Run a fresh reviewer round against the current task plan, revise the <plan> section after every in-scope VERDICT: REVISE, and repeat until the plan reaches VERDICT: APPROVED, the loop hits 5 rounds, or the task must return to /apex:research or /apex:plan because the inputs are too weak for safe review.
Target: 2-3 rounds. Hard max: 5 rounds.
You can find tasks in ./apex/tasks/ or run with: /apex:review-plan [identifier] Load task file, extract the current plan, and start round 1.
- Create a compact round summary for the reviewer:
- Current plan snapshot - Contract and research constraints - Prior round findings and what changed since then
- Spawn exactly one fresh subagent for the round
- Instruct the subagent:
- This is a read-only review round - Do not edit files - Review the plan as an adversary, not a collaborator - Inspect repo files if needed to verify feasibility - Focus on: - mandatory artifact completeness - architecture soundness - contract coverage - contract version / amendment acknowledgement - security concerns - edge cases and failure modes - concurrency, state, ordering, and race risks - pattern provenance and trust alignment - documentation drift - non-functional requirement coverage - validation quality and realism - implementation sequencing and dependency order - research-to-plan mismatches
- Require the subagent to return this structure:
ROUND: [N]
VERDICT: [REVISE|APPROVED]
NEXT ACTION: [CONTINUE|RETURN_TO_RESEARCH|RETURN_TO_PLAN|IMPLEMENT]
MUST FIX
- ...
NON-BLOCKING
- ...
SUGGESTED PLAN EDITS
- ...
APPROVAL SUMMARY
- ...Rules for the verdict:
APPROVEDonly when there are no blocking issues leftREVISEwhen any blocking issue remains- Reviewer must not use softer top-line verdicts like
PROCEEDorRETHINK
Rules for NEXT ACTION:
CONTINUEmeans the plan is reviewable and can be revised in placeRETURN_TO_RESEARCHmeans the evidence base is too weak for safe reviewRETURN_TO_PLANmeans the plan is below threshold or requires scope / contract reworkIMPLEMENTis only valid withVERDICT: APPROVED
- Extract the blocking findings
- If
NEXT ACTIONisRETURN_TO_RESEARCH:
- stop the loop - do not edit <plan> - instruct the user to run /apex:research [identifier]
- If
NEXT ACTIONisRETURN_TO_PLAN:
- stop the loop - do not edit <plan> - instruct the user to run /apex:plan [identifier]
- Otherwise continue with in-scope plan fixes
- Update the task's
<plan>section directly to resolve them - Keep edits scoped to the plan:
- preserve all 5 mandatory artifacts - preserve architecture decision, builder handoff, and contract validation - acknowledge contract version and any amendments - preserve or restore docs drift, pattern provenance, and NFR coverage checks - refine architecture choice - add missing mitigations - cover uncovered acceptance criteria - tighten sequencing - replace vague validation with concrete commands - clarify ownership of edge cases or concurrency handling
- Do not edit
<task-contract>or<research> - If a blocking issue cannot be fixed without changing contract scope, assumptions, or acceptance criteria:
- stop the loop - report VERDICT: REVISE - set next action to RETURN_TO_PLAN - instruct the user to return to /apex:plan [identifier]
- After editing the plan, validate the mutation before the next round:
- reread the task file - confirm the <plan> block still parses and is isolated from surrounding sections - confirm the edit stayed scoped to <plan> - confirm required plan artifacts were not accidentally removed - if the task file is malformed, repair it before continuing; if that is not possible, stop and return to /apex:plan [identifier]
- After each revision, summarize in chat:
- what the reviewer flagged
- what changed in the plan
- what remains to validate next round
- Start the next round with a fresh reviewer subagent
If round 5 ends with VERDICT: REVISE:
- Stop the loop
- Set next action to
RETURN_TO_PLAN - Do not continue beyond 5 rounds
- Present the unresolved blockers
- Recommend returning to
/apex:plan [identifier]for a larger rework
Round Status
- Round [N]: [REVISE|APPROVED]
- Repeat for each executed round, up to 5
Final Verdict
VERDICT: [REVISE|APPROVED]
Next Action
[RETURN_TO_RESEARCH|RETURN_TO_PLAN|IMPLEMENT]
Blocking Findings
- [Finding + exact fix, if any remain]
Plan Changes Made
- [High-signal summary of plan revisions applied during the loop]
Final Notes
- [If IMPLEMENT]: Ready for
/apex:implement [identifier] - [If RETURN_TO_RESEARCH]: Return to
/apex:research [identifier] - [If RETURN_TO_PLAN]: Return to
/apex:plan [identifier]
- Missing mandatory plan artifacts or thin placeholder artifacts
- Missing or contradictory contract coverage
- Missing contract version / amendment acknowledgement
- Architecture that does not match research evidence
- Security-sensitive gaps with no mitigation or explicit exclusion
- Concurrency/state/order-of-operations risks left implicit
- Edge cases handled with wishful thinking
- Pattern claims that do not trace back to research or codebase evidence
- Documentation drift identified in research but absent from the plan
- Non-functional requirements without validation coverage
- Validation gates that are vague, manual-only, or not runnable
- File or dependency assumptions that do not match the repo