When should I use the execplans skill?

Use this skill for meaningful changes requiring a design doc, tasks with significant unknowns, or implementation work that needs strict validation and observable outcomes.

What are 'Tolerances' in an execution plan?

Tolerances are pre-defined thresholds—such as maximum file changes or time limits—that trigger an immediate stop and escalation for human guidance if they are exceeded.

Does this skill work with existing repo documentation?

Yes, it is specifically designed to read and follow any existing PLANS.md files in a repository while maintaining the strict formatting of the individual ExecPlan.

What is an ExecPlan in Claude Code?

An ExecPlan is a living design-and-delivery document that provides self-contained instructions for a coding agent or human to complete a specific, non-trivial repository change end-to-end.

How do approval gates work in this skill?

The agent creates a draft ExecPlan first and must pause for explicit user approval before beginning any implementation, ensuring the proposed approach meets all requirements.

ExecPlans Design & Execution Framework

Name: ExecPlans Design & Execution Framework
Author: leynos

byleynos

Productivity & Workflow

Writes and maintains self-contained execution plans to guide complex repository changes with predictable, verifiable outcomes.

About

The ExecPlans skill provides a rigorous framework for authoring and implementing 'ExecPlans'—living design-and-delivery documents that allow coding agents to perform non-trivial tasks with high precision. By treating the reader as a novice and requiring every plan to be self-contained, it ensures that complex changes are de-risked through prototyping milestones, explicit risk assessment, and mandatory approval gates. This skill is essential for maintaining architectural integrity, managing technical debt, and ensuring that autonomous code changes remain within human-defined tolerances.

Key Features

Outcome-Focused Validation: Shifts focus from 'compiling code' to observable, verifiable behavior and success criteria.
Tolerance-Based Escalation: Defines boundaries for autonomous action, triggering human intervention when thresholds are breached.
Mandatory Approval Gates: Enforces a review phase before implementation to ensure alignment with project goals.
0 GitHub stars
Standardized ExecPlan Skeletons: Generates structured templates including constraints, risks, and progress tracking.
Comprehensive Decision Logs: Maintains a history of architectural choices and surprises encountered during the implementation phase.

Use Cases

Standardizing documentation for significant repository changes to ensure they are understandable by any contributor or agent.
De-risking complex feature requests through structured prototyping and iterative validation milestones.
Executing large-scale refactors or migrations that require high-level coordination and risk mitigation.

About

Key Features

Outcome-Focused Validation: Shifts focus from 'compiling code' to observable, verifiable behavior and success criteria.
Tolerance-Based Escalation: Defines boundaries for autonomous action, triggering human intervention when thresholds are breached.
Mandatory Approval Gates: Enforces a review phase before implementation to ensure alignment with project goals.
0 GitHub stars
Standardized ExecPlan Skeletons: Generates structured templates including constraints, risks, and progress tracking.
Comprehensive Decision Logs: Maintains a history of architectural choices and surprises encountered during the implementation phase.

Use Cases

Standardizing documentation for significant repository changes to ensure they are understandable by any contributor or agent.
De-risking complex feature requests through structured prototyping and iterative validation milestones.
Executing large-scale refactors or migrations that require high-level coordination and risk mitigation.