executing-plans

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 (such as Claude Code or Codex). 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 TodoWrite 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.

Workspace mode

When the plan was authored in workspace mode (caller is /orc:flow or /orc:plan with --repos), each slice carries a repo: annotation. Execution rules:

• Before each slice, cd into the slice's repoPath (passed by the caller as input). All git, test, lint, and edit commands MUST run inside that repo's tree.
• Sibling repos are off-limits. A slice tagged repo: api may not edit files in <workspaceRoot>/ui/. The worktree-path boundary already enforces this physically; treat any urge to cross it as a bug in the plan, not in your execution — escalate.
• The plan's Cross-repo contract section (when present) is frozen for the duration of execution. If a slice would change an endpoint shape, schema, or message format listed there, stop and surface — that's a plan change, not an implementation choice.
• Restore-before-act extends to per-repo state. On resume, read both <workspaceRoot>/.orc/<branch>/files/checkpoint.md (workspace-level cursor) and <repoPath>/.orc/<branch>/files/progress.md (this repo's slice log) before executing the next slice.
• When dispatched in parallel for a workspace plan (one implementer per repo), treat your repo + repoPath as your full universe — sibling implementers are operating in their own repos simultaneously.

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 - REQUIRED: Set up isolated workspace before starting
• superpowers:writing-plans - Creates the plan this skill executes
• superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch - Complete development after all tasks