planning-with-files

Maintains persistent markdown planning files on disk so agent work survives context loss.

Updated Mar 9, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/ArMaTeC/Redball --skill planning-with-files-armatec
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: planning-with-files
Source: https://github.com/ArMaTeC/Redball/tree/main/.devin/skills/planning-with-files
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/ArMaTeC/Redball --skill planning-with-files-armatec

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill includes scripts (resource) and references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve? AI coding agents lose track of goals and progress when context windows fill up or sessions are cleared. This Skill stores task plans, findings, and progress logs as markdown files on disk, so multi-step work survives context compaction, /clear commands, and session restarts. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Persistent Three-File Planning: Creates and maintains task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md in your project directory as external working memory. - Automatic Context Injection: Hooks re-inject the current plan at each turn and before compaction, keeping goals in the model's attention window. - Parallel Plan Isolation: Supports multiple concurrent plans under .planning/<date>-<slug>/ directories with an active-plan pointer for multi-task workflows. - Plan Integrity Attestation: SHA-256 attestation locks an approved plan and blocks injection if the file is tampered with. - Use Case: Ask the agent to refactor a large module across many files; it writes a phased plan first, logs errors and decisions as it works, and resumes correctly after a /clear. ## Quick Start Ask the agent to plan out and execute your multi-step task using persistent planning files, for example: create a plan and implement the new authentication feature step by step.

Frequently Asked Questions about planning-with-files

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I make an AI coding agent remember its plan across sessions?▼

Write the plan to persistent markdown files on disk instead of relying on context. This Skill creates task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md in your project and re-injects them via hooks, so work survives /clear and context compaction.

How to run multiple planning sessions in the same repository?▼

Run init-session.sh with a project name to create an isolated plan under .planning/<date>-<slug>/. Switch between plans with set-active-plan.sh or pin a terminal by exporting PLAN_ID to the plan identifier.

Does planning-with-files work on Windows?▼

Yes, it ships PowerShell equivalents (init-session.ps1, check-complete.ps1, attest-plan.ps1) alongside the bash scripts. Hooks detect the platform and invoke the appropriate script automatically.

What is the difference between autonomous and gated mode?▼

Autonomous mode drops per-tool-call plan re-injection and uses a structured ledger summary to reduce token cost. Gated mode adds a Stop-hook completion gate that can block the agent from stopping while a phase is still marked in_progress.

How does the skill prevent prompt injection through plan files?▼

Plan content is wrapped in BEGIN/END delimiters and treated as data, and an optional SHA-256 attestation locks the approved plan. If the file changes without re-attestation, hooks refuse to inject it and emit a tamper warning.

When should I not use file-based planning?▼

Skip it for simple questions, single-file edits, and quick lookups where planning overhead exceeds the benefit. It is designed for tasks with three or more steps or roughly five or more tool calls.