Implement Plan
Execute an implementation plan file.
Task Tracking
At the start, use update_plan to track each step, restating any remaining steps of a parent workflow alongside them:
- Resolve and read the plan file
- Read context files
- Run
$implement skill
- Update plan status
Step 1: Resolve and Read the Plan File
Determine which plan file to implement using these rules in order:
- Explicit path — If an absolute or relative path was passed and that file exists, use it
- Explicit slug — If a slug was passed (e.g.,
add-image-cache), resolve to .turbo/plans/<slug>.md if that file exists
- Single file — Glob
.turbo/plans/*.md. If exactly one plan exists, use it
- Most recent — If multiple plans exist, use the most recently modified
- Legacy fallback — If
.turbo/plans/ does not exist but .turbo/plan.md exists, use it
- Nothing found — If no rule above resolved to an existing file, tell the user to run
$turboplan and stop. When a slug or path was passed but no file matched it, say which one was tried
If multiple plans exist and the most-recent choice is non-obvious (e.g., several plans were modified within the same minute), use request_user_input to let the user pick from the candidates.
State the resolved plan path before continuing, then read the file.
Unless an explicit path or slug was passed, confirm the resolved plan still describes work that remains to be done:
- Already implemented — the frontmatter
status: is done
- Waiting on a gate — the plan's Context states a gate that must pass before its work can start
When a signal fires, output it as text. Then use request_user_input to offer:
- Implement anyway — the marker is stale, or the gate has passed
- Pick another plan — resolve to a different file under
.turbo/plans/, then confirm that plan against these same signals
- Leave it unimplemented — the plan needs revising first, or its gate has not passed
On Leave it unimplemented, tell the user to bring the plan current with $refine-plan and run this skill again, or, for a plan whose gate has not passed, to run this skill again once it has. Call update_plan to drop the remaining implement steps, restating any remaining steps of a parent workflow, then continue with the next step of the active workflow.
Workflow state lives at .turbo/workflows/<slug>.md — slug from the resolved plan's basename. It pairs one-to-one with the thread's goal. When this run's create_goal attempt succeeds, write the file fresh: Status: active plus this invocation's update_plan list as a checkbox list. When an unfinished goal already exists, mirror into the workflow file its objective names; when it names none, continue without workflow state. Mirror every update_plan call into the file; it holds the pipeline's remaining steps and their statuses. When this run created the goal, run the terminal step in order: mark the final entry completed and mirror it, set Status: closed, mark the goal complete with update_goal, then emit any halt message.
Attempt create_goal with the objective: "Execute the implementation plan at <plan path> through $implement, then set the plan's frontmatter status to done when it has frontmatter. Workflow state: .turbo/workflows/<slug>.md; mirror every update_plan call into it. Loop state lives under .turbo/loops/. After any context compaction, re-read the plan file, the workflow file, and any active ledger, and continue from the first unfinished entry. Mark this goal complete only after that status update, or after $implement completes for a plan without frontmatter." If an unfinished goal already exists, an outer workflow owns it; continue without creating one.
Step 2: Read Context Files
Read in full:
- Every file listed in the plan's Context Files section
- Files the user referenced in their original request (if any)
- Every file path the plan references in the Context, Pattern Survey, and Implementation Steps sections
Step 3: Run $implement Skill
Run the $implement skill. The plan file, its file references, and its Verification section are already in conversation context from Step 1.
Step 4: Update Plan Status
After $implement completes, set the plan's frontmatter status: to done. If the plan is the legacy .turbo/plan.md without frontmatter, skip the status update.
When the plan's Context names a larger source it implements part of (an assessment, a backlog, an issue), report the plan's completion separately from that source's: name the source's items the plan left out, and say whether another plan under .turbo/plans/ covers them.
If this run created a goal in Step 1, follow the closing update_plan call below by mirroring it into the workflow file, setting Status: closed, and marking the goal complete with update_goal, in that order.
Then call update_plan to mark this step completed and continue with the next step of the active workflow.
Rules
- The plan file is read-only during execution. If revisions are needed, run
$refine-plan or $draft-plan separately.
- Never skip Step 2.
- Never enumerate or execute the plan's Implementation Steps inline. The work runs through
$implement. Restating steps as a turn-level narration counts as inline execution and bypasses the delegation.
- If the plan's Implementation Steps or Verification include
git commit, git push, or PR creation, halt before Step 3 and ask the user to remove them via $refine-plan. A Verification item that observes the result of a push without instructing one is not grounds to halt.