Manus-style persistent planning that keeps task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md on disk so multi-step work survives context loss and /clear, with automatic session recovery.
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name: planning-with-files
description: Manus-style persistent file-based planning for AI coding agents - keeps task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md on disk so work survives context loss and /clear. Use when asked to plan, break down, or organize a multi-step project or any work needing 5+ tool calls. Supports automatic session recovery.
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# Planning with Files
Use persistent markdown files as "working memory on disk" so long-running work survives compaction and /clear.
## Workflow
1. Restore context first - if `task_plan.md` exists, read it plus `progress.md` and `findings.md`, then run the `session-catchup.py` script to detect unsynced context from a prior session.
2. Before any complex task, create the three files in your project directory (templates live in the skill dir): `task_plan.md` (phased plan), `findings.md` (discoveries), `progress.md` (what's done).
3. Re-read the plan before key decisions to refresh goals in the attention window.
4. Update `progress.md` after each step and mark phases complete in `task_plan.md`.
5. Bundled hooks (UserPromptSubmit, PreToolUse, Stop, PreCompact) auto-inject the plan and gate completion so progress stays current across the session.
Full skill & source: https://github.com/OthmanAdi/planning-with-files/tree/8f5a3c2e1c347635cf94debde033b3c1ac97e4ab/skills/planning-with-files