Planning with Files

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

Important: Where Files Go

When using this skill:

• Templates are stored in the skill directory at ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/templates/
• Your planning files (task_plan.md, findings.md, progress.md) should be created in your project directory — the folder where you're working

Location	What Goes There
Skill directory (${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/)	Templates, scripts, reference docs
Your project directory: .plans/<feature-name>-yymmdd/	task_plan.md, findings.md, progress.md

This ensures your planning files live alongside your code, organized by feature and date, not buried in the skill installation folder.

Quick Start

Before ANY complex task:

1. Create .plans/<feature-name>-yymmdd/ directory in your project — <feature-name> is a short descriptive name, yymmdd is today's date
2. Create task_plan.md in that directory — Use templates/task_plan.md as reference
3. Create findings.md in that directory — Use templates/findings.md as reference
4. Create progress.md in that directory — 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: All three planning files should be created in .plans/<feature-name>-yymmdd/ in your project directory, not in the skill's installation folder.

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
.plans/<feature>-yymmdd/task_plan.md	Phases, progress, decisions	After each phase
.plans/<feature>-yymmdd/findings.md	Research, discoveries	After ANY discovery
.plans/<feature>-yymmdd/progress.md	Session log, test results	Throughout session

Critical Rules

1. Create Plan First

Never start a complex task without .plans/<feature>-yymmdd/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 .plans/<feature>-yymmdd/task_plan.md. 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 to .plans/-yymmdd/findings.md NOW	Multimodal → text before lost
Browser returned data	Write to .plans/-yymmdd/findings.md	Screenshots don't persist
Starting new phase	Read .plans/-yymmdd/task_plan.md	Re-orient if context stale
Error occurred	Read relevant .plans/-yymmdd file	Need current state to fix
Resuming after gap	Read files from user-specified feature plan	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 .plans/-yymmdd/task_plan.md
Where am I going?	Remaining phases
What's the goal?	Goal statement in plan
What have I learned?	.plans/-yymmdd/findings.md
What have I done?	.plans/-yymmdd/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

Advanced Topics

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

TDD for Feature Development

When developing a new feature, follow Test-Driven Development:

RED → GREEN → REFACTOR → REPEAT

The TDD Loop

1. RED — Write a failing test for the behavior you want
2. GREEN — Write minimal code to make the test pass
3. REFACTOR — Clean up the code while keeping tests green
4. REPEAT — Move to the next behavior

Test-First Rule

Before writing implementation code, ensure:

• Test is written and failing
• Test describes behavior, not implementation
• Test is isolated (no external dependencies)

When to Apply TDD

Use TDD For	Skip TDD For
Business logic	Configuration files
Algorithms	Pure data structures (DTOs)
API contracts	Exploratory spikes
Stateful components	One-off scripts

Architecture Decision Making

When facing multiple valid approaches to a problem, ALWAYS present options to the user before proceeding. Never assume the "recommended" option is what the user wants.

Decision Template

## Solution Design

### Option A: [Short Name]

[Description of the approach]

**Implementation:**
1. Step 1
2. Step 2
3. Step 3

**Pros:**
- Pro 1
- Pro 2

**Cons:**
- Con 1
- Con 2

### Option B: [Short Name]

[Description of the approach]

**Implementation:**
1. Step 1
2. Step 2
3. Step 3

**Pros:**
- Pro 1
- Pro 2

**Cons:**
- Con 1
- Con 2

### Option C: [Short Name]

[Description of the approach]

**Implementation:**
1. Step 1
2. Step 2
3. Step 3

**Pros:**
- Pro 1
- Pro 2

**Cons:**
- Con 1
- Con 2

Critical Rule

• Ask user before choosing: Present ALL viable options, let the user decide
• Don't pre-select: Even if you think one option is "better", the user's context matters
• Document the decision: Once user chooses, write the decision rationale to .plans/<feature>-yymmdd/findings.md

Why This Matters

Issue	Example	Resolution
User has different priorities	Simplicity vs performance	Ask which they value
Future constraints unknown	Quick hack vs proper architecture	User knows their timeline
Integration requirements	Internal API vs external service	User knows ecosystem
Maintenance considerations	One-off script vs reusable module	User knows project scope

Anti-Patterns

Don't	Do Instead
Use TodoWrite for persistence	Create .plans/-yymmdd/task_plan.md
State goals once and forget	Re-read .plans/-yymmdd/task_plan.md before decisions
Hide errors and retry silently	Log errors to .plans/-yymmdd/task_plan.md
Stuff everything in context	Store large content in .plans/-yymmdd/ files
Start executing immediately	Create .plans/-yymmdd/ directory FIRST
Repeat failed actions	Track attempts, mutate approach
Create files in skill directory	Create .plans/-yymmdd/ in your project
Choose architecture without asking	Present options, let user decide

Archiving Completed Plans

When all phases in .plans/<feature>-yymmdd/task_plan.md are marked complete:

1. Verify completion — Ensure all phases are done, errors resolved, and findings documented
2. Archive the plan — Move the .plans/<feature>-yymmdd/ directory to .plans/archived/
3. Clean up active plans — Remove old completed plans from .plans/ root to keep workspace clean

Archive Command

# Move completed plan to archived
mv .plans/<feature>-yymmdd .plans/archived/

# Or archive multiple at once
mkdir -p .plans/archived
mv .plans/*-yymmdd .plans/archived/

When to Archive

Status	Action
All phases complete	Archive
Remaining phases in in_progress	Keep in .plans/
Abandoned/cancelled	Archive with note in task_plan.md