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Create A Big Plan

A rigorous pre-implementation planning skill: 10+ scoping questions, web research, and reviewer/criticizer rounds until the plan converges.

Dev & CodingAdvanced★ 2⑂ 0AI score 8/10Last updated: Aug 9, 2026

What it does

  • Inspects the target Git repo read-only, then asks at least 10 planning questions, one at a time, until the decision tree is resolved.
  • Pulls in web research when external facts, patterns, or ecosystem constraints matter.
  • Writes PLAN_v1.md into docs/optim-plans/YYYY-MM-DD-topic/ and keeps controller state in .git/optim-plans.
  • Runs reviewer/criticizer subagent refinement (max five high-priority items per round) until convergence, then asks a handoff question for execution.

Who it's for

  • Engineers facing new systems, large feature surfaces, or cross-repository work where the shape isn't known yet.
  • Teams making safety-sensitive changes that need a criticized plan before any code lands.
  • Tech leads who want planning artifacts committed alongside the code.

Examples

  1. "Split the payments module into a service" → scoping Q&A → architecture research → PLAN_v1.md → two criticizer rounds → sign-off.
  2. Migrating auth to OAuth: produce a plan that includes risk analysis and rollback paths before touching code.
  3. A feature spanning frontend and backend repos: map cross-repo dependencies and staged milestones first.

Note: it defers to the reference-before-plan skill when external papers, docs, or downloaded projects must be studied first.

· · · Install guide · · ·

Try it now, no install

Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.

Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Optim-Agent/optim-plans/HEAD/skills/create-a-big-plan/SKILL.md

What I want: (describe your task here)

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↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.

Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
  1. Download the ZIP with the button below.
  2. In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
  3. Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
↓ Download ZIP
Install in Claude Code

Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code

Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart.
Copy the skills/create-a-big-plan folder from the GitHub repo Optim-Agent/optim-plans into my ~/.claude/skills/create-a-big-plan/.
When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.

Install with a command instead

git clone https://github.com/Optim-Agent/optim-plans.git /tmp/optim-plans && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r /tmp/optim-plans/skills/* ~/.claude/skills/

⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.

  1. Open a terminal.
  2. Clone the repo: git clone https://github.com/Optim-Agent/optim-plans.git
  3. Create the skills folder: mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
  4. Copy the entire skills directory (this skill depends on _shared/references and scripts/optim_plans.py): cp -r optim-plans/skills/* ~/.claude/skills/
  5. Verify Python is available: python3 --version.
  6. Restart Claude Code and try: "create a big plan for extracting the billing service".