executing-plans

$npx mdskill add obra/superpowers/executing-plans

Load plan, review critically, execute all tasks, report when complete.

SKILL.md

.github/skills/executing-plansView on GitHub ↗
---
name: executing-plans
description: Use when you have a written implementation plan to execute in a separate session with review checkpoints
---

# Executing Plans

## Overview

Load plan, review critically, execute all tasks, report when complete.

**Announce at start:** "I'm using the executing-plans skill to implement this plan."

**Note:** Tell your human partner that Superpowers works much better with access to subagents. The quality of its work will be significantly higher if run on a platform with subagent support (Claude Code, Codex CLI, Codex App, Copilot CLI, and Gemini CLI all qualify; see the per-platform tool refs in `../using-superpowers/references/`). If subagents are available, use superpowers:subagent-driven-development instead of this skill.

## The Process

### Step 1: Load and Review Plan
1. Read plan file
2. Review critically - identify any questions or concerns about the plan
3. If concerns: Raise them with your human partner before starting
4. If no concerns: Create todos for the plan items and proceed

### Step 2: Execute Tasks

For each task:
1. Mark as in_progress
2. Follow each step exactly (plan has bite-sized steps)
3. Run verifications as specified
4. Mark as completed

### Step 3: Complete Development

After all tasks complete and verified:
- Announce: "I'm using the finishing-a-development-branch skill to complete this work."
- **REQUIRED SUB-SKILL:** Use superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch
- Follow that skill to verify tests, present options, execute choice

## When to Stop and Ask for Help

**STOP executing immediately when:**
- Hit a blocker (missing dependency, test fails, instruction unclear)
- Plan has critical gaps preventing starting
- You don't understand an instruction
- Verification fails repeatedly

**Ask for clarification rather than guessing.**

## When to Revisit Earlier Steps

**Return to Review (Step 1) when:**
- Partner updates the plan based on your feedback
- Fundamental approach needs rethinking

**Don't force through blockers** - stop and ask.

## Remember
- Review plan critically first
- Follow plan steps exactly
- Don't skip verifications
- Reference skills when plan says to
- Stop when blocked, don't guess
- Never start implementation on main/master branch without explicit user consent

## Integration

**Required workflow skills:**
- **superpowers:using-git-worktrees** - Ensures isolated workspace (creates one or verifies existing)
- **superpowers:writing-plans** - Creates the plan this skill executes
- **superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch** - Complete development after all tasks

More from obra/superpowers

SkillDescription
brainstormingYou MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, or modifying behavior. Explores user intent, requirements and design before implementation.
dispatching-parallel-agentsUse when facing 2+ independent tasks that can be worked on without shared state or sequential dependencies
finishing-a-development-branchUse when implementation is complete, all tests pass, and you need to decide how to integrate the work - guides completion of development work by presenting structured options for merge, PR, or cleanup
receiving-code-reviewUse when receiving code review feedback, before implementing suggestions, especially if feedback seems unclear or technically questionable - requires technical rigor and verification, not performative agreement or blind implementation
requesting-code-reviewUse when completing tasks, implementing major features, or before merging to verify work meets requirements
subagent-driven-developmentUse when executing implementation plans with independent tasks in the current session
systematic-debuggingUse when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes
test-driven-developmentUse when implementing any feature or bugfix, before writing implementation code
using-git-worktreesUse when starting feature work that needs isolation from current workspace or before executing implementation plans - ensures an isolated workspace exists via native tools or git worktree fallback
using-superpowersUse when starting any conversation - establishes how to find and use skills, requiring skill invocation before ANY response including clarifying questions