planning-with-files

To preserve task planning state across sessions, use on-disk markdown planning files like task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md to maintain goals, decisions, and session history. This persistent file-based memory prevents context loss during complex workflows.

The best way to recover a complex workflow after a session clear is automatic session recovery using persistent planning files. The task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md lifecycle tracks phases and history, allowing you to resume work without losing context.

You manage multi-step research and development tasks by organizing them with file-based planning documents. Creating task_plan.md and findings.md in your project root tracks phases, decisions, and progress, providing a persistent memory for execution workflows.

You need lightweight templates and scripts to initialize and validate planning workflows for research, development, and project execution. These templates establish the formal task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md lifecycle required to track complex operations.

You should use on-disk planning files when complex, multi-step tasks require many tool calls and exceed standard memory confines. This approach applies to research, planning, and project execution workflows across software, data, and operations.

To start the persistent planning workflow, create task_plan.md and findings.md in your project root, then begin your task. These files, along with progress.md, manage the formal lifecycle required to track phases, decisions, and session recovery.