Planning with Files

Work like Manus — the AI agent company Meta acquired for $2 billion.

💬 A Note from the Author

To everyone who starred, forked, and shared this skill — thank you. This project blew up in less than 24 hours, and the support from the community has been incredible.

If this skill helps you work smarter, that's all I wanted.

🌍 See What the Community Built

Fork	Author	Features
devis	@st01cs	Interview-first workflow, `/devis:intv` and `/devis:impl` commands, guaranteed activation
multi-manus-planning	@kmichels	Multi-project support, SessionStart git sync
plan-cascade	@Taoidle	Multi-level task orchestration, parallel execution, multi-agent collaboration
agentfund-skill	@RioTheGreat-ai	Crowdfunding for AI agents with milestone-based escrow on Base
openclaw-github-repo-commander	@wd041216-bit	7-stage GitHub repo audit, optimization, and cleanup workflow for OpenClaw

Built something? Open an issue to get listed!

🤝 Contributors

See the full list of everyone who made this project better in CONTRIBUTORS.md.

📦 Releases & Session Recovery

Current Version: v2.29.0

Version	Highlights
v2.29.0	Analytics workflow template: `--template analytics` flag for data exploration sessions (thanks @mvanhorn!)
v2.28.0	Traditional Chinese (zh-TW) skill variant (thanks @waynelee2048!)
v2.26.2	Fix: `---` in hook commands broke YAML frontmatter parsing, hooks now register correctly
v2.26.1	Fix: session catchup after `/clear`, path sanitization on Windows + content injection (thanks @tony-stark-eth!)
v2.26.0	IDE audit: Factory hooks, Copilot errorOccurred hook, Gemini hooks, bug fixes
v2.18.2	Mastra Code hooks fix (hooks.json + docs accuracy)
v2.18.1	Copilot garbled characters complete fix
v2.18.0	BoxLite sandbox runtime integration
v2.17.0	Mastra Code support + all IDE SKILL.md spec fixes
v2.16.1	Copilot garbled characters fix: PS1 UTF-8 encoding + bash ensure_ascii (thanks @Hexiaopi!)
v2.16.0	GitHub Copilot hooks support (thanks @lincolnwan!)
v2.27.0	Kiro Agent Skill layout (thanks @EListenX!)
v2.15.1	Session catchup false-positive fix (thanks @gydx6!)
v2.15.0	`/plan:status` command, OpenCode compatibility fix
v2.14.0	Pi Agent support, OpenClaw docs update, Codex path fix
v2.11.0	`/plan` command for easier autocomplete
v2.10.0	Kiro steering files support
v2.7.0	Gemini CLI support
v2.2.0	Session recovery, Windows PowerShell, OS-aware hooks

View all releases · CHANGELOG

🧪 Experimental: Isolated parallel planning (.planning/{uuid}/ folders) is being tested on experimental/isolated-planning. Try it and share feedback!

Session Recovery

When your context fills up and you run /clear, this skill automatically recovers your previous session.

How it works:

Checks for previous session data in ~/.claude/projects/
Finds when planning files were last updated
Extracts conversation that happened after (potentially lost context)
Shows a catchup report so you can sync

Pro tip: Disable auto-compact to maximize context before clearing:

{ "autoCompact": false }

🛠️ Supported IDEs (16+ Platforms)

Enhanced Support (hooks + lifecycle automation)

These IDEs have dedicated hook configurations that automatically re-read your plan before tool use, remind you to update progress, and verify completion before stopping:

IDE	Installation Guide	Integration
Claude Code	Installation	Plugin + SKILL.md + Hooks
Cursor	Cursor Setup	Skills + hooks.json
GitHub Copilot	Copilot Setup	Hooks (incl. errorOccurred)
Mastra Code	Mastra Setup	Skills + Hooks
Gemini CLI	Gemini Setup	Skills + Hooks
Kiro	Kiro Setup	Agent Skills
Codex	Codex Setup	Skills + Hooks
CodeBuddy	CodeBuddy Setup	Skills + Hooks
FactoryAI Droid	Factory Setup	Skills + Hooks
OpenCode	OpenCode Setup	Skills + Custom session storage

Standard Agent Skills Support

These IDEs implement the Agent Skills open specification. Install with npx skills add — the installer places the skill in each IDE's discovery path automatically:

IDE	Installation Guide	Skill Discovery Path
Continue	Continue Setup	`.continue/skills/` + .prompt files
Pi Agent	Pi Agent Setup	`.pi/skills/` (npm package)
OpenClaw	OpenClaw Setup	`.openclaw/skills/` (docs)
Antigravity	Antigravity Setup	`.agent/skills/` (docs)
Kilocode	Kilocode Setup	`.kilocode/skills/` (docs)
AdaL CLI (Sylph AI)	AdaL Setup	`.adal/skills/` (docs)

Note: If your IDE uses the legacy Rules system instead of Skills, see the legacy-rules-support branch.

🧱 Sandbox Runtimes (1 Platform)

Runtime	Status	Guide	Notes
BoxLite	✅ Documented	BoxLite Setup	Run Claude Code + planning-with-files inside hardware-isolated micro-VMs

Note: BoxLite is a sandbox runtime, not an IDE. Skills load via ClaudeBox — BoxLite’s official Claude Code integration layer.

A Claude Code plugin that transforms your workflow to use persistent markdown files for planning, progress tracking, and knowledge storage — the exact pattern that made Manus worth billions.

Quick Install

npx skills add OthmanAdi/planning-with-files --skill planning-with-files -g

中文版 / Chinese (Simplified):

npx skills add OthmanAdi/planning-with-files --skill planning-with-files-zh -g

正體中文版 / Chinese (Traditional):

npx skills add OthmanAdi/planning-with-files --skill planning-with-files-zht -g

Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, and 40+ agents supporting the Agent Skills spec.

🔧 Claude Code Plugin (Advanced Features)

For Claude Code-specific features like /plan autocomplete commands:

/plugin marketplace add OthmanAdi/planning-with-files
/plugin install planning-with-files@planning-with-files

That's it! Now use one of these commands in Claude Code:

Command	Autocomplete	Description
`/planning-with-files:plan`	Type `/plan`	Start planning session (v2.11.0+)
`/planning-with-files:status`	Type `/plan:status`	Show planning progress at a glance (v2.15.0+)
`/planning-with-files:start`	Type `/planning`	Original start command

Alternative: If you want /planning-with-files (without prefix), copy skills to your local folder:

macOS/Linux:

cp -r ~/.claude/plugins/cache/planning-with-files/planning-with-files/*/skills/planning-with-files ~/.claude/skills/

Windows (PowerShell):

Copy-Item -Recurse -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\plugins\cache\planning-with-files\planning-with-files\*\skills\planning-with-files" -Destination "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\skills\"

See docs/installation.md for all installation methods.

Why This Skill?

On December 29, 2025, Meta acquired Manus for $2 billion. In just 8 months, Manus went from launch to $100M+ revenue. Their secret? Context engineering.

"Markdown is my 'working memory' on disk. Since I process information iteratively and my active context has limits, Markdown files serve as scratch pads for notes, checkpoints for progress, building blocks for final deliverables."
— Manus AI

The Problem

Claude Code (and most AI agents) suffer from:

Volatile memory — TodoWrite tool disappears on context reset
Goal drift — After 50+ tool calls, original goals get forgotten
Hidden errors — Failures aren't tracked, so the same mistakes repeat
Context stuffing — Everything crammed into context instead of stored

The Solution: 3-File Pattern

For every complex task, create THREE files:

task_plan.md      → Track phases and progress
findings.md       → Store research and findings
progress.md       → Session log and test results

The Core Principle

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

→ Anything important gets written to disk.

The Manus Principles

Principle	Implementation
Filesystem as memory	Store in files, not context
Attention manipulation	Re-read plan before decisions (hooks)
Error persistence	Log failures in plan file
Goal tracking	Checkboxes show progress
Completion verification	Stop hook checks all phases

Usage

Once installed, the AI agent will:

Ask for your task if no description is provided
Create task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md in your project directory
Re-read plan before major decisions (via PreToolUse hook)
Remind you to update status after file writes (via PostToolUse hook)
Store findings in findings.md instead of stuffing context
Log errors for future reference
Verify completion before stopping (via Stop hook)

Invoke with:

/planning-with-files:plan - Type /plan to find in autocomplete (v2.11.0+)
/planning-with-files:start - Type /planning to find in autocomplete
/planning-with-files - Only if you copied skills to ~/.claude/skills/

See docs/quickstart.md for the full 5-step guide.

Benchmark Results

Formally evaluated using Anthropic's skill-creator framework (v2.22.0). 10 parallel subagents, 5 task types, 30 objectively verifiable assertions, 3 blind A/B comparisons.

Test	with_skill	without_skill
Pass rate (30 assertions)	96.7% (29/30)	6.7% (2/30)
3-file pattern followed	5/5 evals	0/5 evals
Blind A/B wins	3/3 (100%)	0/3
Avg rubric score	10.0/10	6.8/10

Full methodology and results · Technical write-up

Key Rules

Create Plan First — Never start without task_plan.md
The 2-Action Rule — Save findings after every 2 view/browser operations
Log ALL Errors — They help avoid repetition
Never Repeat Failures — Track attempts, mutate approach

When to Use

Use this pattern for:

Multi-step tasks (3+ steps)
Research tasks
Building/creating projects
Tasks spanning many tool calls

Skip for:

Simple questions
Single-file edits
Quick lookups

File Structure

planning-with-files/
├── commands/                # Plugin commands
│   ├── plan.md              # /planning-with-files:plan command (v2.11.0+)
│   └── start.md             # /planning-with-files:start command
├── templates/               # Root-level templates (for CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT)
├── scripts/                 # Root-level scripts (for CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT)
├── docs/                    # Documentation
│   ├── installation.md
│   ├── quickstart.md
│   ├── workflow.md
│   ├── troubleshooting.md
│   ├── gemini.md            # Gemini CLI setup
│   ├── cursor.md
│   ├── windows.md
│   ├── kilocode.md
│   ├── codex.md
│   ├── opencode.md
│   ├── mastra.md             # Mastra Code setup
│   └── boxlite.md            # BoxLite sandbox setup
├── examples/                # Integration examples
│   └── boxlite/             # BoxLite quickstart
│       ├── README.md
│       └── quickstart.py
├── planning-with-files/     # Plugin skill folder
│   ├── SKILL.md
│   ├── templates/
│   └── scripts/
├── skills/                  # Legacy skill folder
│   └── planning-with-files/
│       ├── SKILL.md
│       ├── examples.md
│       ├── reference.md
│       ├── templates/
│       └── scripts/
│           ├── init-session.sh
│           ├── check-complete.sh
│           ├── init-session.ps1   # Windows PowerShell
│           └── check-complete.ps1 # Windows PowerShell
├── .gemini/                 # Gemini CLI skills + hooks
│   ├── settings.json        # Hook configuration (v2.26.0)
│   ├── hooks/               # Hook scripts (SessionStart, BeforeTool, AfterTool, BeforeModel, SessionEnd)
│   └── skills/
│       └── planning-with-files/
├── .codex/                  # Codex CLI skills + hooks
│   └── skills/
├── .opencode/               # OpenCode skills (custom session storage)
│   └── skills/
├── .claude-plugin/          # Plugin manifest
├── .cursor/                 # Cursor skills + hooks
│   ├── hooks.json           # Hook configuration
│   ├── hooks/               # Hook scripts (bash + PowerShell)
│   └── skills/
├── .codebuddy/              # CodeBuddy skills + hooks
│   └── skills/
├── .factory/                # FactoryAI Droid skills + hooks (v2.26.0)
│   └── skills/
├── .pi/                     # Pi Agent skills (npm package)
│   └── skills/
│       └── planning-with-files/
├── .continue/               # Continue.dev skills + prompt files
│   ├── prompts/             # .prompt file for slash commands
│   └── skills/
├── .github/                 # GitHub Copilot hooks (incl. errorOccurred)
│   └── hooks/
│       ├── planning-with-files.json  # Hook configuration
│       └── scripts/         # Hook scripts (bash + PowerShell)
├── .mastracode/             # Mastra Code skills + hooks
│   └── skills/
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── LICENSE
└── README.md

Documentation

All platform setup guides and documentation are in the docs/ folder.

Acknowledgments

Manus AI — For pioneering context engineering patterns
Anthropic — For Claude Code, Agent Skills, and the Plugin system
Lance Martin — For the detailed Manus architecture analysis
Based on Context Engineering for AI Agents

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Submit a pull request

License

MIT License — feel free to use, modify, and distribute.

Author: Ahmad Othman Ammar Adi

planning-with-files