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:- Run
git diff --statto see actual code changes - Read current planning files
- Update planning files based on catchup + git diff
- 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:- Create
task_plan.md— Use templates/task_plan.md as reference - Create
findings.md— Use templates/findings.md as reference - Create
progress.md— Use templates/progress.md as reference - Re-read plan before decisions — Refreshes goals in attention window
- 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 withouttask_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_progress→complete - 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
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
- Simple questions
- Single-file edits
- Quick lookups
Templates
Copy these templates to start:- templates/task_plan.md — Phase tracking
- templates/findings.md — Research storage
- templates/progress.md — Session logging
Scripts
Helper scripts for automation:scripts/init-session.sh— Initialize all planning filesscripts/check-complete.sh— Verify all phases completescripts/session-catchup.py— Recover context from previous session (v2.2.0)
Advanced Topics
- Manus Principles: See reference.md
- Real Examples: See examples.md