Turn your plan into a plan file with Claude

By the endYou have a one-page plan file saved on your computer, ready to give to Claude in Part 4.

Everything from this part now goes on one page: your plan file. In Part 4 you hand this file to Claude in the Code tab. It then builds with your plan in front of it, which saves hours of "no, I meant...".

Have Claude interview you

The message for your kind of app already holds the whole plan, with the features in the order the guide builds them. A few lines say ASK ME: Claude asks you about those, one at a time, and you answer. Open a new chat, send the message, and answer the questions. If you have notes from the earlier steps, paste them as your next message; Claude skips what they already answer.

Collection tracker

Copy for Claude

I'm a beginner planning my first phone app, a trading card collection tracker. I'll build it with you step by step, following a guide. Below is my plan. Some lines say ASK ME: ask me about each of those, one question at a time, in plain words, and wait for my answer. Don't suggest extra features. When you have my answers, write the plan with exactly these headings: Name / In one sentence / Who it's for / What makes it different / Must-haves (numbered, in build order) / Later (numbered, in build order) / Screens / Keep it simple / Open questions. One page, plain words, nothing before or after it. Name: ASK ME for my working name. In one sentence: My app helps collectors see what each card and their whole collection is worth, so they stop guessing. ASK ME if I want to change this. Who it's for: ASK ME. A collector; which games, roughly how many cards, and what they do today. What makes it different: ASK ME for one thing. Must-haves, in build order: 1. The user sees their collection as a list with the total value at the top. 2. Every card is saved as its exact printing: game, set, card number, language, finish or edition, plus condition and how many copies. 3. The user can search a card by name, set or number from card data inside the app and add it in a few taps, or add a card by hand if it isn't found. 4. The list shows each card's condition, quantity and what the user paid. 5. Each card shows a value, and the total adds them up. 6. A card page shows every detail in full, the value, and a price history. 7. A wishlist of wanted cards, and which cards from a set are still missing. 8. Sealed products and graded slabs as their own kinds of item. Later, after the app has a server and accounts, in build order: 1. Prices from a price service, each one saying how fresh it is, never another card's price. 2. Price history and "since you got it". 3. Buying, selling and trading with a deal screen. 4. A customer view that hides costs and profit. 5. A card show mode with totals. 6. Customer records. 7. Scanning cards with the camera. 8. Price labels. 9. Card payments at shows. 10. Grading certificate lookups. 11. A public storefront and shareable want lists. Screens: My cards (list with total), Add card (search, then printing details, condition, quantity, paid, value), Card (details, value, history, edit, delete), Wishlist, Sets. Keep it simple: one game to start, ASK ME which. No account, no server and no paid service or secret key in the first version; a free card data source that needs no key is fine. Values come from that source where it has them, or are typed by the user, until prices are added. Card names and details are always shown in full, never cut short. Open questions: ASK ME which currency to use, and anything I'm unsure about.

Seller's app

Copy for Claude

I'm a beginner planning my first phone app, for selling trading cards at card shows and in deals. I'll build it with you step by step, following a guide. Below is my plan. Some lines say ASK ME: ask me about each of those, one question at a time, in plain words, and wait for my answer. Don't suggest extra features. When you have my answers, write the plan with exactly these headings: Name / In one sentence / Who it's for / What makes it different / Must-haves (numbered, in build order) / Later (numbered, in build order) / Screens / Keep it simple / Open questions. One page, plain words, nothing before or after it. Name: ASK ME for my working name. In one sentence: My app helps card sellers buy, sell and trade at shows with honest prices and private costs, so every deal is fast and fair. ASK ME if I want to change this. Who it's for: ASK ME. A weekend seller; how many shows, how big the stock, who helps at the table. What makes it different: ASK ME for one thing. Must-haves, in build order: 1. The user sees their stock as a list with the total value at the top. 2. Every card is saved as its exact printing: game, set, card number, language, finish or edition, plus condition, quantity, what they paid and their asking price. 3. The user can search a card by name, set or number from card data inside the app and add it in a few taps, or add a card by hand if it isn't found. 4. The list shows each card's condition, quantity, cost and asking price. 5. Each card shows a value, and the total adds them up. 6. A card page shows every detail in full, the value, and a price history. 7. A "we're buying" list of wanted cards. 8. Sealed products and graded slabs as their own kinds of item. Later, after the app has a server and accounts, in build order: 1. Prices from a price service, each one saying how fresh it is, never another card's price. 2. Price history and "since you got it". 3. Deals: buy, sell and trade at the table, with a buy percentage I set once and can change per deal and per card, and separate cash and trade rates. 4. A customer view that shows prices and the offer and hides costs, profit and other customers. 5. A card show mode: start and end times, starting cash, table fees, totals per show. 6. Customer records. 7. Scanning cards with the camera. 8. Price labels and QR stickers. 9. Card payments at the table. 10. Grading certificate lookups. 11. A public storefront and shareable want lists. 12. Helpers at the table with their own sign-in. Screens: Stock (list with total), Add card (search, then printing details, condition, quantity, cost, price), Card (details, value, history, edit, delete), Buying list. Later: Deal, Customer view, Show. Keep it simple: one game to start, ASK ME which. No account, no server and no paid service or secret key in the first version; a free card data source that needs no key is fine. Values come from that source where it has them, or are typed by the user, and costs are always typed, until prices are added. From day one, no screen a customer might see shows cost or profit. Card names and details are always shown in full, never cut short. Open questions: ASK ME which currency to use, and anything I'm unsure about.

Shop app

Copy for Claude

I'm a beginner planning my first phone app, for my trading card shop. I'll build it with you step by step, following a guide. Below is my plan. Some lines say ASK ME: ask me about each of those, one question at a time, in plain words, and wait for my answer. Don't suggest extra features. When you have my answers, write the plan with exactly these headings: Name / In one sentence / Who it's for / What makes it different / Must-haves (numbered, in build order) / Later (numbered, in build order) / Screens / Keep it simple / Open questions. One page, plain words, nothing before or after it. Name: ASK ME for my working name. In one sentence: My app helps a card shop know what it has and what customers want, so "do you have it?" takes seconds. ASK ME if I want to change this. Who it's for: ASK ME. The shop owner or the person behind the counter; the size of the shop, who else works there. What makes it different: ASK ME for one thing. Must-haves, in build order: 1. The user sees the shop's stock as a list with the total value at the top. 2. Every card is saved as its exact printing: game, set, card number, language, finish or edition, plus condition, quantity, cost and price. 3. The user can search a card by name, set or number from card data inside the app and add it in a few taps, or add a card by hand if it isn't found. 4. The list shows each card's condition, quantity, cost and price. 5. Each card shows a value, and the total adds them up. 6. A card page shows every detail in full, the value, and a price history. 7. Customers' want lists: each want is a card picked from the card data, with the customer's first name and how to reach them. 8. Sealed products and graded slabs as their own kinds of item. Later, after the app has a server and accounts, in build order: 1. Prices from a price service, each one saying how fresh it is, never another card's price. 2. Price history. 3. Buys and sells at the counter with a deal screen. 4. A customer view that hides costs and profit. 5. A show mode for events the shop runs or attends. 6. Customer records, and a notice when a wanted card comes in. 7. Scanning cards with the camera. 8. Price labels. 9. Card payments. 10. Grading certificate lookups. 11. A public storefront page with what's for sale and what we're buying. 12. Staff sign-ins. Screens: Stock (list with total), Add item (search, then printing details, condition, quantity, cost, price), Item (details, value, history, edit, delete), Want lists. Later: Storefront, Customers. Keep it simple: one game to start, ASK ME which. No account, no server and no paid service or secret key in the first version; a free card data source that needs no key is fine. Values come from that source where it has them, or are typed by the user, and costs are always typed, until prices are added. Card names and details are always shown in full, never cut short. Open questions: ASK ME which currency to use, and anything I'm unsure about.

Answer one question at a time, in a sentence or two. "I don't know yet" is a fine answer. It goes under Open questions.

Read the plan and fix it

Read every line of the plan Claude writes. Fix what's wrong: "Under Must-haves, number 7 should say wishlist, not wanted list. Keep the rest." The must-haves are your first version, split into small pieces, one for each building step, in the order Part 6 builds them. That is why there are more of them than in step 5: each one is smaller. The Later list comes after the server. When it's right, ask for a clean copy:

Save it as a file

The file must be plain text: only letters and numbers, no fonts or colors, ending in .txt. Claude reads that best.

On a Mac

Move the pointer over Claude's answer and click the Copy button that appears below it. No button? Drag from the first word to the last to select the text, then press Command + C.
Open TextEdit: press Command + Space, type TextEdit, press Return.
If a window of files appears, click New Document at the bottom left.
Click the Format menu at the top of the screen. If it says Make Plain Text, click it. If it says Make Rich Text, it is already plain text; do nothing.
Click in the empty document and press Command + V.
Press Command + S. In the name box type your working name in lowercase with no spaces, then -plan. For the example app the file ends up as binder-plan.txt.
In the Where menu, choose Documents.
Click Save. The file is now in your Documents folder, ending in .txt.

On a Windows PC

Move the pointer over Claude's answer and click the Copy button that appears below it. No button? Drag from the first word to the last to select the text, then press Ctrl + C.
Open Notepad: press Windows, type notepad, press Enter. If it opens with old text in it, press Ctrl + N for a fresh page.
Click in the empty page and press Ctrl + V. Notepad always saves plain text, so there is nothing to switch.
Press Ctrl + S. A save box opens.
In the File name box type your working name in lowercase with no spaces, then -plan. For the example app the file ends up as binder-plan.txt. Leave Save as type on Text Documents.
Click Documents in the list on the left of the box. If your Documents folder lives in OneDrive, it may show as OneDrive, then Documents; that is the same folder.
Click Save. The file is now in your Documents folder, ending in .txt. File Explorer may show it without the .txt ending; Part 1 showed how to show endings.

What Binder's plan looks like

A shortened version, so you know the shape:

Name: Binder (working name)
In one sentence: Binder helps collectors see what each card and their whole collection is worth, so they stop guessing.
Who it's for: Dre, 29, about 400 cards in binders, no idea of the total, wants to add a card in under a minute.
What makes it different: the three-tap collection app, no account.
Must-haves, in build order: the list with a total; every card as its exact printing with condition and copies; search and add from card data, or by hand; condition, quantity and what he paid on the list; a value per card and the total; a card page with history; wishlist and sets; sealed and graded items.
Later, after the server: prices from a price service; "since you got it"; deals; the customer view; show mode; customers; scanning; labels; payments; certificates; a storefront.
Screens: My cards, Add card, Card, Wishlist, Sets.
Keep it simple: one game; no account, no server, no paid service, everything saved on the phone; a free card data source; its values or typed ones until prices are added; names never cut short.
Open questions: which currency.

Yours will be longer. One page is the limit.