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docs: refine Plan Mode documentation structure and workflow - #19644

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jerop merged 3 commits into
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update-planning-workflow
Feb 20, 2026
Merged

docs: refine Plan Mode documentation structure and workflow#19644
jerop merged 3 commits into
mainfrom
update-planning-workflow

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@jerop jerop commented Feb 20, 2026

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Refactors the Plan Mode guide to emphasize its role in research, design, and strategic planning.

  • Streamlined introduction highlighting research, design, and planning benefits.
  • Consolidated initiation methods and configuration options under 'Entering plan mode'.
  • Refined the implementation workflow to accurately reflect the 4-step 'Explore, Consult, Draft, Review' cycle.
  • Standardized terminology (e.g., 'Gemini CLI'), heading casing, and placeholder syntax.
  • Improved cross-referencing for YOLO mode, subagents, and the policy engine.

Related to #16871
Preview: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/blob/update-planning-workflow/docs/cli/plan-mode.md

Refactors the Plan Mode guide to emphasize its role in research, design, and strategic planning. Key updates include:

- Streamlined introduction highlighting research, design, and planning benefits.
- Consolidated initiation methods and configuration options under 'Entering plan mode'.
- Refined the implementation workflow to accurately reflect the 4-step 'Explore, Consult, Draft, Review' cycle.
- Standardized terminology (e.g., 'Gemini CLI'), heading casing, and placeholder syntax.
- Improved cross-referencing for YOLO mode, subagents, and the policy engine.
- Removed the manual table of contents to comply with documentation standards.
@jerop
jerop requested review from a team as code owners February 20, 2026 15:10
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Summary of Changes

Hello @jerop, I'm Gemini Code Assist1! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request significantly refines the Plan Mode documentation within the Gemini CLI. The changes aim to provide a clearer, more structured, and user-friendly guide by reorganizing content, standardizing terminology, and detailing an updated planning workflow. This enhancement helps users better understand Plan Mode's purpose, how to enable and utilize it effectively for strategic planning, and how to customize its behavior.

Highlights

  • Documentation Structure Refinement: The Plan Mode guide's introduction was streamlined to emphasize its role in research, design, and strategic planning, detailing benefits like exploration, design, and planning before implementation.
  • Consolidated Initiation Methods: Methods for entering Plan Mode, including default configuration, keyboard shortcuts, commands, and natural language prompts, were consolidated under a single 'Entering Plan Mode' section for clarity.
  • Updated Planning Workflow: The planning workflow was refined to accurately reflect a new 4-step 'Explore & Analyze, Consult, Draft, Review & Approval' cycle, providing a clearer procedural guide.
  • Terminology and Cross-referencing: Terminology was standardized (e.g., 'Gemini CLI'), heading casing was made consistent, and cross-referencing to related features like YOLO mode, subagents, and the policy engine was improved.
  • Removed Manual Table of Contents: The manual table of contents was removed to comply with documentation standards, allowing for automatic generation.
  • Relocated Custom Plan Directory Section: The section detailing 'Custom Plan Directory and Policies' was moved to a more logical position within the 'Tool Restrictions' section, after 'Customizing Policies'.
Changelog
  • docs/cli/plan-mode.md
    • Updated the introductory description of Plan Mode, detailing its benefits for research, design, and planning.
    • Revised the section on enabling and entering Plan Mode, consolidating configuration options and entry methods.
    • Refined the 'Planning Workflow' to outline a new four-step process: Explore & Analyze, Consult, Draft, and Review & Approval.
    • Standardized terminology, such as replacing 'agent' with 'Gemini CLI' and updating heading casing.
    • Improved cross-references to related documentation for YOLO mode, subagents, and the policy engine.
    • Relocated the 'Custom Plan Directory and Policies' section for better flow.
    • Removed the manual table of contents.
Activity
  • No specific activity (comments, reviews, etc.) was provided in the context for this pull request.
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@jerop jerop linked an issue Feb 20, 2026 that may be closed by this pull request

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Code Review

The documentation for Plan Mode has been significantly improved with a clearer workflow and better organization. The introduction is more benefit-oriented, and the transition from 'Starting' to 'Enabling' Plan Mode is well-handled. I found a technical issue in the regex example for custom policies where excessive backslashes are used, which would prevent the policy from matching correctly. Also, the PR description mentions removing the manual table of contents, but it appears to have been updated instead.

Comment thread docs/cli/plan-mode.md Outdated
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github-actions Bot commented Feb 20, 2026

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Size Change: -2 B (0%)

Total Size: 25.1 MB

ℹ️ View Unchanged
Filename Size Change
./bundle/gemini.js 25.1 MB -2 B (0%)
./bundle/sandbox-macos-permissive-open.sb 890 B 0 B
./bundle/sandbox-macos-permissive-proxied.sb 1.31 kB 0 B
./bundle/sandbox-macos-restrictive-open.sb 3.36 kB 0 B
./bundle/sandbox-macos-restrictive-proxied.sb 3.56 kB 0 B
./bundle/sandbox-macos-strict-open.sb 4.82 kB 0 B
./bundle/sandbox-macos-strict-proxied.sb 5.02 kB 0 B

compressed-size-action

@gemini-cli gemini-cli Bot added area/core Issues related to User Interface, OS Support, Core Functionality 🔒 maintainer only ⛔ Do not contribute. Internal roadmap item. labels Feb 20, 2026
@jerop
jerop enabled auto-merge February 20, 2026 15:26
@jerop
jerop added this pull request to the merge queue Feb 20, 2026
Merged via the queue into main with commit 429932c Feb 20, 2026
26 of 27 checks passed
@jerop
jerop deleted the update-planning-workflow branch February 20, 2026 16:19
tripleyoung pushed a commit to tripleyoung/gemini-cli that referenced this pull request Feb 27, 2026
tripleyoung pushed a commit to tripleyoung/gemini-cli that referenced this pull request Feb 27, 2026
liamhelmer pushed a commit to badal-io/gemini-cli that referenced this pull request Mar 12, 2026
@sripasg sripasg added the size/m A medium sized PR label Jun 2, 2026
software-0ficial pushed a commit to software-0ficial/gemini-cli that referenced this pull request Jul 9, 2026
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Add documentation for planning features

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