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planning-with-files

This skill implements a file-based planning system for complex, multi-step tasks by creating persistent markdown files to track goals, findings, and progress. It acts as an external working memory to maintain context and organization throughout long workflows or research projects.

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findings.md

# Findings & Decisions
<!-- 
  WHAT: Your knowledge base for the task. Stores everything you discover and decide.
  WHY: Context windows are limited. This file is your "external memory" - persistent and unlimited.
  WHEN: Update after ANY discovery, especially after 2 view/browser/search operations (2-Action Rule).
-->

## Requirements
<!-- 
  WHAT: What the user asked for, broken down into specific requirements.
  WHY: Keeps requirements visible so you don't forget what you're building.
  WHEN: Fill this in during Phase 1 (Requirements & Discovery).
  EXAMPLE:
    - Command-line interface
    - Add tasks
    - List all tasks
    - Delete tasks
    - Python implementation
-->
<!-- Captured from user request -->
-

## Research Findings
<!-- 
  WHAT: Key discoveries from web searches, documentation reading, or exploration.
  WHY: Multimodal content (images, browser results) doesn't persist. Write it down immediately.
  WHEN: After EVERY 2 view/browser/search operations, update this section (2-Action Rule).
  EXAMPLE:
    - Python's argparse module supports subcommands for clean CLI design
    - JSON module handles file persistence easily
    - Standard pattern: python script.py <command> [args]
-->
<!-- Key discoveries during exploration -->
-

## Technical Decisions
<!-- 
  WHAT: Architecture and implementation choices you've made, with reasoning.
  WHY: You'll forget why you chose a technology or approach. This table preserves that knowledge.
  WHEN: Update whenever you make a significant technical choice.
  EXAMPLE:
    | Use JSON for storage | Simple, human-readable, built-in Python support |
    | argparse with subcommands | Clean CLI: python todo.py add "task" |
-->
<!-- Decisions made with rationale -->
| Decision | Rationale |
|----------|-----------|
|          |           |

## Issues Encountered
<!-- 
  WHAT: Problems you ran into and how you solved them.
  WHY: Similar to errors in task_plan.md, but focused on broader issues (not just code errors).
  WHEN: Document when you encounter blockers or unexpected challenges.
  EXAMPLE:
    | Empty file causes JSONDecodeError | Added explicit empty file check before json.load() |
-->
<!-- Errors and how they were resolved -->
| Issue | Resolution |
|-------|------------|
|       |            |

## Resources
<!-- 
  WHAT: URLs, file paths, API references, documentation links you've found useful.
  WHY: Easy reference for later. Don't lose important links in context.
  WHEN: Add as you discover useful resources.
  EXAMPLE:
    - Python argparse docs: https://docs.python.org/3/library/argparse.html
    - Project structure: src/main.py, src/utils.py
-->
<!-- URLs, file paths, API references -->
-

## Visual/Browser Findings
<!-- 
  WHAT: Information you learned from viewing images, PDFs, or browser results.
  WHY: CRITICAL - Visual/multimodal content doesn't persist in context. Must be captured as text.
  WHEN: IMMEDIATELY after viewing images or browser results. Don't wait!
  EXAMPLE:
    - Screenshot shows login form has email and password fields
    - Browser shows API returns JSON with "status" and "data" keys
-->
<!-- CRITICAL: Update after every 2 view/browser operations -->
<!-- Multimodal content must be captured as text immediately -->
-

---
<!-- 
  REMINDER: The 2-Action Rule
  After every 2 view/browser/search operations, you MUST update this file.
  This prevents visual information from being lost when context resets.
-->
*Update this file after every 2 view/browser/search operations*
*This prevents visual information from being lost*