Planning with Files Work like Manus: Use persistent markdown files as your "working memory on disk." FIRST: Check for Previous Session Before starting work , check for unsynced context from a previous session: Note: The scripts/ directory is inside this skill's installation folder.

Linux/macOS

python scripts/session-catchup.py " $( pwd ) "

Windows PowerShell

python scripts\session-catchup . py" ( Get-Location ) If you cannot find the script: Ask Pi to locate it for you: Run the session-catchup.py script from the planning-with-files skill If catchup report shows unsynced context: Run git diff --stat to see actual code changes Read current planning files Update planning files based on catchup + git diff Then proceed with task Important: Where Files Go Templates are in templates/ inside this skill Your planning files go in your project directory Location What Goes There Skill directory Templates, scripts, reference docs Your project directory task_plan.md , findings.md , progress.md Quick Start Before ANY complex task: Create task_plan.md — Use templates/task_plan.md as reference Create findings.md — Use templates/findings.md as reference Create progress.md — Use templates/progress.md as reference Re-read plan before decisions — Refreshes goals in attention window Update after each phase — Mark complete, log errors Note: Planning files go in your project root, not the skill 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 1. Create Plan First Never start a complex task without task_plan.md . Non-negotiable. 2. The 2-Action Rule "After every 2 view/browser/search operations, IMMEDIATELY save key findings to text files." This prevents visual/multimodal information from being lost. 3. Read Before Decide Before major decisions, read the plan file. This keeps goals in your attention window. 4. Update After Act After completing any phase: Mark phase status: in_progress → complete Log any errors encountered Note files created/modified 5. Log ALL Errors Every error goes in the plan file. This builds knowledge and prevents repetition.

Errors Encountered | Error | Attempt | Resolution | |

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| | FileNotFoundError | 1 | Created default config | | API timeout | 2 | Added retry logic | 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 Read vs Write Decision Matrix Situation Action Reason Just wrote a file DON'T read Content still in context Viewed image/PDF Write findings NOW Multimodal → text before lost Browser returned data Write to file Screenshots don't persist Starting new phase Read plan/findings Re-orient if context stale Error occurred Read relevant file Need current state to fix Resuming after gap Read all planning files Recover state The 5-Question Reboot Test If you can answer these, your context management is solid: Question Answer Source Where am I? Current phase in task_plan.md Where am I going? Remaining phases What's the goal? Goal statement in plan What have I learned? findings.md What have I done? progress.md 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 Templates Copy these templates to start: templates/task_plan.md — Phase tracking templates/findings.md — Research storage templates/progress.md — Session logging Scripts Helper scripts for automation: scripts/init-session.sh — Initialize all planning files scripts/check-complete.sh — Verify all phases complete scripts/session-catchup.py — Recover context from previous session (v2.2.0) Advanced Topics Manus Principles: See reference.md Real Examples: See examples.md Anti-Patterns Don't Do Instead Use TodoWrite for persistence Create task_plan.md file State goals once and forget Re-read plan before decisions Hide errors and retry silently Log errors to plan file Stuff everything in context Store large content in files Start executing immediately Create plan file FIRST Repeat failed actions Track attempts, mutate approach Create files in skill directory Create files in your project