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Planning with Files

Keeps task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md on disk so multi-step work survives /clear, compaction, and session breaks.

AutomationIntermediate★ 26,167⑂ 2,188AI score 10/10Last updated: Aug 9, 2026

What it does

  • Forces creation of task_plan.md (phases and status), findings.md (research), and progress.md (session log) in your project root before any complex task.
  • Applies the Manus-style model — context window as RAM, filesystem as disk — so anything important is persisted rather than lost.
  • Ships hooks (UserPromptSubmit, PreToolUse, PostToolUse, Stop, PreCompact) that re-inject the active plan and nudge progress updates after each write/edit.
  • Includes session-catchup.py to detect unsynced work from a previous session and reconcile it with git diff --stat.
  • Provides concrete operating rules: the 2-action save rule, a 3-strike error protocol, a read-vs-write decision matrix, and a 5-question reboot test.

Who it's for

  • Developers running long refactors or migrations that span dozens of tool calls.
  • Anyone who loses the thread after /clear or a context compaction.
  • Researchers and analysts who want discoveries captured in structured files.

Examples

  1. Large migration: ask to convert a codebase to TypeScript — the agent writes a phased task_plan.md and flips each phase to complete as it goes.
  2. Resuming yesterday's work: run the catchup script, review the unsynced report plus git diff, refresh the planning files, then continue.
  3. Repeated build failures: each error is logged in a table with attempt count and resolution; after three failures the agent escalates with a summary.

· · · Install guide · · ·

Try it now, no install

Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.

Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/OthmanAdi/planning-with-files/HEAD/.mastracode/skills/planning-with-files/SKILL.md

What I want: (describe your task here)

If Claude can't open the link, open it yourself and paste the contents instead.

↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.

Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
  1. Download the ZIP with the button below.
  2. In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
  3. Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
↓ Download ZIP
Install in Claude Code

Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code

Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart.
Copy the .mastracode/skills/planning-with-files folder from the GitHub repo OthmanAdi/planning-with-files into my ~/.claude/skills/othmanadi-planning-with-files-9/.
When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.

Install with a command instead

git clone https://github.com/OthmanAdi/planning-with-files.git /tmp/planning-with-files && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r /tmp/planning-with-files/.mastracode/skills/planning-with-files ~/.claude/skills/

⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.

  1. Open a terminal.
  2. Clone the repo: git clone https://github.com/OthmanAdi/planning-with-files.git /tmp/planning-with-files
  3. Copy the skill folder: mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r /tmp/planning-with-files/.mastracode/skills/planning-with-files ~/.claude/skills/
  4. Make the scripts executable: chmod +x ~/.claude/skills/planning-with-files/scripts/*.sh
  5. Verify Python is available: python3 --version (needed for session recovery).
  6. If you installed to a non-standard path, add export PWF_SCRIPT_DIR=~/.claude/skills/planning-with-files/scripts to your shell profile.
  7. Restart Claude Code and ask it to "plan out this task step by step" to trigger the skill.
View source on GitHub ↗License: MIT