Planning Protocol

Overview

Define how to analyze context, make design decisions, and decompose work into tasks.

Two modes:

•Interactive: Orchestrator conducts Deep Interview for decisions
•Auto: Planner agent makes decisions based on context alone (--auto or --skip-interview)

Phase 1: Read Context

Read session files in order:

•session.json - goal and metadata
•context.json - summary, key files, patterns from explorers
•exploration/*.md - detailed findings as needed

Phase 2: Complexity Analysis

Analyze goal and context to determine interview depth:

Complexity	Files	Keywords	Impact	Rounds
trivial	1-2	fix, typo, add	None	1 (4-5 Q)
standard	3-5	implement, create	Single module	2 (8-10 Q)
complex	6-10	refactor, redesign	Multi-module	3 (12-15 Q)
massive	10+	migrate, rewrite	Entire system	4 (16-20 Q)

Note: User can request more rounds via adaptive check. No upper limit.

Phase 3: Deep Interview (Interactive Mode)

Skip if: --auto or --skip-interview flag set

Interview Structure

Each round asks 4-5 questions using AskUserQuestion (max 4 questions per call).

Context-Aware Options (CRITICAL)

Options marked [...] MUST be generated from exploration context, NOT generic templates.

See references/context-aware-options.md for:

•Generation process from context.json and exploration/*.md
•Option generation rules by question type
•Context-aware vs generic examples
•Validation checklist

Interview Rounds

Rounds are adjusted based on complexity assessment:

Complexity	Rounds	Focus Areas
trivial	1	Intent, Scope, Success criteria
standard	2	+ Technical decisions (arch, tech stack, testing)
complex	3	+ Edge cases, errors, concurrency, performance
massive	4	+ UI/UX, observability, documentation, deployment

Note: User can request additional rounds via adaptive check. No upper limit.

See references/interview-rounds.md for:

•Detailed question templates for each round
•Domain-specific question templates
•Adaptive check pattern
•Decision recording format

Phase 4: Document Design

IMPORTANT: Design documents go to PROJECT directory.

bash

WORKING_DIR=$(bun $SCRIPTS/session-get.js --session ${CLAUDE_SESSION_ID} --field working_dir)
DESIGN_PATH="$WORKING_DIR/docs/plans/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)-{goal-slug}-design.md"

Write comprehensive design.md including:

•Overview and approach selection
•Interview decisions with rationale (from Phase 3)
•Architecture and components
•Error handling strategy
•Testing strategy
•Scope (in/out)

See references/design-template.md for complete template.

Phase 5: Decompose Tasks

Task Guidelines

Aspect	Rule
Granularity	One deliverable, ~30 min work, testable
Complexity	`standard` (sonnet) for CRUD/simple; `complex` (opus) for architecture/security
Dependencies	Independent `[]`, Sequential `["1"]`, Multi `["1","2"]`, Verify `[all]`

Create Tasks with Scripts

Use task-create.js for each task. Always include a final verify task.

See references/task-examples.md for:

•Complete script command examples
•Task decomposition patterns by feature type
•Dependency graph examples

Output Summary

Return planning summary with:

•Complexity assessment and interview rounds completed
•Key decisions from interview (table format)
•Task graph showing IDs, subjects, dependencies, complexity
•Files created (design doc, task files)

Flag Reference

Flag	Effect on Interview
(default)	Full Deep Interview based on complexity
`--skip-interview`	Skip interview, use ad-hoc AskUserQuestion as needed
`--auto`	Skip interview, auto-decide all choices

Additional Resources

Reference Files

•references/brainstorm-protocol.md - Interactive question flow and approach exploration
•references/context-aware-options.md - Context-aware option generation rules and examples
•references/design-template.md - Complete design document template
•references/interview-rounds.md - Detailed interview round templates for all complexity levels
•references/task-examples.md - Task decomposition examples with script commands