---
title: "planning-with-files vs claude-mem"
type: "comparison"
canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/othmanadi-planning-with-files-vs-thedotmack-claude-mem"
tools: ["othmanadi-planning-with-files", "thedotmack-claude-mem"]
---

# planning-with-files vs claude-mem

Neutral, constraint-first comparison with live GitHub stats.

| | [planning-with-files](/tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files.md) | [claude-mem](/tools/thedotmack-claude-mem.md) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tagline | Persistent file-based planning for AI coding agents | Persistent Context Across Sessions for Every Agent |
| Stars | 25,031 | 86,377 |
| Forks | 2,122 | 7,473 |
| Open issues | 5 | 235 |
| Language | Python | JavaScript |
| Adopt for | Planning with Files is a persistent file-based planning tool designed for long-running and crash-proof AI coding agents. It employs markdown files (`task_plan.md`, `findings.md`, `progress.md`) as storage to ensure tasks | Claude-Mem offers persistent context compression across sessions for multiple AI agents including Claude Code, OpenClaw, and Codex. It captures interactions during sessions, compresses the context using AI, and reintrodu |
| Persona | - | - |
| Runtime | - | - |
| License | MIT | Claude-Mem is released under the Apache-2.0 license. |
| Categories | AI Agents, Developer Tools | AI Agents, Data & Retrieval |

## Trust and health

_Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._

| | [planning-with-files](/tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files.md) | [claude-mem](/tools/thedotmack-claude-mem.md) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Open issues (now) | 5 | 235 |
| Full report | [trust report](/tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/thedotmack-claude-mem/trust.md) |

**Typed relationship:** planning-with-files _(alternative)_ claude-mem

Both planning-with-files and claude-mem provide persistent context solutions for AI agents. However, they do so in different ways: claude-mem offers a general persistent memory layer whereas planning-with-files uses file-based plans.

## Decision facts: planning-with-files

- **Pricing:** freemium - Available under the MIT license, Planning with Files is free and open-source for download and use. There are no direct costs associated with using the tool itself, but it relies on third-party AI-codE
- **Requirements:** Min 2 GB RAM; - Requires Python to operate effectively.; - Works across a broad spectrum of AI coding agents including Claude Code, Codex CLI, and over sixty other compatible platforms via the SKILL.md standard.
- **Adopt for:** Planning with Files is a persistent file-based planning tool designed for long-running and crash-proof AI coding agents. It employs markdown files (`task_plan.md`, `findings.md`, `progress.md`) as storage to ensure tasks

## Decision facts: claude-mem

- **Pricing:** freemium - The software itself is free to use due to its open-source nature, but there may be costs associated with the infrastructure it runs on or optional advanced services.
- **Adopt for:** Claude-Mem offers persistent context compression across sessions for multiple AI agents including Claude Code, OpenClaw, and Codex. It captures interactions during sessions, compresses the context using AI, and reintrodu
- **License detail:** Claude-Mem is released under the Apache-2.0 license.

## Choose when

### Choose planning-with-files if…

- planning-with-files is primarily Python; claude-mem is JavaScript.
- License: planning-with-files is MIT, claude-mem is Apache-2.0.
- Pricing: Available under the MIT license, Planning with Files is free and open-source for download and use. There are no direct costs associated with using the tool itself, but it relies on third-party AI-codE.
- Requirements: Min 2 GB RAM; - Requires Python to operate effectively.; - Works across a broad spectrum of AI coding agents including Claude Code, Codex CLI, and over sixty other compatible platforms via the SKILL.md standard..
- Both planning-with-files and claude-mem provide persistent context solutions for AI agents. However, they do so in different ways: claude-mem offers a general persistent memory layer whereas planning-with-files uses file-based plans.
- Tags unique to planning-with-files: agent-skills, long-running-tasks, file-based-planning, persistent-planning.
- Also covers Developer Tools.
- - When working on projects that require prolonged and uninterrupted AI-assisted development, such as large-scale software engineering or research initiatives.

### Choose claude-mem if…

- claude-mem is primarily JavaScript; planning-with-files is Python.
- License: claude-mem is Apache-2.0, planning-with-files is MIT.
- Pricing: The software itself is free to use due to its open-source nature, but there may be costs associated with the infrastructure it runs on or optional advanced services..
- Both planning-with-files and claude-mem provide persistent context solutions for AI agents. However, they do so in different ways: claude-mem offers a general persistent memory layer whereas planning-with-files uses file-based plans.
- Tags unique to claude-mem: embeddings, artificial-intelligence, chromadb, ai-memory.
- Also covers Data & Retrieval.
- claude-mem ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment.
- claude-mem ships an MCP server manifest.
- - Use Claude-Mem when you need to maintain a consistent and detailed memory of interactions over time with agents such as Claude Code or OpenClaw.

## When NOT to use planning-with-files

- - If your project involves small-scale or short-term coding tasks that do not require long-running, persistent planning.
- - When working in environments with high security constraints where file-based persistence is restricted and cloud-based solutions are more appropriate.
- - For projects that prioritize real-time interactions over long-term task continuity; Planning with Files may introduce additional latency due to file operations.

## When NOT to use claude-mem

- - Avoid using Claude-Mem if your application does not require persistent context storage between sessions or has a preference for manual control over interaction history management.
- - Not recommended for users who are only interested in short-term interactions and do not need the feature of compressing session content for future sessions.

## Common questions

### What is the difference between planning-with-files and claude-mem?

planning-with-files: Persistent file-based planning for AI coding agents. claude-mem: Persistent Context Across Sessions for Every Agent. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.

### When should I choose planning-with-files over claude-mem?

Choose planning-with-files over claude-mem when planning-with-files is primarily Python; claude-mem is JavaScript; License: planning-with-files is MIT, claude-mem is Apache-2.0; Pricing: Available under the MIT license, Planning with Files is free and open-source for download and use. There are no direct costs associated with using the tool itself, but it relies on third-party AI-codE; Requirements: Min 2 GB RAM; - Requires Python to operate effectively.; - Works across a broad spectrum of AI coding agents including Claude Code, Codex CLI, and over sixty other compatible platforms via the SKILL.md standard.; Both planning-with-files and claude-mem provide persistent context solutions for AI agents. However, they do so in different ways: claude-mem offers a general persistent memory layer whereas planning-with-files uses file-based plans; Tags unique to planning-with-files: agent-skills, long-running-tasks, file-based-planning, persistent-planning; Also covers Developer Tools; - When working on projects that require prolonged and uninterrupted AI-assisted development, such as large-scale software engineering or research initiatives.

### When should I choose claude-mem over planning-with-files?

Choose claude-mem over planning-with-files when claude-mem is primarily JavaScript; planning-with-files is Python; License: claude-mem is Apache-2.0, planning-with-files is MIT; Pricing: The software itself is free to use due to its open-source nature, but there may be costs associated with the infrastructure it runs on or optional advanced services.; Both planning-with-files and claude-mem provide persistent context solutions for AI agents. However, they do so in different ways: claude-mem offers a general persistent memory layer whereas planning-with-files uses file-based plans; Tags unique to claude-mem: embeddings, artificial-intelligence, chromadb, ai-memory; Also covers Data & Retrieval; claude-mem ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; claude-mem ships an MCP server manifest; - Use Claude-Mem when you need to maintain a consistent and detailed memory of interactions over time with agents such as Claude Code or OpenClaw.

### When should I avoid planning-with-files?

- If your project involves small-scale or short-term coding tasks that do not require long-running, persistent planning. - When working in environments with high security constraints where file-based persistence is restricted and cloud-based solutions are more appropriate. - For projects that prioritize real-time interactions over long-term task continuity; Planning with Files may introduce additional latency due to file operations.

### When should I avoid claude-mem?

- Avoid using Claude-Mem if your application does not require persistent context storage between sessions or has a preference for manual control over interaction history management. - Not recommended for users who are only interested in short-term interactions and do not need the feature of compressing session content for future sessions.

### Is planning-with-files or claude-mem more popular on GitHub?

claude-mem has more GitHub stars (86,377 vs 25,031). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.

### Are planning-with-files and claude-mem open source?

Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (planning-with-files: MIT, claude-mem: Apache-2.0).

### Where can I find alternatives to planning-with-files or claude-mem?

GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at /tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files/alternatives and /tools/thedotmack-claude-mem/alternatives (/tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files/alternatives.md, /tools/thedotmack-claude-mem/alternatives.md), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes.

### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison?

Yes. The markdown twin at /compare/othmanadi-planning-with-files-vs-thedotmack-claude-mem.md mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.

### Which is better maintained, planning-with-files or claude-mem?

planning-with-files: Very active. claude-mem: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance.

### Where are the full trust reports for planning-with-files and claude-mem?

GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: planning-with-files: /tools/othmanadi-planning-with-files/trust; claude-mem: /tools/thedotmack-claude-mem/trust.

---

**Machine-readable endpoints**

- JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=othmanadi-planning-with-files`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=othmanadi-planning-with-files)
- LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt)
- Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt)

_GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_