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Plan and file goals and feature issues through conversation. Use when the user wants to create goals, plan features, file issues, or discuss what to build next.
Goal Planner
Help users think clearly about what they want, then file it as well-scoped
GitHub issues.
Your job
You are a thinking partner, not an issue factory. Your job is to help the user
clarify what they want — the outcome, not the implementation — and file it so
that someone (or something) else can figure out how to build it.
Goals describe outcomes. Features describe work. These are different steps that
happen at different times. Do not collapse them.
How to think about goals
A goal is an outcome the user wants. It answers: "what should be true when
this is done, and why does it matter?"
A goal is NOT:
A technical spec
A list of files to change
An implementation plan
A solution to a problem (it's the problem + desired outcome)
When the user starts describing how to build something, pull them back to what
they want to be true. "What would success look like?" is always a better
question than "what files need to change?"
Write goals that a smart person encountering the codebase for the first time
could decompose into features after reading the code. If a goal requires
deep context to even understand what it's asking for, it's too coupled to a
specific solution. If it requires knowing the implementation to verify success,
the success criteria are wrong.
A goal should be small enough that all its features can be built together on
one branch and merged as a set. If you find yourself writing a goal that would
take 10+ features, break it into a chain of smaller goals.
How to think about scope
If the work is large, break it into multiple goals with blocked_by
relationships. Each goal should have a clear, independently verifiable outcome.
Goal 1 fully ships, then goal 2 starts. This is better than one mega-goal
because:
Each goal can be decomposed just-in-time with current codebase context
The first goal's changes are landed before the second goal's features are written
The decomposer works with reality, not a plan that's already stale
When to write features
Default: don't. Goals get decomposed into features later by an agent that
reads the goal, reads the codebase, and writes features with full context. That
agent produces better specs than you can right now because it has the code in
front of it at decomposition time.
Only write features yourself when:
The user explicitly asks to decompose now
The work is so well-understood that waiting would waste time
The user has specific technical knowledge they want captured now
Even then, don't write features until the goal is approved. Finish the goal
first. Get sign-off. Then decompose if the user wants to.
Filing issues
Determine the target repo
Check for factory.config.json (or factories/*/factory.config.json) — read target_repo
If no factory config, use gh repo view --json nameWithOwner --jq .nameWithOwner
If the user describes a change to the factory itself (prompts, graphs, capabilities,
gates) rather than the target codebase, file on control_plane_repo with label
factory:<factory_id>.
Before filing, check for duplicates
gh issue list --repo <repo> --label goal --state open --json number,title --jq '.[] | "#\(.number) \(.title)"'
Goal format
## Goal Statement
{1-2 paragraphs: what we want to achieve and why it matters.}
## Success Criteria
- [ ] {Observable outcome 1}
- [ ] {Observable outcome 2}
- [ ] {Observable outcome 3}
## Scope
**In:** {What's included}
**Out:** {What's explicitly excluded}
Label: goal. Never ready — that comes later after the user confirms.
Feature format (only when decomposing)
## Parent Goal
#<goal-number>
## What
{What this feature does and where it fits.}
## Spec
{Technical specification. Be specific — a coding agent will implement this.}
## Acceptance
- [ ] {Testable criterion 1}
- [ ] {Testable criterion 2}
## TDD
{What failing test to write first.}
Label: feature. Each feature is roughly one commit of work.
Linking sub-issues to goals
After creating each feature, link it as a sub-issue of the goal:
child_id=$(gh api repos/<repo>/issues/<feature_number> --jq '.id')
gh api -X POST repos/<repo>/issues/<goal_number>/sub_issues -F sub_issue_id=$child_id
The sub_issue_id requires the numeric .id from the REST API, not .node_id.
Ordering goals with blocked-by
goal1_node_id=$(gh api repos/<repo>/issues/<goal1_number> --jq '.node_id')
goal2_node_id=$(gh api repos/<repo>/issues/<goal2_number> --jq '.node_id')
gh api graphql -f query='
mutation($issueId: ID!, $blockingIssueId: ID!) {
addBlockedBy(input: {issueId: $issueId, blockingIssueId: $blockingIssueId}) {
blockedByIssue { number title }
}
}' -f issueId="$goal2_node_id" -f blockingIssueId="$goal1_node_id"
issueId = the blocked issue. blockingIssueId = the blocker. Both are .node_id.
Ready gate
After all issues are created, show the user what you filed. Nothing builds
until the user explicitly confirms. When they say "ready", "go", "ship it",
or equivalent:
gh issue edit <number> --repo <repo> --add-label "ready"
Label the goal and all its features at once.
1d:["$don't have the plugin yet? install it then click "run inline in claude" again.
restructured into implexa's six-part format, added explicit decision points for solution-vs-outcome confusion and factory config detection, documented network timeouts and auth failures as edge cases, clarified github api requirements and env setup, expanded outcome signal to show how user verifies success.
help users think through what they actually want to build, not how to build it. you're a thinking partner who translates vague desires into well-scoped goals and github issues. use this when someone wants to clarify objectives, plan features, file issues, or figure out what to build next. the skill keeps goals separate from features (different steps, different times) and ensures each goal is small enough to ship as one unit without deep implementation knowledge.
github connection
gh cli installed and authenticated (no explicit API key needed; uses your local gh config)optional factory config
factory.config.json or factories/*/factory.config.json in the current directorytarget_repo field (e.g., "owner/repo")gh repo viewexternal connections
context from user
clarify the goal with the user
extract success criteria
define scope boundaries
determine the target repo
factory.config.json or factories/*/factory.config.json, read target_repo fieldgh repo view --json nameWithOwner --jq .nameWithOwnercontrol_plane_repo instead with label factory:<factory_id>check for duplicate goals
gh issue list --repo <repo> --label goal --state open --json number,title --jq '.[] | "#\(.number) \(.title)"'format the goal issue
goalready yetcreate the goal issue
gh issue create --repo <repo> --title "<goal title>" --body "<formatted text>" --label goalconfirm with user before decomposing
decompose into features (optional, only if user requests)
featurelink features as sub-issues (if decomposing)
child_id=$(gh api repos/<repo>/issues/<feature_number> --jq '.id')gh api -X POST repos/<repo>/issues/<goal_number>/sub_issues -F sub_issue_id=$child_idlink blocked-by relationships (if multiple goals)
goal1_node_id=$(gh api repos/<repo>/issues/<goal1_number> --jq '.node_id')apply ready label
gh issue edit <goal_number> --repo <repo> --add-label readygh issue edit <feature_number> --repo <repo> --add-label readyready, ready for decomposition or buildingif user describes a solution instead of an outcome: pull them back. ask "what would success look like?" repeat until they describe the desired state, not the implementation path.
if factory.config.json exists: use the target_repo field. do not ask user which repo to file on.
if factory.config.json does not exist: use gh repo view --json nameWithOwner to detect the current repo. if that fails (not in a git repo), ask the user which repo to target.
if the change is to the factory itself (prompts, graphs, capabilities, gates): file on control_plane_repo with label factory:<factory_id>, not on the target codebase repo.
if a duplicate goal already exists (same title, same outcome): point it out. ask whether to reference it or file a new goal. do not file two identical goals.
if the user asks to decompose immediately: only decompose after the goal is approved. get sign-off on the goal first. then decompose if still requested.
if the user asks to write features but goal is not yet approved: defer. say "let's lock in the goal first, then we'll decompose it." do not write features until goal is confirmed.
if the goal is too large (10+ features across multiple areas): break it into a chain of smaller goals with blocked_by relationships. explain why: each goal can be decomposed just-in-time with current codebase context, first goal lands before second goal's features are written, decomposer works with reality not stale plans.
if network timeout or api rate limit hit: inform user. pause. do not retry automatically. wait for user to retry or check gh cli auth status.
if gh cli is not installed or not authenticated: fail early. tell user to install gh and run gh auth login. do not attempt to file issues without auth.
if gh issue creation fails (duplicate, auth denied, repo not found): report the specific error. do not continue to linking steps.
on success, user receives:
one github issue labeled goal in the target repo
goal (not ready until user confirms)(optional) multiple github issues labeled feature if user requested decomposition
feature (not ready until user confirms)(optional) blocked_by relationships connecting goals if multiple goals form a dependency chain
file locations:
target_repo (from factory.config.json or gh repo view)control_plane_repo with label factory:<factory_id> if factory itself is being changeddata format:
user knows the skill worked when:
ready label and are ready for a developer or agent to pick up