planning-with-files vs wshobson/agents
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A file-based planning skill that keeps AI coding agents on track across resets and crashes.
Open source · MIT
A collection of plugins, agents, skills, and commands that run across several AI coding tools.
The short answer
Choose planning-with-files if you need…
- Developers running long multi-step tasks in Claude Code or Codex CLI
- People who lose agent progress when the context window fills or is cleared
- Teams wanting a plan that lives in the project as plain markdown files
- Users of agents that support the Agent Skills standard
Choose wshobson/agents if you need…
- Developers who already use one of the listed AI coding tools and want ready-made specialist agents
- Python or JavaScript/TypeScript developers looking for testing, packaging, or project setup guidance
- Teams wanting a shared set of review and security-scanning workflows across different tools
- People who want to install only individual skills without the full plugin set
Side-by-side
| planning-with-files | wshobson/agents | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Dev tool | Dev tool |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 27.8k | 42.1k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | Shell | Python |
| Last code update | 7 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
planning-with-files
This is a skill for AI coding agents that stores a task plan, research notes, and progress log as markdown files in your project. Lifecycle hooks re-inject that planning context so the agent can pick up where it left off after /clear, context compaction, or a crash. The README says it works across 60+ agents via the Agent Skills standard, with native plugins for several hosts including Claude Code and Codex CLI.
wshobson/agents
This project is a shared library of prompts-as-plugins for AI coding assistants. It contains 94 plugins with specialist agents, skills (reference guidance an agent loads when relevant), and commands (named workflows) covering areas like Python, JavaScript, code review, testing, infrastructure, and security. One Markdown source is adapted to Claude Code, OpenAI Codex CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, Antigravity CLI, GitHub Copilot, and Pi.
Best for
planning-with-files
- Developers running long multi-step tasks in Claude Code or Codex CLI
- People who lose agent progress when the context window fills or is cleared
- Teams wanting a plan that lives in the project as plain markdown files
- Users of agents that support the Agent Skills standard
wshobson/agents
- Developers who already use one of the listed AI coding tools and want ready-made specialist agents
- Python or JavaScript/TypeScript developers looking for testing, packaging, or project setup guidance
- Teams wanting a shared set of review and security-scanning workflows across different tools
- People who want to install only individual skills without the full plugin set
Strengths
planning-with-files
- Plain markdown files on disk that you can read, edit, and version-control or gitignore
- Works through the Agent Skills standard across many agents, with native plugins for several hosts
- MIT licensed with a published benchmark and install options via npm, the Claude Code marketplace, or npx
wshobson/agents
- Covers seven coding tools from one shared source of components
- Large catalog: 94 plugins, 202 agents, 185 skills, and 105 commands according to the README
- Offers a skills-only install route that does not require the full plugin set
Not ideal for
planning-with-files
- Short one-off questions where a plan file adds overhead
- People who want a hosted service rather than local files in their repo
- Users of hosts not listed in the README, since native support depends on the host and results may vary
wshobson/agents
- People who do not use any supported AI coding tool, since the components only run inside those harnesses
- Anyone expecting the scores from the plugin-eval tool to prove a task will succeed, because the README says the LLM judge and Monte Carlo layers are experimental and not validated against human labels
- Users wanting a fully stable, versioned release, since the README lists no latest release
Trade-offs
planning-with-files
- Benchmark figures are from the project's own measurements and are reported with stated limits; independent verification is not shown in the README
- Commands and tools vary by host, so the experience differs between integrations
- Session catchup modes can read local agent session records, which the README says requires an explicit opt-in
wshobson/agents
- The README notes that available components depend on the installation route and each harness's limits, so features differ by tool
- Some features (LLM judge, Monte Carlo evaluation) are experimental and may bill your Anthropic API account if ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set
- Pi agents need a separate subagent extension, and the Codex native and generated routes behave differently
Getting started
planning-with-files
Install the skill globally via npx skills
npx skills add OthmanAdi/planning-with-files --skill planning-with-files -gwshobson/agents
Claude Code: register marketplace (run inside Claude Code)
/plugin marketplace add wshobson/agentsClaude Code: install Python plugin (run inside Claude Code)
/plugin install python-development@claude-code-workflowsFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between planning-with-files and wshobson/agents?
planning-with-files: A file-based planning skill that keeps AI coding agents on track across resets and crashes. wshobson/agents: A collection of plugins, agents, skills, and commands that run across several AI coding tools. planning-with-files suits developers running long multi-step tasks in claude code or codex cli, while wshobson/agents suits developers who already use one of the listed ai coding tools and want ready-made specialist agents.
Are planning-with-files and wshobson/agents free?
planning-with-files: Free and open source. wshobson/agents: Free and open source.
Is planning-with-files or wshobson/agents more popular?
wshobson/agents has more GitHub stars (42.1k) than planning-with-files (27.8k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to planning-with-files and wshobson/agents?
Other options people compare them with include OpenHands, 9Router, Ruflo, oh-my-claudecode, OpenSpec.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.