Top Codex Coder's Plan.md Template

AGENTS.md and ExecPlan markdown templates for programming efficiently with AI coding assistants.

"ExecPlan" becomes shared vocabulary between you and your agent—a code word for task-scoped work plans that structure how features get built.

Inspired by Aaron Friel's OpenAI 2025 DevDay presentation: "Shipping with Codex"

Maintained by Aditya Advani

1. Create .agent/template/PLAN.md — a structured markdown template for feature planning
2. Configure AGENTS.md — instructs your AI agent to create a new ExecPlan for each task by copying the template into a new feature folder (e.g., .agent/orchestrator/PLAN.md)
3. Say "do the plan" — the agent executes methodically, usually one-shotting or completing in 2-3 iterations

• Structured thinking: Forces the agent (and you) to clarify purpose, context, and steps upfront
• Living document: Progress, decisions, and surprises stay in the plan
• Clean workspace: Each feature gets its own folder; option to delete when merged
• Repeatability: The template encodes best practices—TDD, decision logs, verification steps

1. Copy this repo's .agent/template/PLAN.md and AGENTS.md into your project
2. (Optional) Add to .gitignore to keep plans local:
   .agent/* !.agent/template/
3. Tell your agent: "Create an ExecPlan for [feature] following the template"
4. Execute: "Do the plan"

• One ExecPlan = One Task: Each plan maps to a task (feature, refactor, bug fix, etc), sometimes with subtasks tracked as well in the Progress section
• TDD first: AGENTS.md includes test-driven development guidance
• Concurrency: Running multiple plans in parallel is possible but requires orchestration (still figuring this out myself)
• Cleanup: Delete feature folders post-merge if working in a shared codebase

If you've adapted this workflow or have insights on running multiple concurrent agents (especially in Codex web or as codex cli background jobs in sandboxes), please share!

MIT