what changes and why

**Steps:**
1. Write tests first (test-first-executor)
2. Implement step A
3. Implement step B
4. Run pytest -x
5. Update changelog
6. Update active-tasks.md

**Risks:** list risky modules requiring risky-module-review

**Acceptance criteria:** how to verify it works

Step 6 — Update active-tasks.md

Add rows to .claude/state/active-tasks.md:

| N | <task description> | `TODO` | — | <brief note> | <date> |

Step 7 — Create Draft PR with Plan

git checkout -b <descriptive-branch-name>
# Create PR immediately as DRAFT with the plan as description
# PR body = Step 5 plan + TODO checklist
# Title format: "feat/fix/docs(<scope>): <what it does>"

PR body must include:

• The prompt/task description
• The plan from Step 5
• A ## TODO checklist that matches active-tasks.md rows
• ## Test plan section

Step 8 — Confirm with User

STOP. Do not write any code until the user confirms.

Say exactly:

"Here's the plan: [summary]. I've created draft PR #N with the full details.
Shall I proceed with implementation? (yes/no, or let me know what to change)"

Step 9 — Execute (after confirmation)

• Work through the plan step by step
• Update active-tasks.md status as you go:
  • Start a task → IN_PROGRESS
  • Find a bug → BUG_FOUND (add to Bug Log)
  • Fix a bug → BUG_FIXED
  • Complete a task → DONE
• Commit after each meaningful unit of work (not after each file)
• Run pytest -x before every commit

Step 10 — Close Out

• Update all IN_PROGRESS tasks to DONE in active-tasks.md
• Update PR body with outcomes and any bugs discovered/fixed
• Update docs/changelog.md
• Update .claude/state/NEXT_ACTION.md if work continues next session
• Push and request review

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Updating active-tasks.md During Execution

The tracker at .claude/state/active-tasks.md is the living record. Update it continuously:

# Pattern for updating status (Python pseudo-code):
# 1. Read the file
# 2. Find the row by task number
# 3. Update Status column
# 4. Update Notes column with brief outcome
# 5. Update Updated column with today's date

Always log bugs:

## Bug Log
| # | Bug Description | Found | Fixed | PR | Status |
|---|----------------|-------|-------|----|--------|
| N | <description> | <date> | <date or —> | <PR or —> | BUG_FOUND / BUG_FIXED |

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Cross-Tool Compatibility

This workflow is designed to work with any AI coding tool:

Tool	How it reads this workflow
Claude Code	CLAUDE.md + this skill via /session-planning
Codex / OpenCode	AGENTS.md mandatory workflow section
Cursor	AGENTS.md (Cursor reads project-level AGENTS.md)
Aider	AGENTS.md via --read AGENTS.md or auto-detection
GitHub Actions (AI)	AGENTS.md + .github/workflows/ context
Any other agent	AGENTS.md is the universal contract

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Quick Reference Card

READ   → AGENTS.md + CLAUDE.md + GRAPH_REPORT.md + active-tasks.md
SKILLS → load relevant skills for this task type  
PLAN   → write implementation plan (files, steps, risks, acceptance)
TRACK  → add tasks to active-tasks.md as TODO
PR     → create DRAFT PR with plan as body + TODO checklist
CONFIRM → ask user before writing any code
EXECUTE → implement step by step, updating tracker status live
BUGS   → log BUG_FOUND immediately, BUG_FIXED when resolved
DONE   → update active-tasks.md + changelog + NEXT_ACTION.md