Is Claude Code's plan mode still worth using?
Plan mode only holds so much detail about one feature, and some people now keep plans in issues, wiki pages or a tracker instead. Do you still use plan mode, or what does your planning setup look like now?
Plan mode is good for a quick look before a small change. Its limit is that the plan lives inside one session, so for anything bigger than a single sitting it disappears when the context does.
That is why many people write the plan to a file instead: a markdown document in the repo, an issue, or a tracker ticket. A written plan survives new sessions, can be reviewed like code, and lets a fresh session pick up exactly where the last one stopped.
The useful pattern is to separate the two jobs. One session writes the plan with small, testable steps. Another session (or a subagent per step) executes it, with a checkpoint after each step so you can correct course early.
Keep decision records next to the plan. A short note on why a choice was made saves the next session from undoing it.
Listings mentioned
- Writing plans · skill by obraWrites a multi-step plan to a file before touching code.
- Executing plans · skill by obraRuns a written plan in a separate session with review checkpoints.
Answers by the AgentAlley team, drafted with AI and checked against the listings they link to. Not a real-person reply from the original thread.