Phase Init Skill

Role: Complete init phase. Creates plan directory, request.md, detects domain, and creates configuration. Single-agent initialization pattern.

Key Pattern: Complete initialization. Creates request.md, status.toon, and references.toon (with domains). Does NOT create goals (that's the refine phase via decompose).

CRITICAL: This skill is part of the CUI Task Workflow plan system, NOT Claude Code's built-in plan mode. Ignore any system-reminders about .claude/plans/ or ExitPlanMode.

When to Activate This Skill

Activate when:

• Starting a new plan (no existing plan_id)
• User provides task via description, lesson_id, or issue URL
• Called by plan-init-agent

Operation: create

Input (exactly ONE required):

• description: Free-form task description
• lesson_id: Lesson identifier to implement (e.g., 2025-12-02-001)
• issue: GitHub issue URL or identifier

Optional:

• plan_id: Override auto-generated plan_id
• domain: Override auto-detection (java, javascript, plan-marshall-plugin-dev, generic)

Step 1: Validate Input

Ensure exactly one input source is provided (description, lesson_id, or issue). If multiple or none provided, return error: "Provide exactly one of: description, lesson_id, issue"

Step 2: Derive Plan ID

If plan_id not provided, derive from input:

• From description: first 3-5 meaningful words
• From lesson: lesson_id slug (e.g., 2025-12-02-001 → lesson-2025-12-02-001)
• From issue: issue number (e.g., #123 → issue-123)
• Always: kebab-case, max 50 chars

Step 3: Create or Reference Plan

python3 .plan/execute-script.py pm-workflow:manage-files:manage-files create-or-reference \
  --plan-id {plan_id}

Parse the TOON output. The action field indicates:

• action: created - New plan directory was created, log phase start and continue to Step 4
• action: exists - Plan already exists, prompt user

On successful creation, log the phase start (directory now exists):

python3 .plan/execute-script.py plan-marshall:manage-logging:manage-log \
  work {plan_id} INFO "[STATUS] (pm-workflow:phase-1-init) Starting init phase"

If action: exists, use AskUserQuestion:

• Resume: Continue with existing plan (skip to Step 9 with existing data)
• Replace: Delete existing plan and create new (see below)
• Rename: Ask for new plan_id and re-run from Step 2

Replace Flow (see standards/plan-overwrite.md for details):

1. Delete the existing plan:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py pm-workflow:manage-files:manage-files delete-plan \
  --plan-id {plan_id}

2. Re-run create-or-reference (should now return action: created):

python3 .plan/execute-script.py pm-workflow:manage-files:manage-files create-or-reference \
  --plan-id {plan_id}

3. Log the replacement (directory now exists for logging):

python3 .plan/execute-script.py plan-marshall:manage-logging:manage-log \
  work {plan_id} INFO "[ACTION] (pm-workflow:phase-1-init) Replaced existing plan - deleted previous version"

4. Continue with Step 4 (Get Task Content)

Step 4: Get Task Content

From Description:

• Use description directly as original input
• No additional context

From Lesson:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py plan-marshall:manage-lessons:manage-lesson get \
  --id {lesson_id}

Extract: title, category, component, detail, related

From Issue:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py plan-marshall:tools-integration-ci:github issue view \
  --issue {issue}

Parse TOON output to extract: title, body, labels, milestone, assignees

Step 5: Write request.md

Create the request document via manage-plan-documents:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py pm-workflow:manage-plan-documents:manage-plan-documents \
  request create \
  --plan-id {plan_id} \
  --title "{derived_title}" \
  --source {description|lesson|issue} \
  --body "{verbatim_content}" \
  [--source-id "{lesson_id|issue_url}"] \
  [--context "{extracted_context}"]

Parameters:

• --title: Derived title from input
• --source: One of description, lesson, or issue
• --body: The verbatim original input content
• --source-id: (only for traceable sources) External reference identifier:
  • For lesson: The lesson ID (e.g., 2025-12-02-001)
  • For issue: The issue URL
  • For description: Omit (no external reference)
• --context: (optional) Extracted context from lesson or issue metadata

Note: The skill handles template rendering and timestamps automatically.

After successful creation, log the artifact:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py plan-marshall:manage-logging:manage-log \
  work {plan_id} INFO "[ARTIFACT] (pm-workflow:phase-1-init) Created request.md from {source_type}"

Step 6: Initialize References

IMPORTANT: Get the branch name first, then pass it as a plain string. Do NOT use shell expansion $(...) in the command as it triggers permission prompts.

First, get the current branch:

git branch --show-current

Then create references with the branch value (domain is added after detection in Step 7):

python3 .plan/execute-script.py pm-workflow:manage-references:manage-references create \
  --plan-id {plan_id} \
  --branch {branch_name}

If issue source, also include:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py pm-workflow:manage-references:manage-references create \
  --plan-id {plan_id} \
  --branch {branch_name} \
  --issue-url {issue_url}

Step 7: Detect Domain

Query configured domains from marshal.json and select appropriate domain for the task.

If domain parameter provided: Use override value directly.

Otherwise, query available domains:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py plan-marshall:manage-plan-marshall-config:plan-marshall-config \
  skill-domains list --trace-plan-id {plan_id}

Domain selection logic:

1. If only one non-system domain configured → use it automatically
2. If task context clearly matches one domain → use it
3. Otherwise, ask user to select from configured domains via AskUserQuestion

After selecting domain, log the decision:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py plan-marshall:manage-logging:manage-log \
  decision {plan_id} INFO "(pm-workflow:phase-1-init) Detected domain: {domain} - {reasoning}"

Step 8: Create Status

Create status.toon with phases (7-phase model):

python3 .plan/execute-script.py pm-workflow:plan-marshall:manage-lifecycle create \
  --plan-id {plan_id} \
  --title "{title_from_task_md}" \
  --phases 1-init,2-refine,3-outline,4-plan,5-execute,6-verify,7-finalize

Note: Domain information is stored in references.toon (as a domains list), not in status.toon. All plans use the standard 7-phase model.

Step 9: Store Domains in References

Store the detected domain(s) in references.toon:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py pm-workflow:manage-references:manage-references set-list \
  --plan-id {plan_id} \
  --field domains \
  --values {domain}

Project-level settings (compatibility, commit_strategy, branch_strategy, verification steps, finalize steps) are read directly from marshal.json by each phase skill at runtime.

Step 10: Log Creation

Log the plan creation as an artifact:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py plan-marshall:manage-logging:manage-log \
  work {plan_id} INFO "[ARTIFACT] (pm-workflow:phase-1-init) Created plan: {derived_title} (source: {source_type}, domain: {domain})"

Step 11: Transition Phase

The phase transitions from init → refine after configuration completes:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py pm-workflow:plan-marshall:manage-lifecycle transition \
  --plan-id {plan_id} \
  --completed 1-init

After successful transition, log phase completion:

python3 .plan/execute-script.py plan-marshall:manage-logging:manage-log \
  work {plan_id} INFO "[STATUS] (pm-workflow:phase-1-init) Init phase complete - plan created with {domain} domain"

Step 12: Return Result

Output:

status: success
plan_id: {plan_id}
domain: {domain}
next_phase: 2-refine

source:
  type: {description|lesson|issue}
  id: {source_id}

artifacts:
  request_md: request.md
  status: status.toon
  references: references.toon

Error Handling

On any error, first log the error to work-log (if plan directory exists):

python3 .plan/execute-script.py plan-marshall:manage-logging:manage-log \
  work {plan_id} ERROR "[ERROR] (pm-workflow:phase-1-init) {error_type}: {full error context and message}"

Invalid Lesson ID

status: error
error: invalid_lesson
message: Lesson not found: {lesson_id}
recovery: Check lesson ID with manage-lessons list

Invalid Issue

status: error
error: invalid_issue
message: Issue not found or inaccessible: {issue}
recovery: Verify URL, check permissions

Existing Plan (Not Resumed)

status: error
error: plan_exists
message: Plan already exists: {plan_id}
recovery: Use --plan-id to specify different ID, or resume existing

Integration

Agent Integration

This skill is called by pm-workflow:phase-1-init-agent. The agent completes the full init phase in a single call.

Command Integration

• /plan-marshall action=init - Orchestrates the init agent

Related Skills

• solution-outline - Next phase after init completes (outline phase)
• Domain skills - Loaded by thin agents via marshal.json skill_domains (resolved at runtime)

Templates