Plan-first workflow
Plan-first workflow is the agent pattern of explicitly drafting and (sometimes) confirming the plan before executing — catching misunderstandings before code is changed, instead of after.
Plan-first workflow is the production default for coding agents in 2026. The agent: receives the task, outlines what files will change and how, optionally pauses for human approval, then executes. The cost: a small upfront latency for the plan. The win: most agent failures stem from misunderstood requirements, and plan-first catches those before code changes happen. Claude Code, Cline, Cursor agent mode, OpenAI Codex all default to plan-first. Best practice: keep plans short and concrete — long plans are skimmed by humans and miss the point.
When to use plan-first workflow
- Any agent doing non-trivial code changes.
- Multi-file or multi-step engineering tasks.
Common mistakes
- Skipping plan-first on simple tasks — usually still worth a 1-line plan to catch misunderstandings.
- Plans too long — keep them concrete and short.
FAQ
What is plan-first workflow?
Plan-first workflow is the agent pattern of explicitly drafting and (sometimes) confirming the plan before executing — catching misunderstandings before code is changed, instead of after.
When should I use plan-first workflow?
Any agent doing non-trivial code changes. Multi-file or multi-step engineering tasks.
What are the most common mistakes with plan-first workflow?
Skipping plan-first on simple tasks — usually still worth a 1-line plan to catch misunderstandings. Plans too long — keep them concrete and short.
Related terms
- AI agent — An AI agent is a system where a language model autonomously plans and executes a sequence of tool calls to accomplish a goal.
- Agent loop — An agent loop is the repeating cycle of an AI agent — observe state, decide on an action (usually a tool call), execute, observe the result, and repeat — until a goal is reached or a stop condition fires.
- IDE agent — An IDE agent is an AI coding assistant embedded inside an integrated development environment — Cursor, Cline, Windsurf, Roo Code, GitHub Copilot agent mode — that can edit multiple files, run commands, and run tests autonomously from inside the editor.
- Terminal agent — A terminal agent is an AI coding assistant that runs in the user's terminal — Claude Code, Aider, OpenAI Codex CLI — interacting with the file system and shell rather than an IDE editor.
Last updated: 2026-06-01. Raw markdown: https://promtable.com/glossary/plan-first.md.