planning-with-files

name	planning-with-files
version	4.1.0-fractal
description	Implements Manus-style file-based planning for complex tasks. Creates task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md. Use when starting complex multi-step tasks, research projects, or any task requiring >5 tool calls.
user-invocable	true
allowed-tools	["Read","Write","Edit","Bash","Glob","Grep","WebFetch","WebSearch"]
hooks	{"SessionStart":[{"hooks":"[Truncated]"}],"PreToolUse":[{"matcher":"Write|Edit|Bash","hooks":"[Truncated]"}],"PostToolUse":[{"matcher":"Write|Edit","hooks":"[Truncated]"}],"Stop":[{"hooks":"[Truncated]"}]}

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	task_plan.md, findings.md, progress.md

This ensures your planning files live alongside your code, not buried in the skill installation folder.

Quick Start

Before ANY complex task:

1. Create task_plan.md in your project — Use templates/task_plan.md as reference
2. Create findings.md in your project — Use templates/findings.md as reference
3. Create progress.md in your project — Use templates/progress.md as reference
4. Re-read plan before decisions — Refreshes goals in attention window
5. Update after each phase — Mark complete, log errors

Note: All three planning files should be created in your current working directory (your project root), 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
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

🧠 Knowledge Modules (Fractal Skills)

1. 1. Create Plan First

2. 2. The 2-Action Rule

3. 3. Read Before Decide

4. 4. Update After Act

5. 5. Log ALL Errors

6. 6. Never Repeat Failures