loading
loading
The agent component that breaks a goal into an ordered list of steps before any of them run.
A planner takes a high-level task ('ship a landing page') and decomposes it into discrete, sequenced subtasks the agent can execute one by one, instead of improvising token-by-token. It usually runs as its own LLM call that outputs a structured plan, which an executor then works through — separating 'decide what to do' from 'do it' makes long tasks far more reliable. Example: an agent asked to migrate a database first plans [dump schema, write migration, test on copy, apply, verify] before touching anything.
Plainly
Think of Planner as a simple recipe for doing the work better. The agent component that breaks a goal into an ordered list of steps before any of them run.
In practice
Use it when you need a repeatable method instead of guessing from vibes. In practice, define the owner, input, output, and failure mode before you rely on it.