# Plans
Stop losing track of what was decided and why. Valdr Plans give you **one place to see every plan you've created**—with requirements, tasks, and design decisions all connected. When someone asks "what's the spec for this?" the answer is one click away.

**Plans are the blueprint for execution in Valdr.** Each plan carries its idea, constraints, success criteria, design rationale, and generated tasks—so the "why" behind work stays visible even months later. Requirements trace forward to tasks; tasks trace back to requirements.

Every plan connects to a project, links requirements to tasks, and provides a traceable history from idea to implementation. Plans live in your local workspace—they help you keep intent, decisions, and requirements intact across the projects you contribute to.

{{< thumbcard src="/images/ui/plans/plan-list-overview.png" alt="Plans list showing status, requirements, and tasks counts" caption="See all plans across projects at a glance—filter by project or search by title" >}}

## What this section covers

- **[Plan List](plan-list/)** — Browse, filter, and search plans across all projects
- **[Plan Detail](plan-detail/)** — Deep dive into individual plans with tabs for summary, document, requirements, tasks, and metadata

## Why Valdr plans are different

Traditional planning tools give you documents that drift from reality. AI coding assistants plan in memory—then discard everything when the session ends. Valdr plans stay **connected to execution** and **persist beyond the session**—requirements link to tasks, tasks link back to requirements, and the rationale remains visible long after the work is done.

**Structured by design** — Every plan has the same anatomy: idea, constraints, success criteria, design (problem, approach, risks), and requirements. No more "where did we document that?" hunting.

**Requirements traceability** — Each requirement gets a unique ID (`REQ-1`, `REQ-2`). Tasks link to requirements they fulfill. When a task completes, you know which requirements it addressed.

**Living documentation** — The Document tab renders the full plan as Markdown. Copy it, share it, or use it as the source of truth for stakeholder conversations.

**Task generation** — Plans don't just describe work—they generate it. Tasks created from plans inherit requirements, acceptance criteria, and context automatically.

Use **[Planner](../planner/)** to shape ideas into structured plans. Use **Plans** to preserve the decisions and trace them to execution.

## Plan lifecycle

Plans flow through three statuses:

| Status | What it means |
|--------|---------------|
| **Draft** | Work in progress, still being refined |
| **Approved** | Ready for execution, tasks can be worked |
| **Archived** | Completed or superseded, kept for reference |

Watch your plans move from draft to approved as they're reviewed and finalized.

## Get started in 60 seconds

{{% steps %}}

### Navigate to Plans

Click **Plans** in the left sidebar. You'll see all plans across your projects, with requirement and task counts.

### Filter to what matters

Use the project dropdown to scope to one project. Search by plan key, title, or project name.

### Open a plan

Click any row to see the full detail view—summary, rendered document, requirements, linked tasks, and metadata all in one place.

### Create from Planner

Click the **+** button to open the Planner—turn intent into requirements and tasks instantly. Plans created through the Planner automatically generate structured requirements and linked tasks.

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## Common outcomes

Developers using Valdr plans consistently see:

- **Faster onboarding** — New contributors read the plan once and understand the full scope, constraints, and success criteria
- **Fewer scope disputes** — Requirements are explicit and traceable; "that wasn't in scope" becomes verifiable
- **Cleaner handoffs** — Plans document the "why" so future maintainers don't have to guess

## Next steps

{{< cards >}}
  {{< card link="plan-list/" title="Plan List" icon="table" >}}
  {{< card link="plan-detail/" title="Plan Detail" icon="document-text" >}}
  {{< card link="../planner/" title="Planner" icon="clipboard-list" >}}
{{< /cards >}}

**Ready to see it in action?** Open your Plans list and click into any plan—see how requirements connect to tasks and how the full context stays visible.