Documentation section: Reference
Planning files
The files pm-init creates in the PM root, what each one holds, and the derived export written beside
them.
The paths below use the default PM root; replace planning/ with the
directory selected during pm-setup.
| File | Holds |
|---|---|
planning/config.md |
Handoffs to workflow skills, limits, commit policy, rules version, last review date |
planning/VISION.md |
v1 outcomes, out of scope, constraints |
planning/STRATEGY.md |
Focus, milestones, bets, assumptions, not doing, decisions |
planning/NOW.md |
The one active item, its checkpoint, decisions, and context |
planning/ROADMAP.md |
Next (ordered, maximum 5) and Later, with owner and dependencies |
planning/LOG.md |
Done, Dropped, Reviews |
planning/STACK.md |
Suspended operations, newest first, with their checkpoints |
planning/PAUSE.md |
The paused session’s position, written by pm-pause; deleted once pm-resume continues it |
planning/RISKS.md |
The risk register: open, closed, and removed risks with likelihood, impact, and RAG |
planning/inbox/ |
The parking lot: one file per idea |
planning/briefs/ |
One shaped idea per file: challenges, ramifications, decision |
planning/research/ |
One pm-discover report per run |
Projects initialised before version 4 keep working. The new files are
created on first use; run pm-strategy to create STRATEGY.md.
Which skill writes which file
Section titled “Which skill writes which file”The export
Section titled “The export”planning/planning.json and planning/planning.schema.json are written by
pm-export on first use. They are derived from the files above: never
hand-edit them, and never treat them as the state. Once they exist, every
PM commit refreshes them first (Export on commit in config.md:
if present by default, or always or never).
What each version added to these files: Version history.