dex-plan

Converting Markdown Documents to Tasks

Command Invocation

Use dex directly for all commands:

dex <command>

If dex is not on PATH, use npx @zeeg/dex <command> instead. Check once at the start:

command -v dex &>/dev/null && echo "use: dex" || echo "use: npx @zeeg/dex"

Use /dex-plan to convert any markdown planning document into a trackable dex task.

When to Use

• After completing a plan in plan mode
• Converting specification documents to trackable tasks
• Converting design documents to implementation tasks
• Creating tasks from roadmap or milestone documents
• Tracking any markdown planning or design content

Supported Documents

Any markdown file containing planning or design content:

• Plan files from plan mode (~/.claude/plans/*.md)
• Specification documents (SPEC.md, REQUIREMENTS.md)
• Design documents (DESIGN.md, ARCHITECTURE.md)
• Roadmaps and milestone documents (ROADMAP.md)
• Feature proposals and technical RFCs

Usage

/dex-plan <markdown-file-path>

Examples

From plan mode:

/dex-plan /home/user/.claude/plans/moonlit-brewing-lynx.md

From specification document:

/dex-plan @SPEC.md

From design document:

/dex-plan docs/AUTHENTICATION_DESIGN.md

From roadmap:

/dex-plan ROADMAP.md

What It Does

1. Reads the markdown file
2. Extracts title from first # heading (or uses filename as fallback)
3. Strips "Plan: " prefix if present (case-insensitive)
4. Creates dex task with full markdown content as context
5. Analyzes plan structure for potential subtask breakdown
6. Automatically creates subtasks when appropriate
7. Returns task ID and breakdown summary

Examples

From plan mode file:

# Plan: Add JWT Authentication

## Summary

...

→ Task description: "Add JWT Authentication" (note: "Plan: " prefix stripped)

From specification document:

# User Authentication Specification

## Requirements

...

→ Task description: "User Authentication Specification"

Automatic Subtask Breakdown

After creating the main task, the skill analyzes the plan structure to determine if breaking it into subtasks adds value.

Hierarchy Levels

The skill supports up to 3 levels (maximum depth enforced by dex):

Level	Name	Example
L0	Epic	"Add user authentication system"
L1	Task	"Implement JWT middleware"
L2	Subtask	"Add token verification function"

When Breakdown Happens

The skill creates subtasks when the plan has:

• 3-7 clearly separable work items (numbered steps, distinct sections, implementation phases)
• Implementation across multiple files or components (different modules, layers, or areas)
• Clear sequential dependencies (step 1 before step 2)
• Independent items that benefit from separate tracking

Epic-level breakdown (creates tasks, not subtasks) when:

• Plan has major phases/sections with their own sub-items
• 5+ distinct areas of work
• Plan spans multiple systems or components
• Work will require multiple sessions

When Breakdown Does NOT Happen

The skill keeps a single task when:

• Plan describes one cohesive task (even if detailed with multiple paragraphs)
• Only 1-2 steps present (not enough to warrant breakdown)
• Work items are tightly coupled (can't be separated meaningfully)
• Plan is exploratory or investigative (research, analysis, discovery)
• Breaking down would create artificial boundaries that don't reflect natural work units

What Each Subtask Contains

When breakdown occurs, each subtask includes:

• Description: Brief summary extracted from list item, heading, or section
• Context: Relevant details from that section plus reference to parent task
• Parent link: Automatically linked to main task via --parent

Example: With Breakdown

Input plan (auth-plan.md):

# Plan: Add Authentication System

## Implementation

1. Create database schema for users/tokens
2. Implement auth controller with endpoints
3. Add JWT middleware for route protection
4. Build frontend login/register forms
5. Add integration tests

Output:

Created task abc123 from plan

Analyzed plan structure: Found 5 distinct implementation steps
Created 5 subtasks:
- abc124: Create database schema for users/tokens
- abc125: Implement auth controller with endpoints
- abc126: Add JWT middleware for route protection
- abc127: Build frontend login/register forms
- abc128: Add integration tests

View full structure: dex show abc123

Example: Without Breakdown

Input plan (bugfix-plan.md):

# Plan: Fix Login Validation Bug

## Problem

Login fails when username has spaces

## Solution

Update validation regex in auth.ts line 42 to allow spaces

Output:

Created task xyz789 from plan

Plan describes a cohesive single task. No subtask breakdown needed.

View task: dex show xyz789

Example: Epic-Level Breakdown (Two-Level Hierarchy)

Input plan (full-auth-plan.md):

# Plan: Complete User Authentication System

## Phase 1: Backend Infrastructure

1. Create database schema for users and sessions
2. Implement password hashing with bcrypt
3. Add JWT token generation and validation

## Phase 2: API Endpoints

1. POST /auth/register - User registration
2. POST /auth/login - User login
3. POST /auth/logout - Session invalidation
4. POST /auth/reset-password - Password reset flow

## Phase 3: Frontend Integration

1. Login/register forms with validation
2. Protected route components
3. Session persistence with refresh tokens

Output:

Created epic abc123 from plan

Analyzed plan structure: Found 3 major phases with sub-items
Created as epic with 3 tasks:
- def456: Backend Infrastructure (3 subtasks)
- ghi789: API Endpoints (4 subtasks)
- jkl012: Frontend Integration (3 subtasks)

View full structure: dex list abc123

Options

/dex-plan <file> --priority 2              # Set priority
/dex-plan <file> --parent abc123           # Create as subtask

After Creating

Once created, you can:

• View the task: dex show <task-id>
• Create additional subtasks: dex create "..." --parent <task-id> --description "..."
• Track progress through implementation
• Complete the task: dex complete <task-id> --result "..."

Run dex show <task-id> to see the full task structure including any automatically created subtasks.

When NOT to Use

• Document is incomplete or exploratory (just draft notes)
• Content isn't actionable or ready for implementation
• File hasn't been saved to disk yet
• File doesn't contain meaningful planning/design content

---

Implementation Instructions for Skill

These instructions are for the skill agent executing /dex-plan. Follow this workflow exactly:

Step 1: Create Main Task

Execute the dex plan command with the provided markdown file:

dex plan <markdown-file> [options]

This creates the parent task and returns its ID. Capture this ID for subsequent steps.

Step 2: Read and Analyze the Plan

After creating the main task, read it back to analyze its structure:

dex show <task-id>

Examine the context field (which contains the full markdown) for breakdown potential.

Step 3: Apply Breakdown Decision Logic

Analyze the plan structure and decide: Should this be broken down into subtasks?

Look for these breakdown indicators:

1. Numbered or bulleted implementation lists (3-7 items):

   ## Implementation
   
   1. Create database schema → SUBTASK
   2. Build API endpoints → SUBTASK
   3. Add frontend components → SUBTASK
   

2. Clear subsections under implementation/tasks/steps:

   ### 1. Backend Changes
   
   - Modify server.ts
   - Add authentication
     → SUBTASK: "Backend Changes" with this context
   
   ### 2. Frontend Updates
   
   - Update login form
   - Add error handling
     → SUBTASK: "Frontend Updates" with this context
   

3. File-specific sections:

   ### `src/auth.ts` - Add JWT validation
   
   [Details about changes]
   → SUBTASK: "Add JWT validation to auth.ts"
   
   ### `src/middleware.ts` - Create auth middleware
   
   [Details about changes]
   → SUBTASK: "Create auth middleware"
   

4. Sequential phases:

   ## Implementation Sequence
   
   **Phase 1: Database Layer**
   [Details] → SUBTASK
   
   **Phase 2: API Layer**
   [Details] → SUBTASK
   
   **Phase 3: Frontend Layer**
   [Details] → SUBTASK
   

Do NOT break down when:

• Only 1-2 steps/items present
• Plan is a single cohesive fix or small change
• Content is exploratory ("investigate", "research", "explore")
• Work items are inseparable (tightly coupled implementation)
• Breaking down creates artificial boundaries
• Plan is very short (< 10 lines of meaningful content)

Step 4: Extract Subtasks (If Breaking Down)

For each identified subtask:

1. Extract description: Use the list item text, heading, or section title

   • Strip numbering and bullets: "1. Add auth" → "Add auth"
   • Keep it concise (1-10 words)
   • Use imperative form: "Add", "Create", "Update", "Fix"

2. Extract context: Include relevant details from that section

   • Copy the full section content for that subtask
   • Add reference: "This is part of [parent task description]"
   • Include code snippets, file paths, specific requirements

3. Create the subtask:

   dex create "<subtask-description>" \
     --parent <parent-task-id> \
     --description "<extracted-context-with-parent-reference>"
   

Step 5: Report Results

If subtasks were created:

Created task <id> from plan

Analyzed plan structure: Found <N> distinct implementation steps
Created <N> subtasks:
- <subtask-id-1>: <description-1>
- <subtask-id-2>: <description-2>
- <subtask-id-3>: <description-3>
...

View full structure: dex show <parent-id>

If no breakdown occurred:

Created task <id> from plan

Plan describes a cohesive single task. No subtask breakdown needed.

View task: dex show <id>

Examples of Subtask Extraction

Example 1: Numbered list

## Implementation Steps

1. Create User model with email, password fields
2. Add POST /api/auth/register endpoint
3. Implement JWT token generation

Extracted subtasks:

dex create "Create User model with email, password fields" \
  --parent abc123 \
  --description "Create a User model with email and password fields. This is part of 'Add Authentication System'."

dex create "Add POST /api/auth/register endpoint" \
  --parent abc123 \
  --description "Add POST /api/auth/register endpoint to handle user registration. This is part of 'Add Authentication System'."

dex create "Implement JWT token generation" \
  --parent abc123 \
  --description "Implement JWT token generation for authenticated sessions. This is part of 'Add Authentication System'."

Example 2: Subsections with details

### Frontend: Login Form Component

Create a new React component at `src/components/LoginForm.tsx`:

- Email and password inputs
- Submit button with loading state
- Error message display
- Validation on submit

### Backend: Auth Routes

Add to `src/routes/auth.ts`:

- POST /login endpoint
- Password verification using bcrypt
- JWT token generation on success

Extracted subtasks:

dex create "Frontend: Login Form Component" \
  --parent abc123 \
  --description "Create a new React component at src/components/LoginForm.tsx with email/password inputs, submit button with loading state, error message display, and validation on submit. This is part of 'Add Authentication System'."

dex create "Backend: Auth Routes" \
  --parent abc123 \
  --description "Add to src/routes/auth.ts: POST /login endpoint, password verification using bcrypt, JWT token generation on success. This is part of 'Add Authentication System'."

Example 3: Should NOT break down

# Plan: Fix Typo in Error Message

## Problem

Error message says 'Sucessful' instead of 'Successful'

## Solution

Fix typo in src/messages.ts line 42

Decision: Single cohesive task, only one change. Do NOT create subtasks.

Key Principles

1. Agent judgment is critical: Use intelligence to determine if breakdown adds value
2. Err on the side of NOT breaking down: Only break down when it clearly helps
3. Each subtask must be meaningful: Not just a single line change
4. Context is essential: Each subtask should have enough context to be actionable independently
5. Preserve plan semantics: Don't force a structure that doesn't match the plan's intent