Hooks (Cursor Native)

This skill uses Cursor's native hooks system via .cursor/hooks.json.

Hook	Event	Purpose
show-plan-context.sh	beforeShellExecution	Display task_plan.md context
after-file-edit.sh	afterFileEdit	Remind to update planning files
check-complete.sh	stop	Verify all phases complete

See docs/cursor.md for installation instructions.

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:

# Linux/macOS (auto-detects python3 or python)
$(command -v python3 || command -v python) ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/session-catchup.py "$(pwd)"

# Windows PowerShell
python "$env:USERPROFILE\.cursor\skills\planning-with-files\scripts\session-catchup.py" (Get-Location)

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

Plans are organized in docs/plans/<plan-name>/ directories:

your-project/
├── docs/
│   └── plans/
│       ├── .active-plan          # Contains name of current plan
│       ├── auth-implementation/
│       │   ├── task_plan.md
│       │   ├── findings.md
│       │   └── progress.md
│       └── api-refactor/
│           ├── task_plan.md
│           ├── findings.md
│           └── progress.md
└── ...

Location	What Goes There
docs/plans/<plan-name>/	Your planning files (task_plan.md, findings.md, progress.md)
docs/plans/.active-plan	Marker file with current plan name (for hooks)

Selecting or Creating a Plan

When user specifies a plan name (e.g., "use the auth-implementation plan"):

1. Write the plan name to docs/plans/.active-plan
2. If docs/plans/<plan-name>/ exists, read its files and continue
3. If it doesn't exist, create the directory and initialize files

When starting a new task without a specified plan:

1. Generate a descriptive plan name from the task (e.g., fix-login-bug, add-dark-mode)
2. Create docs/plans/<plan-name>/ directory
3. Write the plan name to docs/plans/.active-plan
4. Initialize the three planning files

Example:

# User says: "Create a plan for implementing user authentication"
mkdir -p docs/plans/user-authentication
echo "user-authentication" > docs/plans/.active-plan
# Then create task_plan.md, findings.md, progress.md in that directory

Quick Start

Before ANY complex task:

1. Select or create a plan — Set docs/plans/.active-plan and create directory if needed
2. Create task_plan.md — Use templates/task_plan.md as reference
3. Create findings.md — Use templates/findings.md as reference
4. Create progress.md — Use templates/progress.md as reference
5. Re-read plan before decisions — Refreshes goals in attention window
6. Update after each phase — Mark complete, log errors

Note: Always set .active-plan so hooks know which plan to check.

The Core Pattern

Context Window = RAM (volatile, limited)
Filesystem = Disk (persistent, unlimited)

→ Anything important gets written to disk.

File Purposes

File	Purpose	When to Update
task_plan.md	Phases, progress, decisions	After each phase
findings.md	Research, discoveries	After ANY discovery
progress.md	Session log, test results	Throughout session

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_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.

## Errors Encountered
| Error | Attempt | Resolution |
|-------|---------|------------|
| FileNotFoundError | 1 | Created default config |
| API timeout | 2 | Added retry logic |

6. Never Repeat Failures

if action_failed:
    next_action != same_action

Track what you tried. Mutate the approach.

The 3-Strike Error Protocol

ATTEMPT 1: Diagnose & Fix
  → Read error carefully
  → Identify root cause
  → Apply targeted fix

ATTEMPT 2: Alternative Approach
  → Same error? Try different method
  → Different tool? Different library?
  → NEVER repeat exact same failing action

ATTEMPT 3: Broader Rethink
  → Question assumptions
  → Search for solutions
  → Consider updating the plan

AFTER 3 FAILURES: Escalate to User
  → Explain what you tried
  → Share the specific error
  → Ask for guidance

Read vs Write Decision Matrix

Situation	Action	Reason
Just wrote a file	DON'T read	Content still in context
Viewed image/PDF	Write findings NOW	Multimodal → text before lost
Browser returned data	Write to file	Screenshots don't persist
Starting new phase	Read plan/findings	Re-orient if context stale
Error occurred	Read relevant file	Need current state to fix
Resuming after gap	Read all planning files	Recover state

The 5-Question Reboot Test

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

Question	Answer Source
Where am I?	Current phase in task_plan.md
Where am I going?	Remaining phases
What's the goal?	Goal statement in plan
What have I learned?	findings.md
What have I done?	progress.md

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:

• 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 files
• scripts/check-complete.sh — Verify all phases complete
• scripts/session-catchup.py — Recover context from previous session (v2.2.0)

Advanced Topics

• Manus Principles: See reference.md
• Real Examples: See examples.md

Anti-Patterns

Don't	Do Instead
Use TodoWrite for persistence	Create task_plan.md file
State goals once and forget	Re-read plan before decisions
Hide errors and retry silently	Log errors to plan file
Stuff everything in context	Store large content in files
Start executing immediately	Create plan file FIRST
Repeat failed actions	Track attempts, mutate approach
Create files in project root	Use docs/plans/<plan-name>/
Forget to set .active-plan	Always update marker when switching plans