project-files

name	project-files
description	Manage structured communication files (PLAN.md, TODO.md, SPEC.md, etc.) to coordinate work across agents and sessions. Use when starting complex tasks, delegating to subagents, or maintaining project state.

Project Communication Files

Standard files for coordinating work across agents and sessions. These files serve as the single source of truth for project state.

File Overview

File	Purpose	Updated By	Read By
PLAN.md	High-level strategy and approach	Lead agent	All agents
TODO.md	Current tasks and queue	Working agents	All agents
SPEC.md	Technical requirements and design	Architect/planner	Implementation agents
DECISIONS.md	Architecture decisions (ADRs)	Any agent	All future agents
SESSION.md	Session context and handoff	Current session	Next session
STATUS.md	Current project state	Any agent	Status checks
CHANGELOG.md	Completed work log	Working agents	Review agents

File Formats

PLAN.md

Strategic direction. Updated when approach changes.

# Plan: <Feature/Project Name>

## Goal

One-line objective.

## Strategy

High-level approach (2-3 paragraphs).

## Phases

### Phase 1: <Name> [IN_PROGRESS]

- Objective: What this phase achieves
- Success criteria: How we know it's done

### Phase 2: <Name> [PENDING]

- Objective: ...

## Constraints

- Must use X technology
- Must maintain Y compatibility

## Risks

- Risk: Mitigation strategy

State markers: [PENDING], [IN_PROGRESS], [COMPLETED], [BLOCKED]

TODO.md

Active work queue. Updated continuously.

# TODO

## Current Sprint

### In Progress

- [ ] <agent-name>: Task description (blocked by: X, ETA: Y)

### Ready

- [ ] <agent-name>: Task description (depends on: X)
- [ ] <agent-name>: Task description

### Blocked

- [ ] <agent-name>: Task description (blocked by: X, reason: Y)

## Backlog

- [ ] Future task

## Completed (Last 5)

- [x] <agent-name>: Task description (completed: DATE)

Assignment format: <agent-name>: <task> (e.g., architect: Design auth API)

SPEC.md

Technical specification. Updated during planning.

# SPEC: <Component/Feature>

## Overview

What this component does.

## Interface

### API/Exports

```typescript
function doThing(input: Input): Output;
```

Types

interface Input { ... }
interface Output { ... }

Behavior

• Given X, should Y
• Error cases: Z

Dependencies

• Requires: module-a
• Used by: module-b

Open Questions

• Question to resolve

### DECISIONS.md

Architecture Decision Records. Append-only.

```markdown
# Decisions

## ADR-001: <Title>

**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Status:** Proposed | Accepted | Deprecated | Superseded by ADR-XXX

### Context
What problem were we solving?

### Decision
What did we decide?

### Consequences
Positive:
- Benefit 1

Negative:
- Trade-off 1

ADR numbering: Sequential (ADR-001, ADR-002...)

SESSION.md

Session handoff. Updated at end of session.

# Session: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM

## Context

What we were working on and why.

## Current State

- PLAN phase: X
- TODO items in progress: Y, Z
- Blockers: None | X

## Files Modified

- `src/auth/login.ts` - Added validation
- `tests/auth.test.ts` - Added tests

## Next Actions

1. Complete X (assigned to: agent-name)
2. Start Y (ready to go)

## Notes for Next Session

- Watch out for: potential issue
- Remember to: check Z

STATUS.md

Quick status dashboard. Updated as needed.

# Status

**Last Updated:** YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM  
**Current Phase:** Implementation  
**Overall Health:** 🟢 On Track | 🟡 At Risk | 🔴 Blocked

## Progress

- [x] Planning complete
- [x] Design approved
- [ ] Implementation (60%)
- [ ] Testing
- [ ] Deployment

## Blockers

None.

## Recent Changes

- Change 1
- Change 2

CHANGELOG.md

Completed work history. Append-only.

# Changelog

## [Unreleased]

### Added

- Feature X implemented by @agent-name
- API endpoint Y added

### Fixed

- Bug Z resolved

## [DATE] - Release Name

### Added

- Initial implementation

Follows Keep a Changelog format.

Workflow Integration

Starting a Complex Task

# 1. Create PLAN.md with high-level strategy
cat > PLAN.md << 'EOF'
# Plan: User Authentication

## Goal
Implement secure JWT-based authentication.

## Strategy
...
EOF

# 2. Create TODO.md with initial tasks
cat > TODO.md << 'EOF'
# TODO

## Current Sprint

### Ready
- [ ] architect: Design auth API (SPEC.md)
- [ ] security: Review threat model
EOF

# 3. Create initial SPEC.md template
cat > SPEC.md << 'EOF'
# SPEC: Authentication API

## Overview
...
EOF

Delegating to Subagents

When using subagent-tmux or mixture-of-experts:

# Read context files before spawning
PLAN=$(cat PLAN.md)
TODO=$(cat TODO.md)
SPEC=$(cat SPEC.md)

# Spawn expert with full context
tmux send-keys -t subagent-architect \
  "pi -p 'Review PLAN.md, TODO.md, and SPEC.md. Then: $TASK' ..." C-m

Session Handoff

At end of session:

# 1. Update TODO.md - mark completed, move in-progress to ready
# 2. Update SESSION.md with current state
# 3. Update CHANGELOG.md with completed work
cat >> CHANGELOG.md << 'EOF'

### Added
- Implemented user login flow (SESSION.md for details)
EOF

Mixture of Experts Coordination

Use files to share context between experts:

# Pre-populate files for experts to read
for expert in architect security performance; do
  # Each expert reads PLAN/TODO/SPEC, writes to DECISIONS
  tmux send-keys -t "moe-$expert" \
    "cat PLAN.md SPEC.md | pi -p 'Review and add decisions to DECISIONS.md' ..." C-m
done

Best Practices

DOs

• Update TODO.md in real-time — Mark tasks done as you complete them
• Write SESSION.md before quitting — Future you will thank you
• Keep SPEC.md precise — Ambiguity causes rework
• Date all entries — Context decays over time
• Use status markers — [IN_PROGRESS], [BLOCKED], [DONE]

DON'Ts

• Don't duplicate information — Link to files instead of copying
• Don't leave TODO.md stale — If it's wrong, it's harmful
• Don't delete from CHANGELOG — Append-only history
• Don't skip DECISIONS.md — You'll forget why you chose X

File Lifecycle

PLAN.md      → Created at project start, updated when strategy shifts
TODO.md      → Created with first tasks, updated continuously
SPEC.md      → Created during design phase, refined during implementation
DECISIONS.md → Created on first ADR, appended forever
SESSION.md   → Created at session end, archived after next session starts
STATUS.md    → Created when needed, kept current
CHANGELOG.md → Created at project start, appended forever

Quick Commands

# Check current status
cat STATUS.md

# See what's in progress
grep -A 5 "In Progress" TODO.md

# View recent decisions
tail -50 DECISIONS.md

# Find previous session context
cat SESSION.md

# See what changed recently
tail -30 CHANGELOG.md