diff --git a/sandbox/plans/PLAN_RUNNER.md b/sandbox/plans/PLAN_RUNNER.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e291f0bf08d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sandbox/plans/PLAN_RUNNER.md
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+# Plan runner
+
+How an orchestrator session builds one plan: spawn a fresh Claude in a
+`screen` window, hand it a brief, wait for a STATUS marker, verify, push, kill
+the window. One plan per session, sequentially.
+
+## Why this shape
+
+- **Fresh context per plan.** Each sub-session reads only its plan + the files
+  it needs — no drift from the orchestrator's long history.
+- **The orchestrator stays the integrator.** Sub-sessions build and commit;
+  the orchestrator independently verifies (tests, greps, `git status`) and is
+  the only one that pushes.
+
+## Steps
+
+### 1. Write a brief to a tempfile
+
+The brief is the sub-session's whole instruction set: which plan to read, the
+locked decisions, hard rules, build steps, the exact tests/greps to run, and —
+critically — to **write a STATUS marker file LAST**.
+
+```
+/tmp/<name>-brief.md
+```
+
+Hard rules every brief repeats:
+- Do **not** modify the plan file.
+- Do **not** push. Commit each logical step; the orchestrator pushes.
+- No `--no-verify`; pre-commit must pass.
+- Write `sandbox/STATUS-<plan>.md` **last** (after the final commit) — its
+  appearance is the "done" signal.
+
+### 2. Spawn the session
+
+Multi-line text piped to `claude-screen` does **not** land reliably (the TUI
+submits mid-paste). Always pipe a **single line** pointing at the brief:
+
+```bash
+echo "Read /tmp/<name>-brief.md and follow every instruction in it exactly." \
+  | ~/dev/claude-screen <name> /home/paulus/dev/hass/core
+```
+
+Use an **unambiguous full `<name>`** — `screen -p` matches by prefix, so a
+later `kill` on a short name can hit the wrong window.
+
+After ~12s, confirm the prompt was submitted (not just sitting in the input
+box — an onboarding banner can eat the auto-submit):
+
+```bash
+screen -X -S claude -p <name> hardcopy /tmp/<name>-launch.dump && tail -20 /tmp/<name>-launch.dump
+```
+
+If it's idle with the prompt unsent, nudge it:
+
+```bash
+screen -X -S claude -p <name> stuff $'\r'
+```
+
+### 3. Monitor for the STATUS marker
+
+Arm a background watcher for the marker file, plus a long fallback in case the
+session hangs without writing it:
+
+- **Monitor** (persistent, until-loop):
+  `until test -f sandbox/STATUS-<plan>.md; do sleep 30; done; echo done`
+- **ScheduleWakeup** fallback (~40 min): on fire, peek at the window with
+  `hardcopy` and `tail` to see if it's stuck.
+
+### 4. Verify independently
+
+Don't trust the self-report. When STATUS appears, read it, then re-run the
+load-bearing checks yourself:
+
+```bash
+uv run pytest tests/components/sandbox/ --no-cov -q
+uv run pytest sandbox/hass_client/ -q
+# plus the plan's specific greps / hassfest / drift guard
+```
+
+Common gotcha: a sub-session sometimes lands the code commit but **forgets the
+docs/STATUS second commit** — check `git status`, and commit any leftover the
+brief intended.
+
+### 5. Push and kill
+
+```bash
+git push origin sandbox
+screen -X -S claude -p <name> kill
+```
+
+Then advance to the next plan.
+
+## Gotchas (all bit at least once)
+
+- **Single-line file-handoff only** — multi-line stdin to `claude-screen` is
+  unreliable.
+- **Confirm the prompt submitted** — a first-run banner can swallow it; send
+  `$'\r'` to nudge.
+- **`screen -p` is prefix-match** — use full, distinct window names.
+- **STATUS is written last** — its presence means done; nothing earlier does.
+- **Avoid git ops in the repo while a sub-session is mid-write** — index
+  contention. (`prek` stash/restore usually saves you, but don't rely on it.)
+- **The orchestrator is the only pusher** — keeps one integration point and
+  one verification gate.