Planning With Files

Planning with Files - Manus-Style File-Based Planning

Work like Manus (the $2B AI agent Meta acquired): Use persistent markdown files as your "working memory on disk."

Core Principle

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

→ Anything important gets written to disk.

The 3-File Pattern

For every complex task, create THREE files in your project directory:

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

Templates are available at: .claude/templates/planning/

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

Critical Timing Rules

These rules simulate hooks to ensure proper workflow:

📌 At Task Start (SessionStart)

MUST create all three files FIRST before any other work:

1. Create task_plan.md using the template
2. Create findings.md using the template
3. Create progress.md using the template
4. Fill in the Goal section in task_plan.md

Why: Without planning files, you'll forget goals after 50+ tool calls.

📌 Before Major Decisions (PreToolUse)

MUST re-read task_plan.md before:

• Writing or editing files
• Executing commands
• Making architectural decisions
• Implementing features

How: Use the Read tool to refresh the plan in your context.

Why: This keeps goals fresh in your attention window (Manus's "attention manipulation").

📌 After File Operations (PostToolUse)

MUST update status immediately after:

• Writing files
• Editing files
• Completing a task phase

How: Edit task_plan.md to update phase status:

- **Status:** pending → in_progress → complete

Why: Tracks progress and prevents losing track of what's done.

📌 Before Task End (Stop)

MUST verify completion:

• Check all phases marked as complete
• Review deliverables section
• Ensure no errors left unresolved

Why: Prevents premature completion with missing work.

The 6 Critical Rules

1. Create Plan First

Never start a complex task without task_plan.md. Non-negotiable.

## Goal

[One sentence describing the end state]

## Current Phase

Phase 1

## Phases

### Phase 1: Requirements & Discovery

- [ ] Understand user intent
- [ ] Identify constraints
- **Status:** in_progress

2. The 2-Action Rule

"After every 2 view/browser/search operations, IMMEDIATELY save key findings to findings.md."

This prevents visual/multimodal information from being lost.

## Visual/Browser Findings

- Screenshot shows login form with email and password fields
- API documentation indicates JSON response format

3. Read Before Decide

Before major decisions, read the plan file. This keeps goals in your attention window.

# Before implementing a feature:
Read tool → task_plan.md
# Now proceed with implementation

4. Update After Act

After completing any phase:

• Mark phase status: pending → in_progress → complete
• Log any errors encountered
• Note files created/modified

## Errors Encountered

| Error             | Attempt | Resolution             |
| ----------------- | ------- | ---------------------- |
| FileNotFoundError | 1       | Created default config |

5. Log ALL Errors

Every error goes in the plan file. This builds knowledge and prevents repetition.

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

File Purposes

Read vs Write Decision Matrix

The 5-Question Reboot Test

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

Template Structure

task_plan.md Template

# Task Plan: [Brief Description]

## Goal

[One sentence describing the end state]

## Current Phase

Phase 1

## Phases

### Phase 1: Requirements & Discovery

- [ ] Understand user intent
- [ ] Identify constraints and requirements
- [ ] Document findings in findings.md
- **Status:** in_progress

### Phase 2: Planning & Structure

- [ ] Define technical approach
- [ ] Create project structure if needed
- [ ] Document decisions with rationale
- **Status:** pending

### Phase 3: Implementation

- [ ] Execute the plan step by step
- [ ] Write code to files before executing
- [ ] Test incrementally
- **Status:** pending

### Phase 4: Testing & Verification

- [ ] Verify all requirements met
- [ ] Document test results in progress.md
- [ ] Fix any issues found
- **Status:** pending

### Phase 5: Delivery

- [ ] Review all output files
- [ ] Ensure deliverables are complete
- [ ] Deliver to user
- **Status:** pending

## Key Questions

1. [Question to answer]
2. [Question to answer]

## Decisions Made

| Decision | Rationale |
| -------- | --------- |
|          |           |

## Errors Encountered

| Error | Attempt | Resolution |
| ----- | ------- | ---------- |
|       | 1       |            |

findings.md Template

# Findings & Decisions

## Requirements

_Add requirements captured from user request here._

## Research Findings

_Document key discoveries during exploration here._

## Technical Decisions

_Record decisions made with rationale._

| Decision | Rationale |
| -------- | --------- |
|          |           |

## Issues Encountered

_Document errors and how they were resolved._

| Issue | Resolution |
| ----- | ---------- |
|       |            |

## Resources

_Add URLs, file paths, and API references here._

## Visual/Browser Findings

_CRITICAL: Update after every 2 view/browser operations._

progress.md Template

# Progress Log

## Session: [DATE]

### Phase 1: [Title]

- **Status:** in_progress
- **Started:** [timestamp]
- Actions taken:
- Files created/modified:

## Test Results

| Test | Input | Expected | Actual | Status |
| ---- | ----- | -------- | ------ | ------ |
|      |       |          |        |        |

## Error Log

| Timestamp | Error | Attempt | Resolution |
| --------- | ----- | ------- | ---------- |
|           |       | 1       |            |

## 5-Question Reboot Check

| Question             | Answer           |
| -------------------- | ---------------- |
| Where am I?          | Phase X          |
| Where am I going?    | Remaining phases |
| What's the goal?     | [goal statement] |
| What have I learned? | See findings.md  |
| What have I done?    | See above        |

Iron Laws

1. ALWAYS create task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md before starting any complex task — filesystem memory survives context resets, working memory does not.
2. ALWAYS re-read task_plan.md before making major decisions — context windows are volatile, files persist indefinitely.
3. NEVER retry a failed action with identical inputs — log the failure in the plan file, diagnose the root cause, and mutate the approach.
4. ALWAYS write multimodal findings (screenshots, browser data) to findings.md immediately after capture — visual context cannot be retrieved once it leaves the attention window.
5. NEVER mark a task complete without verifying all phases are complete and all deliverables are present in the progress file.

Anti-Patterns

The Manus Principles

Remember: The more context you gather upfront and write to disk, the better your execution will be. Files are your persistent memory.