How I Built a Cross-Platform Project Management System for AI Agents

#opensource #ai #productivit #tooling

Have you ever tried to manage a complex project through an AI agent conversation? It goes something like this: you ask the agent to build something, it starts working, then you switch contexts, come back, and the agent has no idea what was happening before.

I ran into this problem constantly. So I built Project Overseer — a file-driven project management system that works across OpenClaw, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cline, and Gemini CLI.

The Core Problem

AI agents have no persistent memory between sessions. They forget context the moment you switch tasks. Traditional project management tools (Jira, Notion, Linear) are designed for humans, not agents.

The Solution: File-Driven Context Isolation

Instead of relying on the agent's conversation memory, Project Overseer stores every piece of project state in plain text files:

projects/my_project/
├── plan.md          # Full WBS breakdown
├── status.json      # Current state, risks, dependencies
└── tasks/
    ├── design.md    # One file per sub-task
    ├── backend.md
    └── frontend.md

Each sub-task is a separate file. The agent only loads what it needs. When switching tasks, it saves current progress, clears context, and loads the next task file.

5-Phase State Machine

Requirements Collection — Agent asks clarifying questions before planning
WBS Breakdown — Each task gets effort estimation, feasibility analysis, and tech requirements
User Review — You review and approve before execution starts
Sub-task Execution — Tasks executed one by one with full context switching
Project Complete — All tasks done, project can be archived

Key Differentiator: Impact Output & Propagation

When a sub-task completes, the agent automatically extracts 6 categories of cross-task impact and propagates them to all dependent tasks as pre-start notes. This prevents naming conflicts and design inconsistencies across your entire project.

Change Management

Bottom-up: A sub-task discovers conflicts with completed tasks and proactively prompts to unlock them
Top-down: Say "change requirement" at the master dashboard — the agent runs a full impact assessment across ALL tasks before executing any changes

Zero Setup Required

No API keys. No external services. No database. Just drop the SKILL.md file into your project.

Compatible Platforms

OpenClaw, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cline / RooCode, Gemini CLI

Quick Start

Say "project overseer" to start
Answer requirements questions
Say "requirements done" for WBS breakdown
Say "approved" to enter execution
Say "start " to begin
Say "back to master" to check dashboard

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