GitHub - OthmanAdi/planning-with-files: Claude Code skill implementing Manus-style persistent markdown planning — the workflow pattern behind the $2B acquisition.

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.

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.

Supported IDEs

Documentation

Versions

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.

Session Recovery (NEW in v2.2.0)

When your context window fills up and you run /clear, this skill automatically recovers unsynced work from your previous session.

Optimal Workflow

For the best experience, we recommend:

1. Disable auto-compact in Claude Code settings (use full context window)
2. Start a fresh session in your project
3. Run /planning-with-files when ready to work on a complex task
4. Work until context fills up (Claude will warn you)
5. Run /clear to start fresh
6. Run /planning-with-files again — it will automatically recover where you left off

How Recovery Works

When you invoke /planning-with-files, the skill:

1. Checks for previous session data (stored in ~/.claude/projects/)
2. Finds the last time planning files were updated
3. Extracts conversation that happened after (potentially lost context)
4. Shows a catchup report so you can sync planning files

This means even if context filled up before you could update your planning files, the skill will recover that context in your next session.

Disabling Auto-Compact

To use the full context window without automatic compaction:

# In your Claude Code settings or .claude/settings.json
{
  "autoCompact": false
}

This lets you maximize context usage before manually clearing with /clear.

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
│   ├── kilocode.md
│   ├── codex.md
│   └── opencode.md
├── planning-with-files/     # Plugin skill folder
│   ├── SKILL.md
│   ├── templates/
│   └── scripts/
├── skills/                  # Legacy skill folder
│   └── planning-with-files/
│       ├── SKILL.md
│       ├── examples.md
│       ├── reference.md
│       ├── templates/
│       └── scripts/
│           ├── init-session.sh
│           ├── check-complete.sh
│           ├── init-session.ps1   # Windows PowerShell
│           └── check-complete.ps1 # Windows PowerShell
├── .codex/                  # Codex IDE installation guide
│   └── INSTALL.md
├── .opencode/               # OpenCode IDE installation guide
│   └── INSTALL.md
├── .claude-plugin/          # Plugin manifest
├── .cursor/                 # Cursor rules
├── .kilocode/               # Kilo Code rules
│   └── rules/
│       └── planning-with-files.md
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── LICENSE
└── README.md

The Manus Principles

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

Kilo Code Support

This skill also supports Kilo Code AI through the .kilocode/rules/ directory.

The .kilocode/rules/planning-with-files.md file contains all the planning guidelines formatted for Kilo Code's rules system, providing the same Manus-style planning workflow for Kilo Code users.

Windows users: The skill now includes PowerShell scripts (init-session.ps1 and check-complete.ps1) for native Windows support.

See docs/kilocode.md for detailed Kilo Code integration guide.

Community Forks

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.

Author: Ahmad Othman Ammar Adi

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