Planning (Clarify + Spec + Track)

Use this skill when work is underspecified, needs a spec/work-package-first plan, or should be captured/tracked in Linear.

Scope & routing

• Use for planning/spec/clarification requests, work-package orchestration, or when the user explicitly asks for a plan.
• If the primary task is creating/updating a skill, prefer skill-creator; use planning only for a plan-only response.
• If the request shifts to implementation/build work, hand off to coding after clarifying scope and locking assumptions.
• When opening references, use full repo paths like skills/planning/references/... (not references/...). If a reference read fails, retry once with the full path.
• If a trigger clearly matches, open the referenced file before drafting the plan/spec. If you need 1-2 clarifying questions first, ask them before opening the ref.
• If a word/length limit is given, keep it short and minimize extra reads.
• Treat all Linear status flow requests as planning work: load skills/planning/references/linear-mcp-ops.md, map lifecycle semantics to team statuses, and capture rationale/comments for each transition.

Routing order (metadata-first)

1. Workpackage execution or continuation (docs/workpackages/..., docs/review/workpackages_*, or explicit workpackage execution directive).
2. Explicit Linear lifecycle or transition operation.
3. Implementation intent with missing must-have scope/acceptance constraints.
4. Spec-first iterative planning without explicit workpackage execution.
5. Planning fallback to clarification.

Conflict rule: if workpackage and Linear cues appear together, run workpackage routing first; keep Linear context checks read-only unless transition actions are explicitly requested.

Routing note: trigger_phrases are lexical boosters only and must not be treated as literal match gates.

If workpackage hints are present, follow skills/planning/references/spec-driven-iterative-builder.md and keep docs/specs/* and related work-package files synchronized.

References

• skills/planning/references/ask-questions-if-underspecified.md - minimal clarifying questions workflow with fast trigger test
• skills/planning/references/spec-driven-iterative-builder.md - spec-first iterative delivery with work-package integration mode
• skills/planning/references/linear-mcp-ops.md - Linear MCP operations and brainstorming capture