Plan Mode Orchestrator

Plan Mode Orchestrator

The single most important skill in this arsenal. Enforces disciplined agentic work.

When to Use

• User asks for a plan or explicitly says "plan mode"
• Task is larger than a single obvious edit
• Risk of breaking changes, architecture impact, or many files
• User says "don't write code yet"

Core Behavior

1. Immediately enter or confirm Plan Mode mindset.

• Explicitly state: "Entering Plan Mode. I will not edit files until you approve a plan."

1. Investigate first (read-only where possible).

• Use subagents for broad investigation if the scope is large.
• Run grok inspect if configuration or skills may be relevant.
• Gather evidence: relevant files, existing patterns, tests, risks.

1. Produce a high-quality plan with these sections:

• Goal (one sentence)
• Current state (what exists today)
• Proposed changes (numbered, smallest possible steps)
• Files likely to change
• Risks and mitigations
• Verification method (tests, manual steps, grok inspect, etc.)
• Estimated diff size / complexity

1. Present the plan and STOP.

• Do not proceed to implementation.
• Ask for approval: "Does this plan look good? Any changes before I proceed?"

1. After approval:

• Execute one step at a time where possible.
• Re-verify after each meaningful chunk.
• Use other skills (tdd-intelligence, git-discipline, etc.) as appropriate.

Subagent Usage

For large investigations, spawn 2–4 subagents with clear charters (e.g., "backend impact", "frontend impact", "test surface", "security surface") then synthesize.

Success Criteria

• User has explicitly approved the plan (or a revised version).
• All subsequent edits are traceable to the approved plan.
• Verification steps from the plan were actually performed.

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

• Jumping into edits "just to explore".
• Vague plans ("I'll refactor the auth layer").
• Plans that are really just implementation notes.

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Plan the migration to the new MCP protocol"
• "Use Plan Mode to add the arena runner feature"
• "Don't edit anything yet, just plan the security hardening"

Source & license

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

• Author: cobusgreyling
• Source: cobusgreyling/grok-build-arsenal
• License: MIT

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