Work items
Work items are plans stored as local files in your Lux Lab project. Each one contains a structured description for you and your AI agents of what needs to be built or fixed.
Work items and plan mode
Work items act as a lightweight task-tracking system tied directly to your project. Lux Lab creates a work item when you or the agent work in plan mode. When you ask the agent to plan a task before implementing it, Lux Lab saves the resulting plan as a work item file.
Work items have the following characteristics:
- They're stored as files in your local project.
- They're tied to a specific project, and each work item records which project it belongs to.
- AI agents can execute or iterate on them, using the plan as their guiding context.
- They're visible and manageable from within the app.
Work item access
You can open work items from the Activity Bar or from the Explorer sidebar.
-
Activity Bar
Select the Work Items icon in the Activity Bar to open the dedicated Work Items panel. The panel lists all work items associated with the current project.
-
Sidebar
A Work Items accordion is pinned at the bottom of the left sidebar, below the file tree. Expanding it shows all active work items for the project without leaving the Explorer view.
Work item creation
You create work items through the Agent Chat Harness, using plan mode. The agent produces a structured plan from your requirements, and you save that plan as a work item. You agree on an explicit plan before the agent makes any code changes.
For the steps, see Create a work item.
Work item storage
Work items are stored as files within your project directory. Because they're project-local files, they have the following properties:
- They're tied to the project they were created for.
- They're portable, so you can commit them to source control and teammates can see the planned work.
- They're readable by agents. When an agent starts working on a project, it can reference existing work item files as context.
---
title: Work items
description: Work items are plans stored as local files in your Lux Lab project. Each one contains a structured description for you and your AI agents of what needs to be built or fixed.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/application-development/work-items.html
release: australia
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-09-30"
reading_time_minutes: 1
keywords: [Work items, Work items and plan mode, Work item access, Work item creation, Work item storage]
breadcrumb: [Exploring Lux Lab, Lux Lab, Building pro-code applications, Developing your application, Classic app development, Building applications]
---
# Work items
Work items are plans stored as local files in your Lux Lab project. Each one contains a structured description for you and your AI agents of what needs to be built or fixed.
## Work items and plan mode
Work items act as a lightweight task-tracking system tied directly to your project. Lux Lab creates a work item when you or the agent work in plan mode. When you ask the agent to plan a task before implementing it, Lux Lab saves the resulting plan as a work item file.
Work items have the following characteristics:
- They're stored as files in your local project.
- They're tied to a specific project, and each work item records which project it belongs to.
- AI agents can execute or iterate on them, using the plan as their guiding context.
- They're visible and manageable from within the app.
## Work item access
You can open work items from the Activity Bar or from the Explorer sidebar.
- **Activity Bar**
Select the **Work Items** icon in the Activity Bar to open the dedicated Work Items panel. The panel lists all work items associated with the current project.
- **Sidebar**
A **Work Items** accordion is pinned at the bottom of the left sidebar, below the file tree. Expanding it shows all active work items for the project without leaving the Explorer view.
## Work item creation
You create work items through the Agent Chat Harness, using plan mode. The agent produces a structured plan from your requirements, and you save that plan as a work item. You agree on an explicit plan before the agent makes any code changes.
For the steps, see [Create a work item](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/create-a-work-item.md).
## Work item storage
Work items are stored as files within your project directory. Because they're project-local files, they have the following properties:
- They're tied to the project they were created for.
- They're portable, so you can commit them to source control and teammates can see the planned work.
- They're readable by agents. When an agent starts working on a project, it can reference existing work item files as context.
| title | Work items |
| description | Work items are plans stored as local files in your Lux Lab project. Each one contains a structured description for you and your AI agents of what needs to be built or fixed. |
| locale | en-US |
| canonical_url | https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/application-development/work-items.html |
| release | australia |
| topic_type | concept |
| last_updated | 2026-09-30 |
| reading_time_minutes | 1 |
| keywords | Work itemsWork items and plan modeWork item accessWork item creationWork item storage |
| breadcrumb | Exploring Lux LabLux LabBuilding pro-code applicationsDeveloping your applicationClassic app developmentBuilding applications |