# Iteration pr.1 — Plan-recon Subagent — Implementation Plan > **Parent spec:** `docs/specs/0009-plan-recon-subagent.md` > > **For agentic workers:** REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: use `skills/implement` > to run this plan. Steps use `- [ ]` checkboxes for tracking. **Goal:** Introduce a new read-only subagent `ailang-plan-recon` that the `planner` skill dispatches at Step 2 (file-structure mapping), moving the read-heavy code-recon out of Boss context. `brainstorm` gets a one-paragraph note allowing ad-hoc dispatch of the same agent when entering unfamiliar code territory; it does NOT receive a dedicated agent. **Architecture:** Five sites change. One new agent file, one new symlink, three SKILL/README edits. No language code touched; no benchmark impact expected. This is a skill-system iteration in the spirit of `or.1` (orchestrator-refactor): the recon agent goes live the next time `planner` runs after this lands. THIS plan was written in pre-recon mode — Boss did the file-mapping in-context — a bootstrap necessity since the recon agent does not yet exist while creating it. **Tech Stack:** Markdown only. No Rust, no LLVM, no bench changes. --- ## Files this plan creates or modifies - Create: `skills/planner/agents/ailang-plan-recon.md` — new agent file, full body specified verbatim in Task 1. - Create: `.claude/agents/planner` — symlink to `../../skills/planner/agents` (mirrors existing pattern for the other four agent-bearing skills). - Modify: `skills/planner/SKILL.md` — replace Step 2 body, replace Cross-references "No private agents" line with the new agent entry. - Modify: `skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md` — extend Cross-references "No private agents" line with the ad-hoc-dispatch note. - Modify: `skills/README.md` — add agent roster row at top of table (planner is upstream of implement in the pipeline); add symlink listing entry in the Discovery block. --- ## Task pr.1.1: New agent file `ailang-plan-recon.md` **Files:** - Create: `skills/planner/agents/ailang-plan-recon.md` - [ ] **Step 1: Confirm target directory exists** Run: `ls -d skills/planner/agents 2>/dev/null || mkdir -p skills/planner/agents` Expected: directory exists or is created. No output (or `mkdir` silent success). - [ ] **Step 2: RED check — agent file must not exist yet** Run: `test ! -e skills/planner/agents/ailang-plan-recon.md && echo RED` Expected: prints `RED` (the file does not yet exist). - [ ] **Step 3: Write the agent file verbatim** Write the following content to `skills/planner/agents/ailang-plan-recon.md`: ````markdown --- name: ailang-plan-recon description: Read-only code-and-doc-recon agent for plan writing. Dispatched by planner at Step 2 (file-structure mapping) and ad-hoc by brainstorm when entering unfamiliar code territory. Names paths, lines, functions, and cross-references; does NOT propose tasks or fixes. tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Bash --- # ailang-plan-recon > **Violating the letter of these rules is violating the spirit.** You are the **plan-recon agent** for the AILang project at `/home/brummel/dev/ailang`. You are dispatched by `skills/planner` at Step 2 of every iteration plan, and ad-hoc by `skills/brainstorm` when a milestone enters code territory the Boss has not recently read. **You do not write tasks. You do not propose fixes. You produce a file-map.** ## What this role is for When the Boss writes a plan from a spec, the costly phase is mapping the spec onto the existing codebase: which files will be created, which modified, at which line ranges, naming which functions and cross-references. This read-heavy phase typically dwarfs the spec-read and the task-write together, and it collapses cleanly into a small structured summary. That is your job: do the reads, return the summary, leave the design judgement to the Boss. The temptation is to also draft the tasks. Do not. The Boss owns decomposition; your authority ends at naming where work lands. ## Standing reading list 1. `CLAUDE.md` — orchestrator framing. 2. `docs/DESIGN.md` — invariants the iteration must preserve. Skim the sections the carrier flags or that the spec touches; do not skim sections you know the spec does not touch. 3. `docs/journals/INDEX.md` and the latest entries — what just shipped, so the file-map does not double-count fresh work. 4. `skills/planner/SKILL.md` — the role the recon serves. Do NOT open files under `docs/plans/`; plan files are output downstream of recon, never input. ## Carrier contract — what the controller hands you | Field | Content | |-------|---------| | `spec_path` | Path to `docs/specs/.md` (mandatory) | | `iteration_scope` | Which sections of the spec this dispatch covers (mandatory) | | `focus_hint` | Optional: orchestrator may flag a specific subsystem or symbol to prioritise | If `spec_path` does not resolve or `iteration_scope` is empty, return `BLOCKED` with a one-line reason. ## The Iron Law ``` NO PLAN WRITING. NO TASK DECOMPOSITION. NO STEP TEXT. NAMES PATHS, LINES, FUNCTIONS, AND ANCHORS — NOT THE FIX. NO EDITS. NOT TO CODE, NOT TO DOCS. ``` Your tools include `Read, Glob, Grep, Bash` — but `Bash` is for read-only inspection (`git log`, `git grep`, `git diff`); never to fix or write. ## The Process 1. Read the carrier. Confirm `spec_path` resolves and `iteration_scope` is non-empty. If either fails, return `BLOCKED`. 2. Read the spec in full. Note every reference to a path, type, function, or invariant. 3. Read the standing list in order: CLAUDE.md → DESIGN.md (relevant sections) → `docs/journals/INDEX.md` + latest → `skills/planner/SKILL.md`. 4. For each path or symbol the spec references, run `git grep` or `Glob`+`Read` to anchor it to exact line numbers in the current tree. Record: - existing files to modify, with line ranges - relevant function or type names with line numbers - cross-references the iteration touches (especially the lockstep-invariant pairs documented in `ailang-architect`'s reading list) 5. For each path or symbol the spec implies must exist but does not in the current tree, record it under "Anchors not yet present". Absence is signal; do not invent. 6. Apply the priority filter: spec sections in `iteration_scope` get full coverage; sections out-of-scope get a one-line acknowledgement only. 7. Compose the output block (≤1500 tokens) in the format below. 8. If anything is ambiguous, return `DONE_WITH_CONCERNS` (concern inline) or `NEEDS_CONTEXT` (cannot proceed without clarification). ## Output format ```markdown ## Files ### Create - `` — ### Modify - `:` — - relevant function: `` at `:` - cross-reference: `:` (lockstep partner) ### Anchors not yet present - `` — ## Cross-references Any lockstep-invariant pairs likely touched. Walk the pairs in `ailang-architect`'s "Lockstep invariants" table as a starting point. ## Open questions Things the spec implies but the code state cannot answer alone. Flag for Boss judgement; do not invent an answer. ## Status `DONE` | `DONE_WITH_CONCERNS` | `NEEDS_CONTEXT` | `BLOCKED` (one-line reason) ``` ## Status protocol | Status | Meaning | |--------|---------| | `DONE` | File-map covers every in-scope spec section. No ambiguity. | | `DONE_WITH_CONCERNS` | File-map produced; concerns are non-blocking observations (e.g. "this section implies a refactor of an out-of-scope file"). | | `NEEDS_CONTEXT` | Carrier is missing information you need (e.g. `iteration_scope` names a section the spec does not contain). | | `BLOCKED` | Cannot proceed (carrier malformed, spec unreadable, infra failure). | ## Common Rationalisations | Excuse | Reality | |--------|---------| | "While I'm here, let me sketch what Task 1 would look like" | That is plan writing. Stop at the file-map; the Boss decomposes. | | "I'll suggest the fix in the cross-references column" | A suggestion biases the Boss's design space. Name the site, not the fix. | | "Spec is ambiguous on point X, I'll pick the obvious reading" | Return `NEEDS_CONTEXT`. The Boss decides. | | "Code search returns nothing for X, so X isn't in scope" | List X under "Anchors not yet present". Absence is signal. | | "Line numbers will shift before the plan executes, so I'll be vague" | The Boss needs the current line numbers to anchor the plan. Drift between recon and plan execution is the Boss's problem, not yours. | ## Red Flags — STOP - About to write a numbered task list - About to suggest a fix in the cross-references column - About to skip reading DESIGN.md sections that the spec touches - About to return a file-map without line ranges - About to invent a line number you did not verify - About to use `Bash` to write or edit anything ```` - [ ] **Step 4: GREEN check — agent file exists with required anchors** Run: ```bash test -f skills/planner/agents/ailang-plan-recon.md && \ grep -q "^name: ailang-plan-recon$" skills/planner/agents/ailang-plan-recon.md && \ grep -q "^tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Bash$" skills/planner/agents/ailang-plan-recon.md && \ grep -q "NO PLAN WRITING. NO TASK DECOMPOSITION. NO STEP TEXT." skills/planner/agents/ailang-plan-recon.md && \ echo GREEN ``` Expected: prints `GREEN`. - [ ] **Step 5: Commit** ```bash git add skills/planner/agents/ailang-plan-recon.md git commit -m "iter pr.1.1: new agent ailang-plan-recon" ``` --- ## Task pr.1.2: Symlink `.claude/agents/planner` **Files:** - Create: `.claude/agents/planner` (symlink to `../../skills/planner/agents`) - [ ] **Step 1: RED check — symlink must not exist yet** Run: `test ! -e .claude/agents/planner && echo RED` Expected: prints `RED`. - [ ] **Step 2: Create the symlink (relative, matches existing form)** Run from the repo root: ```bash ln -s ../../skills/planner/agents .claude/agents/planner ``` Expected: no output. (`ls -la .claude/agents/` would show the new symlink afterwards.) - [ ] **Step 3: GREEN check — symlink resolves to target directory** Run: ```bash test -L .claude/agents/planner && \ test "$(readlink .claude/agents/planner)" = "../../skills/planner/agents" && \ test -f .claude/agents/planner/ailang-plan-recon.md && \ echo GREEN ``` Expected: prints `GREEN`. - [ ] **Step 4: Commit** ```bash git add .claude/agents/planner git commit -m "iter pr.1.2: symlink .claude/agents/planner" ``` --- ## Task pr.1.3: Modify `skills/planner/SKILL.md` **Files:** - Modify: `skills/planner/SKILL.md` — replace Step 2 body; replace Cross-references "No private agents" line. - [ ] **Step 1: RED check — old Step 2 prose still present, new prose absent** Run: ```bash grep -q "Before defining tasks, list every file" skills/planner/SKILL.md && \ grep -q "No private agents" skills/planner/SKILL.md && \ ! grep -q "Dispatch \`ailang-plan-recon\`" skills/planner/SKILL.md && \ echo RED ``` Expected: prints `RED`. - [ ] **Step 2: Replace Step 2 body** Find the block (Step 2 header through the end of the closing sentence "Files that change independently get separate tasks."): ```markdown ### Step 2 — Map file structure Before defining tasks, list every file the iteration will create or modify, and what each one is responsible for. This is where decomposition decisions are locked in. ```markdown **Files this plan creates or modifies:** - Create: `crates/ailang-codegen/src/.rs` — - Modify: `crates/ailang-check/src/typeclass.rs` — adds - Test: `crates/ail/tests/e2e.rs` — adds ``` Files that change together stay in the same task. Files that change independently get separate tasks. ``` Replace with (preserving the surrounding `### Step 3` heading untouched): ```markdown ### Step 2 — Map file structure Dispatch `ailang-plan-recon` with the spec path and iteration scope. Read the returned file-map. Lift the relevant entries into the plan's "Files this plan creates or modifies" section; the Boss may add or amend entries that recon missed. Dispatch carrier: | Field | Content | |-------|---------| | `spec_path` | path to the parent spec | | `iteration_scope` | which sections of the spec this iteration covers | | `focus_hint` | optional — subsystem or symbol to prioritise | Recon does NOT decide decomposition. Two recon dispatches per planner run is unusual but legitimate (e.g. one for the main spec sections, one with a sharper `focus_hint` for a tricky subsystem). Three or more is a smell — re-read the spec; the iteration scope is probably too broad. The plan's "Files this plan creates or modifies" section keeps the same shape: ```markdown **Files this plan creates or modifies:** - Create: `` — - Modify: `:` - Test: `` — ``` Files that change together stay in the same task. Files that change independently get separate tasks. ``` - [ ] **Step 3: Replace Cross-references "No private agents" line** Find the block: ```markdown ## Cross-references - **Input source:** `skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md` — produces the spec this skill consumes. - **Output target:** `skills/implement/SKILL.md` — runs the plan task-by-task. - **No private agents.** This skill is dialogue-driven (orchestrator + spec). ``` Replace with: ```markdown ## Cross-references - **Input source:** `skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md` — produces the spec this skill consumes. - **Output target:** `skills/implement/SKILL.md` — runs the plan task-by-task. - **Agents dispatched:** - `skills/planner/agents/ailang-plan-recon.md` — Step 2, file-structure mapping (read-only). Mandatory; the Boss does NOT do recon in-context. ``` - [ ] **Step 4: GREEN check** Run: ```bash ! grep -q "Before defining tasks, list every file" skills/planner/SKILL.md && \ ! grep -q "No private agents" skills/planner/SKILL.md && \ grep -q "Dispatch \`ailang-plan-recon\`" skills/planner/SKILL.md && \ grep -q "Mandatory; the Boss does" skills/planner/SKILL.md && \ echo GREEN ``` Expected: prints `GREEN`. - [ ] **Step 5: Commit** ```bash git add skills/planner/SKILL.md git commit -m "iter pr.1.3: planner Step 2 dispatches ailang-plan-recon" ``` --- ## Task pr.1.4: Modify `skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md` **Files:** - Modify: `skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md` — extend Cross-references "No private agents" line. - [ ] **Step 1: RED check** Run: ```bash grep -q "No private agents.\*\*\* This skill is dialogue-driven\." skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md && \ ! grep -q "ad-hoc dispatch" skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md && \ echo RED ``` Expected: prints `RED`. - [ ] **Step 2: Extend the "No private agents" bullet** Find the block: ```markdown ## Cross-references - **Project source:** `docs/DESIGN.md` "Feature-acceptance criterion" — gate this skill applies during spec writing. - **Output target:** `skills/planner/SKILL.md` — only valid next skill. - **No private agents.** This skill is dialogue-driven. ``` Replace with: ```markdown ## Cross-references - **Project source:** `docs/DESIGN.md` "Feature-acceptance criterion" — gate this skill applies during spec writing. - **Output target:** `skills/planner/SKILL.md` — only valid next skill. - **No private agents.** This skill is dialogue-driven. The Boss MAY ad-hoc dispatch `skills/planner/agents/ailang-plan-recon.md` during Step 1 when the milestone enters code territory the Boss has not recently read; this is opt-in and not part of the standard process. Rationale: brainstorm's recon phase is interwoven with the user Q&A — see `docs/specs/0009-plan-recon-subagent.md` for the full reasoning. ``` - [ ] **Step 3: GREEN check** Run: ```bash grep -q "ad-hoc dispatch" skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md && \ grep -q "Rationale: brainstorm's recon phase is interwoven" skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md && \ echo GREEN ``` Expected: prints `GREEN`. - [ ] **Step 4: Commit** ```bash git add skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md git commit -m "iter pr.1.4: brainstorm allows ad-hoc plan-recon dispatch" ``` --- ## Task pr.1.5: Modify `skills/README.md` **Files:** - Modify: `skills/README.md` — insert agent roster row; extend the `.claude/agents/` Discovery listing. - [ ] **Step 1: RED check** Run: ```bash ! grep -q "ailang-plan-recon" skills/README.md && \ ! grep -q "\.claude/agents/planner" skills/README.md && \ echo RED ``` Expected: prints `RED`. - [ ] **Step 2: Insert agent roster row at top of table** Find the line: ``` | `ailang-implement-orchestrator` | `implement/agents/` | `implement` (the only agent with the `Agent` tool; runs the per-task loop) | ``` Replace with two lines (the new entry first, then the existing implement-orchestrator line preserved): ``` | `ailang-plan-recon` | `planner/agents/` | `planner` (Step 2; read-only file-structure mapping); `brainstorm` (ad-hoc Step 1 in unfamiliar territory) | | `ailang-implement-orchestrator` | `implement/agents/` | `implement` (the only agent with the `Agent` tool; runs the per-task loop) | ``` - [ ] **Step 3: Extend the `.claude/agents/` Discovery listing** Find the block: ``` .claude/agents/implement -> skills/implement/agents .claude/agents/audit -> skills/audit/agents .claude/agents/fieldtest -> skills/fieldtest/agents .claude/agents/debug -> skills/debug/agents ``` Replace with (insert the planner line at top, matching pipeline order — planner is upstream of implement): ``` .claude/agents/planner -> skills/planner/agents .claude/agents/implement -> skills/implement/agents .claude/agents/audit -> skills/audit/agents .claude/agents/fieldtest -> skills/fieldtest/agents .claude/agents/debug -> skills/debug/agents ``` - [ ] **Step 4: GREEN check** Run: ```bash grep -q "^| \`ailang-plan-recon\`" skills/README.md && \ grep -q "^.claude/agents/planner" skills/README.md && \ echo GREEN ``` Expected: prints `GREEN`. - [ ] **Step 5: Commit** ```bash git add skills/README.md git commit -m "iter pr.1.5: roster + discovery entries for ailang-plan-recon" ``` --- ## Post-task checks (for the orchestrator-agent end-report) - [ ] All five tasks committed. - [ ] `cargo build --workspace --release` passes (sanity — should be unaffected, this iter touches no Rust). - [ ] `bench/check.py`, `bench/compile_check.py`, `bench/cross_lang.py` return exit code 0 (audit step; not strictly required at end of iter, but trivial and a useful smoke). - [ ] Per-iter journal `docs/journals/2026-05-11-iter-pr.1.md` written with the iter-or.1 template (Summary / Per-task subjects / Concerns / Known debt / Blocked detail / Commits / Stats / Audit close). - [ ] `docs/journals/INDEX.md` gets a new pointer line. --- ## Verification ladder (deferred — checked off when applicable) These are the spec's acceptance-criteria items that cannot be verified within this iter itself. They get checked off in the iter journal as conditions arise: 1. **First real planner dispatch** uses `ailang-plan-recon`; the file-map names every path the plan ends up creating or modifying. 2. **Token-budget delta** at end of session: visible reduction compared with previous planner sessions (`ct.1`, `ct.4`, `or.1`). 3. **Plan-quality preservation**: the first plan written with the agent passes `implement` spec-review on Task 1 without `non_compliant` on stale paths. 4. **BLOCKED handling exercise**: when a recon dispatch organically blocks, the Boss handles via carrier-clarification. 5. **Ad-hoc brainstorm dispatch**: first brainstorm in unfamiliar territory after this lands tries the ad-hoc path. --- ## Out of scope (mirrors spec) - Brainstorm dedicated subagents (rationale: dialog-driven, recon interwoven with Q&A). - Plan-writer subagent (rationale: decomposition IS the design work). - Plan-reviewer subagent (rationale: today's inline self-review + downstream implement spec-review is sufficient gate). - Modifying `CLAUDE.md` — none of this iter's changes update the orchestrator framing; the recon agent is one more agent under the existing skill system, not a new layer.