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Skip plan mode for fully-specified sequential tasks #43

@barkain

Description

@barkain

Problem

The orchestrator's routing table in commands/delegate.md always sends multi-step tasks into plan mode (EnterPlanMode), even when the task is fully specified with exact steps and no design decisions needed.

Example: "update version numbers to 2.0.1, commit, push, merge PR, tag, release" — every step is trivially defined, yet the orchestrator enters plan mode, writes a plan, and waits for approval. The user has to reject the plan and say "just do it."

Root Cause

The routing decision tree (Step 3 in commands/delegate.md) has four buckets:

Pattern Route
Breadth + Write Direct execution (skip plan)
Multi-phase workflow (connectors like "then", "and") Plan mode
Read-only breadth Explore agents
Single simple task Single agent

There's no distinction between "complex multi-phase needing design decisions" and "well-specified sequential checklist." Any task with multiple steps and connectors ("then", "and then", sequential verbs) gets routed to plan mode unconditionally.

Desired Behavior

Add a routing signal for fully-specified sequential tasks — tasks where:

  • The user listed exact steps (numbered or ordered)
  • No design decisions or ambiguities exist
  • Steps are trivially mapped to agents without decomposition

These should route to direct sequential execution (spawn agents per step, no plan mode).

Possible Detection Heuristics

  • User provided numbered/ordered steps
  • User used imperative language ("do X, then Y, then Z")
  • No ambiguity markers ("should we", "which approach", "evaluate")
  • Explicit user signals: "just do it", "no plan needed", "skip planning"

Context

Observed during the v2.0.1 release workflow (PR #42 merge cycle). The user had to reject plan mode and manually override with "just do it, no need for a plan."

Separate from the infinite delegate→plan→approve loop (fixed in v2.0.1) — that bug was about re-entering plan mode after approval; this is about entering plan mode unnecessarily in the first place.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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