Plan-and-execute
The model writes a plan first, then works through each step of it.
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Analogy
Writing the ticket checklist before you start coding, instead of discovering the plan by accident.
In an agent
Useful for long tasks where a visible plan makes the agent easier to follow and correct.
Questions people ask
What is the plan-and-execute pattern?
The model first writes a plan, a list of steps, and then works through them one by one, possibly updating the plan as it learns more. It differs from plain ReAct, which decides only the next step each time. A visible plan makes long tasks easier to follow, check and correct.
When is plan-and-execute better than a simple agent loop?
For long tasks with many steps, where seeing the plan helps. A person can review it before work starts, and you can show progress against it. For short tasks of two or three tool calls, planning is overhead; the plain loop is faster and cheaper.