flow-next-plan-review
A coordinator for conducting deep architectural and implementation plan reviews.
Install
mkdir -p .claude/skills/flow-next-plan-review && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/4302" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/flow-next-plan-review && rm skill.zipInstalls to .claude/skills/flow-next-plan-review
Activation
This is the description your AI agent reads to decide when to run this skill — the better it matches your request, the more reliably it fires.
Carmack-level plan review via RepoPrompt or Codex. Use when reviewing Flow specs or design docs. Triggers on /flow-next:plan-review.Key capabilities
- →Selects review backend via CLI arguments or configuration files
- →Executes workflow orchestration using bundled flowctl
- →Configures backend priority (RepoPrompt, Codex, or Copilot)
- →Automates review backend switching based on environment variables
- →Validates review backend configuration before execution
How it works
It parses CLI arguments and environment variables to prioritize a specific review backend plugin for execution. It relies on a local or bundled flowctl binary to route the review request to the selected backend.
Inputs & outputs
When to use flow-next-plan-review
- →Conduct a plan review using RepoPrompt
- →Review a design document
- →Check epic spec feasibility
About this skill
Plan Review Mode
Workflow is backend-split. Read workflow.md for common orchestration and backend resolution, then read ONLY the file matching the selected review backend:
BACKEND=codex→ workflow-codex.mdBACKEND=copilot→ workflow-copilot.mdBACKEND=cursor→ workflow-cursor.mdBACKEND=host→ workflow-host.mdBACKEND=rp→ workflow-rp.md
Do not load the other backend files. BACKEND=none and explicit
--review=export terminate from the common workflow without loading any backend
file.
Conduct a John Carmack-level review of spec plans.
Role: Code Review Coordinator (NOT the reviewer)
Backends (branch on the common workflow's RP_ELIGIBLE probe):
- When
RP_ELIGIBLE=1: RepoPrompt (rp), Codex CLI (codex), GitHub Copilot CLI (copilot), Cursor CLI (cursor), or host-native (host) - When
RP_ELIGIBLE=0: Codex CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI, Cursor CLI, or host-native — rp remains accepted explicitly but errors at runtime
Preamble — execute common routing exactly once
Read and execute workflow.md Phase 0 once. It defines $FLOWCTL,
probes RepoPrompt eligibility, parses an explicit --review mode before
configured-backend resolution, resolves SPEC_ID, and handles ASK, none,
and export. Never invoke flowctl review-backend a second time.
When RP_ELIGIBLE=0, never steer the user toward rp. An explicit
--review=rp, FLOW_REVIEW_BACKEND=rp, or review.backend=rp remains valid
input and fails through the rp runtime check.
Backend Selection
Priority (first match wins):
--review=rp|codex|copilot|cursor|host|export|none- Per-spec
default_review FLOW_REVIEW_BACKEND.flow/config.jsonreview.backend- Error — no auto-detection
Configured values accept backend[:model[:effort]]; cursor takes a model but
no effort, and host, rp, and none are bare-only. export is a one-off
mode, never a configured backend.
Common Critical Rules
- The coordinator never self-declares a verdict.
- Stick to one backend for the full review/fix cycle.
- If
REVIEW_RECEIPT_PATHis set, every review verdict writes a receipt. - Any backend/transport failure outputs
<promise>RETRY</promise>and stops; never silently fall back to a different backend. Autonomous/Ralph callers receive the same retry terminal and decide whether to re-enter. A no-verdict dispatch is refunded and recorded by flowctl; never manually reset the review counter for a transport failure. Exit 5 /TRANSPORT_UNHEALTHYmeans stop automatic retries and repair the backend. noneskips only when selected explicitly or resolved from configuration.exportemits the existing external-review artifact and terminal output, then returns; it never loads configured-backend guidance, writes a review receipt/status, or enters the fix loop.- Foreground rule: run every
flowctl <backend> plan-reviewcall as one blocking foreground Bash call with a generous timeout (10 minutes; verdicts typically land in 1–7) — neverrun_in_background+ monitor/poll (a background completion does not reliably resume a subagent context). Host-backend subagent dispatches are also blocking.
Backend-specific invocation, availability, model, session-continuity, receipt, and anti-pattern rules live only in the selected backend file.
Input
Arguments: $ARGUMENTS
Format: <flow-spec-id> [focus areas] [--review=<mode>]
Workflow
- Execute workflow.md Phase 0.
- If it returns for
noneorexport, stop. Do not read a backend file. - Read exactly the selected
workflow-<backend>.md. - Execute one backend dispatch and carry its verdict directly into the shared Fix Loop below.
- Continue in that loop until its terminal contract is satisfied.
Fix Loop (INTERNAL - do not exit to Ralph)
The fix loop never pauses for user confirmation. Every valid finding is fixed and re-reviewed automatically. A loop that stops to ask, or that exits with a valid finding unfixed, has broken this. Never use AskUserQuestion in this loop.
MAJOR_RETHINK is not a fix-loop input. Surface the reviewer's rationale and
stop with BLOCKED: DESIGN_CONFLICT (Ralph: <promise>RETRY</promise>). Only
NEEDS_WORK enters the loop.
Fix+re-review cycles are bounded at ${MAX_REVIEW_ITERATIONS:-8}. The counter
is flowctl-owned; never keep an agent-side counter. On cap exhaustion, surface
surviving findings and stop (Ralph: <promise>RETRY</promise>).
The cap is enforced deterministically by flowctl: every dispatch reserves a
spec-scoped round before launch. SHIP / NEEDS_WORK / MAJOR_RETHINK / NEEDS_HUMAN consume it;
a no-verdict transport failure is durably recorded and refunded. At
${MAX_REVIEW_ITERATIONS:-8} verdict rounds, flowctl refuses with ESCALATE:
and exit 4. More than ${MAX_REVIEW_TRANSPORT_FAILURES:-2} consecutive
no-verdict failures stop separately with TRANSPORT_UNHEALTHY + exit 5.
Callers invoke plan-review once and act on its terminal result. The verdict
counter resets only on SHIP or an explicit re-plan, never on an edit, fresh
invocation, or transport failure.**
ANTI-PATTERN: a delivered verdict is never a transport failure - never
re-dispatch or re-frame NEEDS_WORK as a backend/sandbox problem to claim a
refund. And never widen the reviewer sandbox: reviewers are read-only by
contract, so a sandbox-blocked reviewer means something asked it to mutate the
workspace. Fix that instead (Windows resolves via auto).
When the verdict is NEEDS_WORK:
-
Parse all valid issues from reviewer feedback.
-
Fix the user-edited current spec, never a checkpoint copy:
$FLOWCTL spec set-plan <SPEC_ID> --file - --json <<'EOF' <updated current spec content> EOF -
Sync affected task specs when requirements, acceptance, design decisions, interfaces, retry/error semantics, or state values changed.
-
Re-enter the SAME selected backend file's re-review step. Never load or mix another backend. Codex/Copilot/Cursor resume only through a same-mode receipt; host uses a fresh read-only subagent; rp stays in the same chat.
-
Repeat until
SHIP,MAJOR_RETHINK, backend failure, or deterministic cap.
Done when: the round ends in one of exactly four states — a SHIP from the
backend, a MAJOR_RETHINK escalated as BLOCKED: DESIGN_CONFLICT, a
<promise>RETRY</promise> from a backend/transport failure, or flowctl's
ESCALATE: cap refusal with the surviving findings surfaced. A round that ends
with a NEEDS_WORK neither fixed in the current spec nor re-entered into the
same backend has broken this.
Recovery after context compaction:
$FLOWCTL checkpoint restore --spec <SPEC_ID> --json
For rp, only the first review uses --new-chat; all re-reviews stay in the same
chat. Every re-review follows the selected backend file's receipt/status rules.
When not to use it
- →When no environment-specific review backend is defined
- →When the task does not involve epic specs or design documentation
Prerequisites
Limitations
- →Fails if flowctl is not found or executable
- →Depends on the configured availability of RepoPrompt or Codex
- →Requires explicit setup for backend selection
How it compares
It automates the selection and orchestration of specific technical review tools, whereas a generic prompt would require manual backend configuration for each session.
Compared to similar skills
flow-next-plan-review side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.
| Skill | Installs | Updated | Safety | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| flow-next-plan-review (this skill) | 1 | 2mo | Review | Intermediate |
| confidence-check | 13 | 4mo | Review | Beginner |
| specification-architect | 13 | 9mo | Review | Advanced |
| drift-analysis | 2 | 5mo | No flags | Intermediate |
Try saying
Example prompts that trigger this skill in your AI assistant.
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