planning-with-files

Planning with Files

Work like Manus: Use persistent markdown files as your "working memory on disk."

Core Principle

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

→ Anything important gets written to disk.

Quick Start

Before ANY complex task, create these three files:

1. task_plan.md — Track phases and progress
2. findings.md — Store research and discoveries
3. progress.md — Session log and test results

See references/ for starting templates.

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.

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

When to Use This Pattern

Use 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

Templates

• references/task_plan.md — Phase tracking template
• references/findings.md — Research storage template
• references/progress.md — Session logging template

Advanced Topics

• Manus Principles: See references.md for complete context engineering patterns
• Real Examples: See examples.md for practical implementations

Anti-Patterns

Don't	Do Instead
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

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This pattern is why Manus went from launch to $2B acquisition in 8 months.