Rite plan

/rite-plan: (re)plan an active feature

Update an existing plan when implementation evidence, drift, or a user decision makes it wrong. Read the active workspace first. If .devrites/ACTIVE is empty or its workspace is missing, stop and tell the user to run /rite-spec <feature>. Revise mode is artifact-only: reconcile spec.md / architecture.md / plan.md / tasks.md / traceability.md without editing source code.

Rules consulted (read on demand from .claude/skills/devrites-lib/reference/standards/)

Pull development-workflow.md via Read when reshaping slice cadence or DoD criteria.

Operating rules

• Update the spec when needed, but never plan around a known-wrong assumption.
• If a change alters product behavior, scope, architecture, data model, UX, security, or migration risk → search facts first, then route the human-owned contract decision through /rite-clarify (using the Spec Drift Guard). Reversible technical repair is agent-owned and must not become a question.
• Keep each slice small enough for one focused build → prove cycle.
• Slice count is derived, never dictated: reslice when a slice fails the sizing rule (multiple "and"s, can't build+prove in one cycle), not to hit a user-named tally. A requested count is a hint at most; slice logically and explain if it differs. See reference/slicing.md ("How many slices?").
• Size by complexity, order by dependency. A slice carries a Complexity: N/5 score (from /rite-define); a slice scoring >3 is a reslice trigger unless its inline reason justifies the irreducible complexity. Honor each slice's depends_on:: the next buildable slice is the lowest pending one whose dependencies are all built. This preserves one-slice-at-a-time execution.
• Root writes; drafter proposes. Follow agents.md. The controlling chat owns human questions, decisions, reconciliation, and all planning-artifact writes.

Workflow

0. Read .claude/skills/devrites-lib/reference/standards/core.md (operating rules) before reshaping anything. Then run devrites-engine preamble for deterministic workspace orientation.
1. Read spec.md, decision-coverage.md, plan.md, tasks.md, state.md, drift.md, eng-review.md, and the current git diff (if a repo). Read decisions.md and assumptions.md. Require Decision coverage: CLEAR; otherwise STOP → /rite-clarify. If a code-intelligence index is available: codebase-memory-mcp first, cross-checked with codegraph (.codegraph/ / codegraph_* tools) + graphify (graphify-out/), else standard methods (LSP / Read/Grep/Glob); see .claude/skills/devrites-lib/reference/standards/tooling.md: prefer it for structural questions (what calls X, what would changing Y break) over reading whole files, to keep planning context lean. For an external dependency's current API surface, consult context7 if available.
2. Pick the mode ($ARGUMENTS or infer):
   • decompose: first/again break the feature into vertical slices.
   • reslice: a slice is too large; split into thinner end-to-end slices.
   • repair: a Spec Drift Guard event; fold the resolution into plan + tasks.
   • reorder: fix the dependency order.
   • split: separate backend/frontend contracts (see devrites-api-interface).
   • unblock: a verification failed; re-route around the blocker.
   • course-correct: a deliberate mid-build pivot (the user changed their mind), distinct from accidental drift: classify the change, assess its impact across the remaining slices, decide rollback vs forward-fix, and update spec.md + plan.md + tasks.md + decisions.md atomically. An acceptance/behavior change still goes through the user first. When the plan names an MVP cut, offer it as the retreat option: falling back to the cut is a pre-agreed scope, not a new negotiation.
   • revise: apply a requested planning-artifact revision and reconcile existing artifacts in any direction; propose the file edit set first, confirm each file before writing, and never edit source code. The one confirmation exception is an explicit /rite-upgrade: its validated upgrade-assessment authorizes one atomic, behavior-neutral normalization of active planning artifacts, provided source, completed slices, answered questions, and historical evidence remain unchanged. Gate first: revise or new? Same intent? More than 50% of existing scope survives? original not completable without this? Two "no"s → new work: recommend sealing/shipping the current workspace (MVP cut if named) then /rite-spec for the new intent, and stop. Revise preserves context; a new workspace separates the work. See replan-and-repair for each mode's steps. 2a. Draft the repair from fresh context. Freeze the inputs and dispatch devrites-plan-drafter in repair mode with only the selected mode, affected artifact paths, settled contract, and observed failure/drift. Await one atomic plan-candidate; the drafter writes nothing and returns human-owned choices separately.
3. Reason about dependencies: dependency-graph. Completion: the slice graph is cycle-free and every dependency names an existing slice.
4. Re-slice using vertical-slice rules: slicing and task-breakdown. Prefer thin, shippable, verifiable. Completion: every slice is independently shippable/provable or carries an irreducibility reason.
5. Reconcile the candidate against steps 3 and 4, then the root updates plan.md, tasks.md, state.md, and appends rationale to decisions.md. Any change to architecture.md, plan.md, tasks.md, or traceability.md invalidates the previous vet verdict: set Phase: plan, Next step: /rite-vet, and, when eng-review.md exists, set Implementation readiness: NEEDS REPLAN. Never retain READY across changed planning inputs. Preserve Plan approved only for behavior/acceptance-neutral technical repair; clear and reconfirm it when the contract changed. If you stopped for drift, mark the drift.md entry resolved.
6. If product behavior/acceptance criteria change, confirm through /rite-clarify before writing, re-close decision-coverage.md, then reconcile the plan. After any edit to brief.md, spec.md, decisions.md, assumptions.md, or questions.md, including a behavior-neutral technical rationale appended to decisions.md, re-scan the affected coverage rows, assumption audit, residual uncertainty, and closed gates. Partial/Missing, an unowned material assumption, or an open blocking/escalating question routes /rite-clarify/HITL; never refresh past it. Only after the matrix is re-closed, run devrites-engine readiness-digest coverage <slug> and replace the complete Coverage inputs SHA-256 line in decision-coverage.md. Completion: the change is classified, and every behavior/acceptance change has explicit confirmation recorded before the artifacts are updated.
7. Done when: every slice is sized (builds + proves in one cycle; no slice scoring >3 left unjustified), the dependency order is acyclic, every drift.md entry you stopped for is marked resolved, revised artifacts agree with each other, no source files changed in revise mode, behavior-change-vs-not is confirmed (no, or clarified), and every changed plan ends at /rite-vet rather than returning directly to build. If any check fails, loop back: don't hand off a half-reshaped plan.

Mid-flight discipline. Do not change product behavior without confirmation or absorb drift silently. See anti-patterns.

Output

Progress first: run devrites-engine progress, then use the shared completion reply contract (devrites-lib/reference/reply-contract.md). Default success shape:

Done: plan repaired for <slug> in <mode> mode.
Changed: plan.md, tasks.md, traceability.md, decisions.md, state.md, eng-review.md <invalidated|n/a>
Evidence: not applicable; slice map now <n> slices and next slice is <name>
Open: <none | behavior question answered | Alternative: /rite-prove if all built slices need re-verification>
Next: /rite-vet
Record: .devrites/work/<slug>/plan.md
↻ Hygiene: /clear if the repair was large; keep session for small reorder-only repairs