Planning with Files (Kiro)

Work like Manus: use persistent markdown as your working memory on disk while the model context behaves like volatile RAM. Deep background: references/manus-principles.md.

Kiro complements this with:

• Agent Skills (this file) — progressive disclosure when the task matches the description.
• Steering — after bootstrap, .kiro/steering/planning-context.md uses inclusion: auto and #[[file:…]] live references (Steering docs).

Hooks are not bundled: project-level hooks affect every chat in the workspace. Prefer this skill + steering + the reminder block below.

STEP 0 — Bootstrap (once per workspace)

From the workspace root:

sh .kiro/skills/planning-with-files/assets/scripts/bootstrap.sh

Windows (PowerShell):

pwsh -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .kiro/skills/planning-with-files/assets/scripts/bootstrap.ps1

Creates:

• .kiro/plan/task_plan.md, findings.md, progress.md
• .kiro/steering/planning-context.md (auto + #[[file:.kiro/plan/…]])

Idempotent: existing files are not overwritten.

Import as a workspace skill (optional): Kiro → Agent Steering & Skills → Import a skill → choose this planning-with-files folder (Skills docs).

STEP 1 — Persistent reminder (after skill activation)

Append the following block to the end of your reply, and repeat it at the end of subsequent replies while this planning session is active:

[Planning Active] Before each turn, read .kiro/plan/task_plan.md and .kiro/plan/progress.md to restore context.

STEP 2 — Read plan every turn (while active)

1. Read .kiro/plan/task_plan.md — goal, phases, status
2. Read .kiro/plan/progress.md — recent actions
3. Use .kiro/plan/findings.md for research and decisions

If .kiro/plan/ is missing, run STEP 0.

STEP 3 — Session catchup (after a long gap or suspected drift)

Summaries + file mtimes (compare with git diff --stat if needed):

$(command -v python3 || command -v python) \
  .kiro/skills/planning-with-files/assets/scripts/session-catchup.py "$(pwd)"

Windows:

python .kiro/skills/planning-with-files/assets/scripts/session-catchup.py (Get-Location)

Then reconcile planning files with the actual codebase.

Optional — Phase checklist

From workspace root (defaults to .kiro/plan/task_plan.md):

sh .kiro/skills/planning-with-files/assets/scripts/check-complete.sh

pwsh -File .kiro/skills/planning-with-files/assets/scripts/check-complete.ps1

Rules (summary)

Full detail: references/planning-rules.md. Inline template skeletons: references/planning-templates.md.

1. Plan first — no open-ended multi-step work without task_plan.md.
2. 2-action rule — after every two view/search/browser steps, write to findings.md.
3. Read before big decisions — refresh task_plan.md into attention.
4. Update after each phase — in_progress → complete, log errors.
5. Never repeat the same failed action — change tool, approach, or assumptions.

When to use

Use: multi-step work, research, refactors, anything that spans many tool calls.

Skip: one-off questions, tiny single-file edits.

Anti-patterns