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Huy Pham
Huy Pham

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How I Built a Plan-Based Development Workflow for Claude Code

#claudeai #productivity #devtools #workflow

Ever started a feature, gotten halfway through, then realized you forgot a critical dependency? Or had Claude Code build something, only to realize the tasks were done in the wrong order? I got tired of managing complex features in my head, so I built a plugin that brings structured planning directly into Claude Code.

The Problem

When building features with AI assistance:

  • You explain the feature, Claude starts coding, but forgets earlier context
  • Multi-step tasks get jumbled—tests written before the code they test
  • You lose track of what's done vs. what's pending
  • Dependencies between tasks aren't respected (middleware before routes, etc.)
  • Context switching kills momentum—you forget where you left off

The Solution: Plan-Mode

What if you could define your entire feature as a dependency graph, and have Claude execute it step-by-step?

You:    /plan JWT Authentication
Claude: Creates .claude/plans/jwt-authentication.md with 6 tasks
You:    /plan-execute jwt-authentication
Claude: Executes next available task respecting dependencies
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That's it. Structured planning meets AI execution.

How It Works

  1. Create a plan - /plan <feature> generates a YAML-based plan with tasks and dependencies
  2. Track progress - /plan shows all plans with completion metrics
  3. Execute systematically - /plan-execute <name> runs the next available task
  4. Manual control - /plan-update <name> [id] [status] lets you adjust as needed

Plans live in your repo at .claude/plans/, versioned with your code.

Get Started in 30 Seconds 

/plugin marketplace add quochuydev/cc-plan-mode
/plugin install plan-mode@cc-plan-mode
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This adds:

  • /plan command - View and create structured plans
  • /plan-execute command - Run tasks sequentially with dependency awareness
  • /plan-update command - Manually adjust task status

Commands

Command Purpose Example
/plan List all plans with progress Shows completion % per plan
/plan <desc> Create new plan /plan user authentication
/plan-execute <name> Execute next task /plan-execute auth-system
/plan-update <name> [id] [status] Update task status /plan-update auth-system 3 completed

Plan Format

Plans use YAML frontmatter for clean structure:

---
name: jwt-authentication
overview: Add JWT-based authentication to the API
todos:
  - id: 1
    content: Install jsonwebtoken and bcrypt dependencies
    status: pending
  - id: 2
    content: Create User model with password hashing
    status: pending
    dependencies: [1]
  - id: 3
    content: Implement auth middleware
    status: pending
    dependencies: [2]
---
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Why This Works

  1. Dependency awareness - Tasks execute in the right order, always
  2. Persistent state - Plans survive across sessions, stored in your repo
  3. Clear visibility - See exactly what's done, what's next, what's blocked
  4. AI-native execution - Claude understands context from the plan file

Try It

If you're building multi-step features with Claude Code and want more structure:

/plugin marketplace add quochuydev/cc-plan-mode
/plugin install plan-mode@cc-plan-mode
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Then run /plan my-feature and watch it break down your feature into manageable, ordered tasks.

GitHub: quochuydev/cc-plan-mode

How do you currently manage complex, multi-step features when working with AI assistants? I'd love to hear what workflows have worked for your team.

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