Pi Planning With Files

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

A Pi Coding Agent skill that transforms your workflow to use persistent markdown files for planning, progress tracking, and knowledge storage.

The Problem

Most AI agents suffer from:

• Volatile memory — Context resets lose history
• Goal drift — Long tasks lose focus
• Hidden errors — Failures aren't tracked

The Solution

For every complex task, create THREE files:

• task_plan.md (Phases & Progress)
• findings.md (Research & Notes)
• progress.md (Session Log)

Installation

Pi Install

pi install npm:pi-planning-with-files

Manual Install

1. Navigate to your project root.
2. Create the .pi/skills directory if it doesn't exist.
3. Copy the planning-with-files skill folder into .pi/skills/.

Usage

Pi Agent automatically discovers skills in .pi/skills or installed via NPM.

Start Planning

Ask Pi:

Use the planning-with-files skill to help me with this task.

Or:

Start by creating task_plan.md.

Important Limitations

Note: Hooks (PreToolUse, PostToolUse, Stop) are Claude Code specific and are not currently supported in Pi Agent.

What works in Pi Agent:

• Core 3-file planning pattern
• Templates (task_plan.md, findings.md, progress.md)
• All planning rules and guidelines
• The 2-Action Rule
• The 3-Strike Error Protocol
• Session Recovery (via session-catchup.py)

Session Recovery

If you clear context, recover your state:

python3 .pi/skills/planning-with-files/scripts/session-catchup.py .

File Structure

When installed, the skill provides templates to create:

your-project/
├── task_plan.md
├── findings.md
├── progress.md