plan-before-code
Skill1 starsChanged 41 days agoMITView on GitHub
Plan implementation before writing code. Use when starting non-trivial tasks, features, refactors, or when the approach is unclear.
1 other project uses a version of this.
Adopted by
Most recently taken up by
- Diligence-AI/org-skillstheir own version, first seen Oct 13, 2026
Other versions1 project uses a version of this.
Word for word · 0
None found.
Edited · 0
None found.
Wrote their own version · 1
- Diligence-AI/org-skills★ 0same name
How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.
In this repository49 other files it gives its agents.
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- error-handlingSkill
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- fix-ciSkill
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- migrate-codeSkill
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- setup-ciSkill
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- simplify-codeSkill
- skill-authoringSkill
- skill-routerSkill
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- tddSkill
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- typescript-strictSkill
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- write-docsSkill
- write-testsSkill
The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
4 rules. About 0 are common, 4 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.
≈0
Common · estimate
Many files like this have a rule of this kind.
≈4
Distinctive · estimate
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
0
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Distinctive: line 18
Write a short step list (3–8 steps).
- Distinctive: line 36
Do not start coding while major unknowns remain.
- Distinctive: line 37
Prefer the smallest plan that reaches a verifiable outcome.
- Distinctive: line 38
Update the plan if discovery invalidates it.
≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 350,495 skill files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
Plan Before Code
When
Apply for work that touches more than one file, changes behavior, or has multiple valid approaches. Skip for single-line fixes and renames.
Steps
- Restate the goal in one sentence.
- List constraints (APIs, styles, compatibility, deadlines).
- Identify files and modules likely involved.
- Choose one approach. Note rejected alternatives in one line each.
- Write a short step list (3–8 steps). Mark risks and unknowns.
- Confirm the plan with the user if ambiguity remains or blast radius is high.
- Execute only after the plan is clear.
Output Format
Goal: ...
Constraints: ...
Approach: ...
Steps:
1. ...
2. ...
Risks: ...Rules
- Do not start coding while major unknowns remain.
- Prefer the smallest plan that reaches a verifiable outcome.
- Update the plan if discovery invalidates it; do not silently diverge.
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