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Planning with Files

Work like Manus: Use persistent markdown files as your “working memory on disk.”

FIRST: Check for Previous Session (v2.2.0)

Before starting work, check for unsynced context from a previous session:
If catchup report shows unsynced context:
  1. Run git diff --stat to see actual code changes
  2. Read current planning files
  3. Update planning files based on catchup + git diff
  4. Then proceed with task

Important: Where Files Go

  • Templates are in ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/templates/
  • Your planning files go in your project directory

Quick Start

Before ANY complex task:
  1. Create task_plan.md — Use templates/task_plan.md as reference
  2. Create findings.md — Use templates/findings.md as reference
  3. Create progress.md — Use templates/progress.md as reference
  4. Re-read plan before decisions — Refreshes goals in attention window
  5. Update after each phase — Mark complete, log errors
Note: Planning files go in your project root, not the skill installation folder.

The Core Pattern

File Purposes

Critical Rules

1. Create Plan First

Never start a complex task without task_plan.md. Non-negotiable.

2. The 2-Action Rule

“After every 2 view/browser/search operations, IMMEDIATELY save key findings to text files.”
This prevents visual/multimodal information from being lost.

3. Read Before Decide

Before major decisions, read the plan file. This keeps goals in your attention window.

4. Update After Act

After completing any phase:
  • Mark phase status: in_progresscomplete
  • Log any errors encountered
  • Note files created/modified

5. Log ALL Errors

Every error goes in the plan file. This builds knowledge and prevents repetition.

6. Never Repeat Failures

Track what you tried. Mutate the approach.

The 3-Strike Error Protocol

Read vs Write Decision Matrix

The 5-Question Reboot Test

If you can answer these, your context management is solid:

When to Use This Pattern

Use for:
  • Multi-step tasks (3+ steps)
  • Research tasks
  • Building/creating projects
  • Tasks spanning many tool calls
  • Anything requiring organization
Skip for:
  • Simple questions
  • Single-file edits
  • Quick lookups

Templates

Copy these templates to start:

Scripts

Helper scripts for automation:
  • scripts/init-session.sh — Initialize all planning files
  • scripts/check-complete.sh — Verify all phases complete
  • scripts/session-catchup.py — Recover context from previous session (v2.2.0)

Advanced Topics

Anti-Patterns