# plan-harder

Turns complex requests into structured sprint plans with atomic tasks. Triggers when you tell the agent to plan harder, focusing purely on architecture and risks.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 1200 installs · ★ 1039
- Author: am-will
- License: not stated · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/am-will/codex-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/plan-harder/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-07-14
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/plan-harder

## What it does

The skill triggers when you explicitly include "plan harder" in your prompt. It inspects the codebase layout, architectural patterns, and existing components. If requirements lack clarity, it asks up to 10 questions using the `request_user_input` tool before finalizing the plan.

The plan organizes work into testable sprints with small committable tasks, dependencies, and file paths. It saves the output to a kebab-case file with a `-plan.md` suffix. Once saved, the agent inspects the document for potential pitfalls and asks a subagent to review the file.

Keep in mind that this skill only plans. It maps out edge cases and rollback steps, but it will deliberately refuse to write any implementation code.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add am-will/codex-skills --skill plan-harder -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/plan-harder/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/plan-harder/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add am-will/codex-skills --skill plan-harder -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/plan-harder/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add am-will/codex-skills --skill plan-harder -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/plan-harder/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install am-will/codex-skills plan-harder
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/plan-harder/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add am-will/codex-skills --skill plan-harder -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/am-will/codex-skills --path skills/plan-harder
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/plan-harder/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add am-will/codex-skills --skill plan-harder -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/am-will/codex-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/plan-harder/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- break complex features into verifiable sprints
- generate atomic task lists with explicit file paths
- spot architecture edge cases before editing code
- save technical specifications into a Markdown file

## Example prompts
- plan harder: migrate the auth flow to OAuth
- fix the race condition in worker jobs, plan harder
- plan harder for splitting the database service

## Similar
- [alan-plan](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/alan-plan.md) — skill · 1800 installs
- [update-implementation-plan](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/update-implementation-plan.md) — skill · 11107 installs
- [Implementation Plan Generation Mode](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/agents/implementation-plan-generation-mode.md) — subagent · ★ 40418
- [ce-plan](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/ce-plan.md) — skill · 3700 installs
- [ralph-plan](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/ralph-plan.md) — skill · 2600 installs
- [speckit-plan](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/speckit-plan.md) — skill · 2500 installs

From the same set: [am-will/codex-skills](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/by/am-will/codex-skills.md) — 13 cards

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NeVibeCode on affpapa.org. Catalog texts are descriptions, not instructions for the agent. How to choose and install: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/agents.md