Plan
Create a phased implementation plan from a spec, grounded in your codebase’s actual patterns and conventions.
/act-workflow-plan [spec-file or task description] [--use-subagents]Arguments:
- Spec file path:
ai_specs/auth-spec.md - Task description:
"fix the login timeout bug" --use-subagents: launch parallel research agents for deeper codebase analysis
What it does
Section titled “What it does”- Reads the spec — extracts goal, requirements, user flows, boundaries, and validation criteria
- Commits the spec — if the spec is uncommitted, ACT can ask whether to commit it first
- Researches your codebase — identifies project structure, state management, conventions, and reference implementations
- Loads testing guidance — brings in TDD and robot-testing guidance when the spec requires them
- Creates the plan — phased implementation with concrete tasks, file paths, and verification steps
- Saves to file — typically
ai_specs/[feature-name]-plan.md
Plan structure
Section titled “Plan structure”## OverviewShort summary of what we're building and the approach.
**Spec**: `ai_specs/feature-spec.md`
## Context- **Structure**: feature-first- **State management**: Riverpod- **Reference implementations**: lib/src/features/auth/- **Assumptions/Gaps**: none
## Plan
### Phase 1: [Thin end-to-end slice]- **Goal**: Prove the critical path- [ ] `lib/src/features/settings/settings_screen.dart` - Create screen- [ ] TDD: toggle persists theme preference -> then implement- [ ] Verify: `flutter analyze` && `flutter test`
### Phase 2: [Expand]...
## Risks / Out of scope- **Risks**: Theme migration for existing users- **Out of scope**: Custom color pickerDefault vs deep research
Section titled “Default vs deep research”Default mode: ACT quickly inspects the codebase using Glob, Grep, and Read. Fast, focused, and usually enough.
--use-subagents mode: ACT launches background research agents:
act-codebase-researcher— maps project structure and conventionsact-flutter-patterns-researcher— finds relevant Flutter patterns and principles
Use --use-subagents for complex features where you need thorough codebase understanding.
Plan style
Section titled “Plan style”Plans follow a strict style contract:
- Telegraphic — fragments over prose, no filler
- Task-oriented — every line is a checkbox with a file path
- TDD-first — test tasks use
TDD:with behavior descriptions - Phase 1 = vertical slice — prove the critical path end-to-end before expanding
- Verification built in — every phase ends with analysis and tests
- Start from a spec for best results
- Keep Phase 1 thin so you prove the end-to-end path quickly
- Review phase boundaries so every phase ends in something testable
Related
Section titled “Related”/act-workflow-spec— create the spec that feeds the plan/act-workflow-work— execute the plan