Agent skill · operations · sickn33
planning-and-task-breakdown
Breaks work into ordered tasks. Use when you have a spec or clear requirements and need to break work into implementable tasks. Use when a task feels too large to start, when you need to estimate scope, or when parallel work is possible.
Why this skill is useful
Codifies a structured approach to task breakdown that helps the AI avoid vague or overly large tasks.
What it needs
About 6k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 44,571 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Supporting material availability This catalog copy contains the inline guidance below, but does not include the following supporting paths. They are external prerequisites, not bundled files: <support-root>/references/definition-of-done.md Obtain the required material from the declared upstream source, or from a user-provided installation of that source. Resolve each path relative to that installation, inspect its contents, and verify any applicable license and execution prerequisites. Do not run a command or claim a referenced procedure was followed until its required file exists. Do not fabricate the missing scripts or treat an unrelated file with the same name as equivalent. Independent steps fully documented here can proceed within the user’s authorized scope; report any dependent step as unavailable. Planning and Task Breakdown Overview Decompose work into small, verifiable tasks with explicit acceptance criteria. Good task breakdown is the difference between an agent that completes work reliably and one that produces a tangled mess. Every task should be small enough to implement, test, and verify in a single focused session. When to Use You have a spec and need to break it into implementable units A task feels too large or vague to start Work needs to be parallelized across multiple agents or sessions You need to communicate scope to a human The implementation order isn't obvious When NOT to use: Single-file changes with obvious scope, or when the spec already contains well-defined tasks. The Planning Process Step 1: Enter Plan Mode Before writing any code, operate in read-only mode: Read the spec and relevant codebase sections Identify existing patterns and conventions Map dependencies between components Note risks and unknowns Do NOT write code during planning. The output is a plan document, not implementation. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills sickn33/planning-and-task-breakdown