---

name: planner version: 1.0.0 min_doctl_version: "1.82.0" description: Generate staged project plans from design through deployment. Use when planning App Platform projects, breaking complex deployments into resumable stages, or tracking multi-step infrastructure setup. related_skills: [designer, deployment, postgres, networking] deprecated: false

Planner Skill

Generate staged project plans that break complex projects into manageable, resumable steps - from initial design through coding, testing, to cloud deployment.

Tip: For a complete overview of all available skills, see the root SKILL.md.

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Greenfield vs Brownfield Detection

The AI assistant automatically detects the project state. Don't recreate valid artifacts. The critical validation gate is doctl app dev build — if that passes, artifacts are correct.

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Why Staged Deployment?

Complex App Platform deployments fail when executed monolithically:

1. Blind deployment fails - Deploying without infrastructure prep results in cryptic errors
2. Context is lost - Credentials, cluster IDs, and progress are forgotten between sessions
3. Debugging is harder - When everything deploys at once, it's unclear which component failed
4. Resumability is poor - Starting over wastes time; partial progress isn't tracked

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Build Locally First

CRITICAL: Always validate builds locally before cloud deployment.

Copydoctl app dev build                    # Build using local app spec
doctl app dev build --app <APP_ID>     # Build using existing deployed app
doctl app dev build --env-file .env    # Build with environment overrides

Full details: See build-local-first.md

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Tier Classification

Detection from User Description

Decision Tree

CopyDoes user mention Kafka, OpenSearch, workers, or "event-driven"?
  YES → Tier 3 (Complex)
  NO → Does user mention database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB)?
         YES → Tier 2 (Database-backed)
         NO → Tier 1 (Simple)

Detection from app.yaml (Fallback)

If .do/app.yaml exists:

• workers present → Tier 3
• databases with KAFKA or OPENSEARCH → Tier 3
• databases present → Tier 2
• Neither → Tier 1

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Tier Structures

Tier 1: Simple (5 stages)

Criteria: Static sites, single service, no database

CopyPlan/
├── 01-local-design.md
├── 02-local-coding.md
├── 03-local-testing.md
├── 04-cloud-deploy.md
└── 05-cloud-validate.md

Examples: Next.js static export, React SPA, Hugo site, Astro

Tier 2: Database-Backed (7 stages)

Criteria: 1-2 services, single database (PostgreSQL/MySQL)

CopyPlan/
├── 01-local-design.md
├── 02-local-coding.md
├── 03-local-testing.md
├── 04-cloud-database.md
├── 05-cloud-config.md
├── 06-cloud-deploy.md
└── 07-cloud-validate.md

Examples: Rails + PostgreSQL, Django + MySQL, Node.js API + Postgres

Tier 3: Complex (9 stages)

Criteria: Multi-service, workers, Kafka/OpenSearch, VPC networking

CopyPlan/
├── 01-local-design.md
├── 02-local-coding.md
├── 03-local-testing.md
├── 04-cloud-database-clusters.md
├── 05-cloud-config-users-topics.md
├── 06-cloud-debug-validation.md
├── 07-cloud-secrets-cicd.md
├── 08-cloud-deploy-production.md
└── 09-cloud-end-to-end.md

Examples: Event-driven microservices, ML pipelines, real-time analytics

CRITICAL: Tier 3 apps MUST use GitHub Actions for deployment

Tier 3 apps have ${SECRET_NAME} placeholders only resolved by digitalocean/app_action/deploy@v2.

• Set deploy_on_push: false in .do/app.yaml
• Deploy via git push (triggers GitHub Actions), NOT doctl apps create

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Stage Templates

Stage templates are provided in the templates/ directory:

Each stage file follows this structure:

Copy# Stage N: [Stage Name]

**Status**: TODO
**Prerequisites**: Stage N-1 complete

## Tasks
- [ ] Task description
- [ ] Expected outcome

## Verification
[Commands to verify completion]

## Next Steps
Proceed to Stage N+1

Key validation gate: Stage 3 includes doctl app dev build and health check validation.

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Usage Examples

Example 1: Simple Static Site

User: "Deploy a Next.js static site"

1. Detect Tier 1 (no database)
2. Generate 5 stage files in Plan/
3. Return: "Created 5-stage plan. Start with Stage 1: Local Design."

Example 2: API with Database

User: "Node.js API with PostgreSQL"

1. Detect Tier 2 (PostgreSQL)
2. Generate 7 stage files in Plan/
3. Return: "Created 7-stage plan. Database cluster created in Stage 4."

Example 3: Event-Driven Microservices

User: "Event-driven app with Kafka and OpenSearch"

1. Detect Tier 3 (Kafka + OpenSearch)
2. Generate 9 stage files in Plan/
3. Return: "Created 9-stage plan with debug container validation."

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Key Features

Session Resumability

• Stage files persist in git (status tracking only)
• All captured values stored in .env.secrets (gitignored)
• AI assistants read .env.secrets to resume from any stage

Artifact Storage

• Plan files contain status only, not secrets
• All IDs, passwords, URLs stored in .env.secrets
• See artifact-storage.md for philosophy

Pause Points

• Each stage ends with verification checklist
• Explicit "proceed to Stage N+1" guidance
• Troubleshooting sections for common failures

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Reference Files

• build-local-first.md — Full doctl app dev build workflow
• artifact-storage.md — Storage philosophy, AI instructions

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Integration with Other Skills

• ← designer: Uses .do/app.yaml for complexity detection if exists
• → deployment: Plan/ files provide context; Stage 7 creates GitHub Actions workflow
• → troubleshooting: Plan/ stages help identify where failure occurred
• → devcontainers: Local development setup for testing