@milanglacier/pi-plan-mode

Structured planning mode for pi — think before you code.

Fork notice

This repository is a standalone fork of @ifi/pi-plan, originally created by Ifiok Jr.. The initial source was imported from ifiokjr/oh-pi@7ef2e7b.

Differences from upstream

• No planner subagent: Plan mode is a direct extension of the main conversation — it injects a planning prompt and exposes tools on the main agent. There is no separate planner agent. If you want orchestrated subagents with a dedicated planner, consider @tintinweb/pi-subagents instead.
• Built-in dialogs for request_user_input: The custom TUI wizard was replaced with pi's native ctx.ui dialogs (select and input). This means the tool works with any pi UI that supports the built-in dialog API — including RPC-connected clients — without requiring custom UI adoption.

Why use this?

Direct implementation works for small tasks, but complex features benefit from planning first:

• Avoid rework: Plan the architecture before writing code
• Capture decisions: The plan file documents why you made certain choices
• Resume later: Planning state persists across sessions

Plan mode turns planning into a first-class pi workflow with its own tools, banners, and file management.

What planning feels like

/plan

┌─ Start Plan Mode ──────────────────────────┐
│                                             │
│  Empty branch    Start a new planning       │
│                  branch from scratch        │
│                                             │
│  Current branch  Continue from where the    │
│                  conversation left off      │
│                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

While active, a banner stays visible:

┌ PLAN MODE ─ /home/user/projects/app/session-abc.plan.md ─────┐
│ [plan-mode tools are active: request_user_input, set_plan]     │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Exiting plan mode shows a summary:

Plan mode ended.
Plan saved to: /home/user/projects/app/session-abc.plan.md

Installation

pi install npm:@milanglacier/pi-plan-mode

Commands

Command	Action
/plan	Enter plan mode (or show actions if already active)
/plan [file-path]	Use a specific file as the plan file
/plan [directory]	Create a timestamped plan file in that directory
/request-user-input [on|off|toggle]	Enable or disable the request_user_input tool without changing plan mode

Shortcut

Alt+P — toggle plan mode without typing /plan.

The shortcut can be configured in pi-plan-mode.jsonc:

• Global: ~/.pi/agent/pi-plan-mode.jsonc
• Project-local: <project>/.pi/pi-plan-mode.jsonc (overrides the global file)

{
  "enable_request_user_input_on_startup": false,
  "keybinding": {
    "toggle_plan_mode": ["ctrl+alt+p", "shift+f2"]
  }
}

Use an empty list ("toggle_plan_mode": []) to disable the shortcut. If the option is omitted, the default remains alt+p.

enable_request_user_input_on_startup enables request_user_input in normal mode when the session starts. It defaults to false to preserve the plan-mode-only behavior. You can change it for the current session with /request-user-input on, /request-user-input off, or /request-user-input (toggle).

Tools available in plan mode

Plan mode always exposes set_plan and request_user_input, regardless of the normal-mode setting. request_user_input can also be enabled in normal mode with the startup setting or command.

Tool	Purpose
request_user_input	Ask clarifying questions with optional choices
set_plan	Overwrite the plan file with the latest full plan text

When plan mode ends, set_plan disappears. request_user_input remains available in normal mode only when enabled independently.

Customization

The default plan-mode prompt lives at prompts/PLAN.prompt.md. Override it globally by creating ~/.pi/agent/PLAN.prompt.md. If the override file is missing or blank, the bundled prompt is used.

Plan file management

• Default plan file: replaces the session extension with .plan.md in the session directory
• Plan files persist after exiting — resume later with /plan
• While active, /plan <location> moves the current plan file

Notes

• Ships raw TypeScript — no build step needed
• Plan mode does not automatically trigger implementation — it's for thinking, not coding