Research -> Plan -> Implement -> Validate (RPI-V)

Use this skill when

• The task is non-trivial and benefits from explicit phase boundaries with durable artifacts.
• Work spans multiple files, decisions, or validation steps and is safer executed one phase at a time.
• The user wants end-to-end disciplined execution rather than only planning, only review, or a narrow specialist workflow.

Do not use this skill when

• The task is a tiny fix or direct answer where the full ceremony costs more than it saves.
• The user wants only a plan or plan revision → use plan-review; only implementation review → use implementation-review; only a contract-shaped execution brief or definition of done → use reverse-prompt; or a narrower specialist workflow that another skill covers better.
• The repo already imposes a stricter required workflow and the job is to follow that process.

Inputs to gather

Required before starting

• The concrete outcome the user wants.
• The current repository or target working directory.
• The relevant local instructions, conventions, and constraints for the touched area.
• Whether the user expects plan approval before implementation.

Helpful if present

• Existing plan.md content for the current workspace or task branch.
• Prior research, checkpoints, or handoff notes already saved under a workspace files/ directory.
• Existing tests, build commands, lint commands, or release checks for the area being changed.
• Known risk areas such as migrations, code generation, auth, or production-facing behavior.

Only investigate if encountered

• Legacy /share or thoughts/shared/... artifacts from older sessions.
• Large context pressure that requires checkpointing or a phase boundary reset.
• Parallel-agent coordination details such as worktrees or isolated lanes.

First move

1. Decide whether the task truly needs the full RPI-V workflow or a narrower skill.
2. Read the minimum relevant instructions and inspect the codebase without making changes.
3. Create or refresh a workspace plan.md with the problem, scope, phase list, and validation approach.
4. If research needs to persist beyond the current turn, save concise notes under a workspace files/ directory before moving on.

Workflow

1. Research

• Stay read-only; prefer targeted searches and a small set of relevant files over loading broad context.
• Identify the exact files, commands, constraints, and open questions that should shape the plan.
• Save research notes to files/ only when they help later phases or a future handoff (e.g. files/research-<topic>.md).

2. Plan

• Use plan.md as the primary planning artifact: concrete phases, files to touch, verification commands, success criteria, and notable risks or approvals.
• If the user wants plan approval, stop after updating plan.md and route through plan-review before editing code.

3. Implement

• Implement one meaningful phase at a time; run planned checks before advancing.
• Keep plan.md aligned with reality when scope, sequencing, or risks change.
• Use files/ for checkpoints or handoffs when context gets crowded or work continues later (e.g. files/checkpoint-<topic>.md).

4. Validate

• Run the most relevant verification first (targeted), then broaden as needed.
• Compare the result against plan.md; call out intentional or accidental deviations.
• Record follow-ups or residual risks; save a handoff note in files/ only when evidence needs to persist (e.g. files/validation-<topic>.md).

Guardrails

• Must not make code changes during the research phase.
• Must not treat legacy /share or thoughts/shared/... paths as the default artifact model; use workspace-local artifacts instead.
• Must not skip validation because the implementation appears straightforward.
• Should keep artifacts lean: plan.md for the executable plan, files/ for research, checkpoints, and durable notes that need to persist.
• Should pause for approval when the user asked for plan gating, reviewer gating, or similar governance.
• Should prefer narrower specialist skills when a task collapses to a smaller problem after research.
• May reuse older shared artifacts for compatibility when a workflow already started that way, but convert back to workspace-local artifacts where practical.

Validation

• Run the most relevant checks from plan.md, starting targeted and broadening when risk requires it.
• Compare the final state against the plan and call out any intentional or accidental deviations.
• Update plan.md or a concise files/ handoff only when the evidence needs to persist beyond the final response.
• End with validation status, residual risks, and the next step.

Reference files

• Read references/examples.md for concrete activation examples and expected behavior.
• Read references/edge-cases.md when the task is a near miss, becomes smaller than expected, or needs a mid-workflow reset.
• Read references/prompts.md when you want phase-by-phase starter prompts that match the native workspace-artifact workflow.