The /wayfinder Skill: Navigating the Fog of War of Planning

Matt Pocock has released a new AI skill called wayfinder, designed to help developers and AI agents plan projects when the final end state is not entirely clear from the start. Pocock calls this uncertain phase the fog of war, where it is impossible to decide everything right at the beginning.

The wayfinder skill acts as an orchestrator layer that handles planning sessions by splitting work across multiple threads, handling research, and running prototypes. It uses a centralized document approach containing precise leading words like maps, tickets, and sessions to prevent agent confusion and manage the flow of information. Different ticket types include grilling sessions, prototyping, research, and broad tasks for the human user.

Pocock designed wayfinder to overcome the limitations and context window constraints of manual session management during planning. By establishing a ubiquitous language and consistent dictionary between the human and the agent, wayfinder allows users to delegate complex, open-ended planning so that autonomous agents can generate detailed specifications and execute heavier workloads overnight.

While simpler projects can be handled in a single session using tools like the grill-me skill, wayfinder is specifically built for situations where the path forward is hidden. Pocock uses the skill for both engineering tasks, such as rearchitecting his personal website, and non-engineering projects like course planning.