Planning with Files

Work like Manus — the AI agent company Meta acquired for $2 billion.

Thank You

To everyone who starred, forked, and shared this skill — thank you. This project blew up in less than 24 hours, and the support from the community has been incredible.

If this skill helps you work smarter, that's all I wanted.

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A Claude Code plugin that transforms your workflow to use persistent markdown files for planning, progress tracking, and knowledge storage — the exact pattern that made Manus worth billions.

Quick Install

/plugin marketplace add OthmanAdi/planning-with-files
/plugin install planning-with-files@planning-with-files

See docs/installation.md for all installation methods.

Documentation

Document	Description
Installation Guide	All installation methods (plugin, manual, Cursor, Windows)
Quick Start	5-step guide to using the pattern
Workflow Diagram	Visual diagram of how files and hooks interact
Troubleshooting	Common issues and solutions
Cursor Setup	Cursor IDE-specific instructions
Windows Setup	Windows-specific notes

Versions

Version	Features	Install
v2.1.2 (current)	Fix template cache issue (Issue #18)	/plugin install planning-with-files@planning-with-files
v2.1.1	Fix plugin template paths	See releases
v2.1.0	Claude Code v2.1 compatible, SessionStart hook, PostToolUse hook, user-invocable	See releases
v2.0.x	Hooks, templates, scripts	See releases
v1.0.0 (legacy)	Core 3-file pattern	git clone -b legacy

See CHANGELOG.md for details.

Why This Skill?

On December 29, 2025, Meta acquired Manus for $2 billion. In just 8 months, Manus went from launch to $100M+ revenue. Their secret? Context engineering.

"Markdown is my 'working memory' on disk. Since I process information iteratively and my active context has limits, Markdown files serve as scratch pads for notes, checkpoints for progress, building blocks for final deliverables." — Manus AI

The Problem

Claude Code (and most AI agents) suffer from:

• Volatile memory — TodoWrite tool disappears on context reset
• Goal drift — After 50+ tool calls, original goals get forgotten
• Hidden errors — Failures aren't tracked, so the same mistakes repeat
• Context stuffing — Everything crammed into context instead of stored

The Solution: 3-File Pattern

For every complex task, create THREE files:

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

The Core Principle

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

→ Anything important gets written to disk.

Usage

Once installed, Claude will automatically:

1. Create task_plan.md before starting complex tasks
2. Re-read plan before major decisions (via PreToolUse hook)
3. Remind you to update status after file writes (via PostToolUse hook)
4. Store findings in findings.md instead of stuffing context
5. Log errors for future reference
6. Verify completion before stopping (via Stop hook)

Or invoke manually with /planning-with-files.

See docs/quickstart.md for the full 5-step guide.

Key Rules

1. Create Plan First — Never start without task_plan.md
2. The 2-Action Rule — Save findings after every 2 view/browser operations
3. Log ALL Errors — They help avoid repetition
4. Never Repeat Failures — Track attempts, mutate approach

File Structure

planning-with-files/
├── templates/               # Root-level templates (for CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT)
├── scripts/                 # Root-level scripts (for CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT)
├── docs/                    # Documentation
│   ├── installation.md
│   ├── quickstart.md
│   ├── workflow.md
│   ├── troubleshooting.md
│   ├── cursor.md
│   └── windows.md
├── planning-with-files/     # Plugin skill folder
│   ├── SKILL.md
│   ├── templates/
│   └── scripts/
├── skills/                  # Legacy skill folder
│   └── planning-with-files/
│       ├── SKILL.md
│       ├── templates/
│       └── scripts/
├── .claude-plugin/          # Plugin manifest
├── .cursor/                 # Cursor rules
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── MIGRATION.md
├── LICENSE
└── README.md

The Manus Principles

Principle	Implementation
Filesystem as memory	Store in files, not context
Attention manipulation	Re-read plan before decisions (hooks)
Error persistence	Log failures in plan file
Goal tracking	Checkboxes show progress
Completion verification	Stop hook checks all phases

When to Use

Use this pattern for:

• Multi-step tasks (3+ steps)
• Research tasks
• Building/creating projects
• Tasks spanning many tool calls

Skip for:

• Simple questions
• Single-file edits
• Quick lookups

Community Forks

Fork	Author	Features
multi-manus-planning	@kmichels	Multi-project support, SessionStart git sync

Built something? Open an issue to get listed!

Acknowledgments

• Manus AI — For pioneering context engineering patterns
• Anthropic — For Claude Code, Agent Skills, and the Plugin system
• Lance Martin — For the detailed Manus architecture analysis
• Based on Context Engineering for AI Agents

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License — feel free to use, modify, and distribute.

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Author: Ahmad Othman Ammar Adi

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