Plan Debate

plan-debate

Multi-agent debate planning pipeline for high-quality implementation plans. Uses agent separation and independent review to catch issues before code is written.

When to Use

• Tasks with 3+ implementation steps and dependencies
• Architecture decisions or system design
• Irreversible operations (database migrations, deployments, data changes)
• Any task where a wrong plan is expensive to undo

For simple tasks (1-2 steps, no dependencies), plan inline without this skill.

Pipeline Overview

| Phase | Actor | Output | |-------|-------|--------| | 1. Initial Plan | planner (Sonnet) or architect (Opus) agent | Structured implementation plan | | 2. Review | plan-reviewer (Opus) agent | Structured review with verdict | | 3. Revision | planner + reviewer (max 2 rounds) | Revised plan if needed | | 4. Present | orchestrator | Final plan for user approval | | 5. Execute | orchestrator | Step-by-step implementation with task tracking |

Agent Roles

Planner (Sonnet)

• Standard feature implementation (3-5 steps)
• Explores codebase, references actual file paths
• Produces: Goal, Steps, Risks, Verification Plan, Success Criteria

Architect (Opus)

• System design, architecture decisions (5+ steps)
• Same output format as planner, deeper analysis

Plan-Reviewer (Opus)

• Independent code-aware review
• Reads source files to verify plan assumptions
• Cross-checks against project rules and error lessons
• Outputs structured review with verdict

Verdict Types

| Verdict | Meaning | Action | |---------|---------|--------| | APPROVE | Plan is sound | Present to user for approval | | REVISE | Fixable issues found | Re-plan with feedback (max 2 rounds) | | REJECT | Fundamental problems | Ask user for guidance |

Verification Tiers

Every plan must include a Verification Plan with applicable tiers:

| Tier | Items | When Required | |------|-------|---------------| | Baseline | lint + type-check + build + existing tests | Always | | Unit tests | New/modified tests for changed logic | Logic changes | | E2E tests | Playwright tests for user flows | Default-on (opt-out only) | | Security | security-reviewer agent or manual audit | Auth, payment, data, APIs | | Regression | Full test suite vs main branch | Breaking changes, refactors |

Research-only plans (no code changes) skip verification tiers entirely.

Frontend Workflow

When a plan touches UI, four phases are mandatory:

1. Design — /frontend-design skill produces wireframe + design direction
2. Implementation — build code following the design
3. Spec generation — /ui-spec capture generates spec from implemented code
4. Fidelity check — compare spec against original design, fix deviations

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: almax000
• Source: almax000/claude-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.