brainstorming
Use when starting any feature, project, or design work. Guides collaborative design refinement through incremental questioning before any code is written.
What this skill does
# Brainstorming ## Core Principle **Design before code. Always.** Don't jump into implementation. Tease out the spec through conversation first. ## The Brainstorming Process ### Step 1: Understand the Goal Ask clarifying questions: - What problem are we solving? - Who is the user? - What does success look like? - What are the constraints? **One question at a time** - Don't overwhelm with multiple questions. ### Step 2: Explore the Space - What are the possible approaches? - What are the trade-offs? - What similar problems exist? - What patterns apply? ### Step 3: Propose Alternatives Always present **2-3 approaches** before settling: ```markdown ## Option A: [Name] - Pros: ... - Cons: ... - Best when: ... ## Option B: [Name] - Pros: ... - Cons: ... - Best when: ... ## Option C: [Name] - Pros: ... - Cons: ... - Best when: ... **Recommendation:** Option [X] because... ``` ### Step 4: Incremental Validation Present design in digestible chunks: - Show one section at a time - Get sign-off before moving on - Allow for course corrections ### Step 5: Document the Design Save to: `docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md` ## YAGNI Ruthlessly During brainstorming, actively remove: - Features that "might be nice" - Edge cases that "could happen" - Abstractions for "future flexibility" - Optimizations for "scale we might need" Ask: **"Do we need this for the MVP?"** ## Question Techniques ### Multiple Choice Preferred Instead of: "How should we handle errors?" Ask: "For error handling, should we: A) Return error codes, B) Throw exceptions, C) Use Result types?" ### Constrained Questions Instead of: "What should the API look like?" Ask: "Should this be REST, GraphQL, or RPC?" ### Assumption Surfacing - "I'm assuming X. Is that correct?" - "This depends on Y. Is that available?" - "The constraint seems to be Z. Agreed?" ## Output: Design Document ```markdown # [Feature Name] Design ## Problem Statement What problem are we solving? ## Goals - Goal 1 - Goal 2 ## Non-Goals - Explicitly out of scope item 1 - Explicitly out of scope item 2 ## Proposed Solution Overview of the approach ## Alternatives Considered Why we didn't choose other approaches ## Technical Design ### Component A ... ### Component B ... ## Open Questions - Question 1 - Question 2 ## Next Steps 1. Step 1 2. Step 2 ``` ## Transition to Implementation After design is approved: 1. Ask: "Ready to set up for implementation?" 2. Use `using-git-worktrees` skill to create isolated workspace 3. Use `writing-plans` skill to create detailed implementation plan ## Anti-Patterns ### Don't Do This - Start coding before design is clear - Present only one option - Ask open-ended questions when specific ones work - Skip validation of each section - Assume requirements are complete - Over-engineer the initial design
Related in Design
contribute
IncludedLocal-only OSS contribution command center. Auto-refreshes the user's in-flight PR and issue state on invoke so conversations start with full context — no need to brief Claude on what's in flight. Helps the user find issues to contribute to on GitHub, builds per-repo dossiers of what each upstream expects (CLA, DCO, branch convention, AI policy, draft-first, review bots, issue templates), runs deterministic gates before any external action so AI-assisted contributions don't reach maintainers as slop. State is markdown-only: candidate files at ~/.contribute-system/candidates/, repo dossiers at ~/.contribute-system/research/, append-only event log at ~/.contribute-system/log.jsonl. No database, no cloud calls. Use when the user asks about their PRs / issues / contributions, wants to find new work to take on, claim an issue, build/refresh a repo's dossier, or draft a Design Issue or PR. Trigger with "/contribute", "what's my PR status", "find a contribution", "claim issue X", "draft a Design Issue for Y", "refresh dossier for Z".
architectural-analysis
IncludedUser-triggered deep architectural analysis of a codebase or scoped subtree across eight modes — information architecture, data flow, integration points, UI surfaces, interaction patterns, data model, control flow, and failure modes. This skill should be used when the user asks to "diagram this codebase," "map the architecture," "show the data flow," "give me an ERD," "trace control flow," "find the integration points," "verify the layout pattern," "audit the UX architecture," or any similar request whose primary deliverable is mermaid diagrams plus cited reports under docs/architecture/. Dispatches haiku/sonnet sub-agents in parallel for per-mode exploration, then verifies every citation mechanically before any node lands in a diagram. Not for one-off prose explanations of code (use code-explanation) or for high-level system design from scratch (use system-design).
mcp
IncludedModel Context Protocol (MCP) server development and tool management. Languages: Python, TypeScript. Capabilities: build MCP servers, integrate external APIs, discover/execute MCP tools, manage multi-server configs, design agent-centric tools. Actions: create, build, integrate, discover, execute, configure MCP servers/tools. Keywords: MCP, Model Context Protocol, MCP server, MCP tool, stdio transport, SSE transport, tool discovery, resource provider, prompt template, external API integration, Gemini CLI MCP, Claude MCP, agent tools, tool execution, server config. Use when: building MCP servers, integrating external APIs as MCP tools, discovering available MCP tools, executing MCP capabilities, configuring multi-server setups, designing tools for AI agents.
react-native-skia
IncludedDesign, build, debug, and optimise high-polish animated graphics in React Native or Expo using @shopify/react-native-skia, Reanimated, and Gesture Handler. Use when the user wants canvas-driven UI, shaders, paths, rich text, image filters, sprite fields, Skottie, video frames, snapshots, web CanvasKit setup, or performance tuning for custom motion-heavy elements such as loaders, hero art, cards, charts, progress indicators, particle systems, or gesture-driven surfaces. Also use when the user asks for fluid, glow, glass, blob, parallax, 60fps/120fps, or GPU-friendly animated effects in React Native, even if they do not explicitly say "Skia". Do not use for ordinary form/layout work with standard views.
plaid
IncludedProduct Led AI Development — guides founders from idea to launched product. Six capabilities: Idea (discover a product idea), Validate (pressure-test the idea against fatal flaws, problem reality, competition, and 2-week MVP feasibility), Plan (vision intake + document generation), Design (translate image references into a design.md spec), Launch (go-to-market strategy), and Build (roadmap execution). Use when someone says "PLAID", "plaid idea", "help me find an idea", "product idea", "idea from my business", "idea from my expertise", "plaid validate", "validate my idea", "pressure-test", "is this idea good", "find fatal flaws", "validate the problem", "plan a product", "define my vision", "generate a PRD", "product strategy", "plaid design", "design from image", "translate image to design", "create design.md", "extract design tokens", "plaid launch", "go-to-market", "launch plan", "GTM strategy", "launch playbook", "plaid build", "build the app", "start building", or "execute the roadmap".
nextjs-framer-motion-animations
IncludedAdds production-safe Motion for React or Framer Motion animations to Next.js apps, including reveal, hover and tap micro-interactions, whileInView, stagger, AnimatePresence, layout and layoutId transitions, reorder, scroll-linked UI, and lightweight route-content transitions. Use when the user asks to add, refactor, or debug Motion or Framer Motion in App Router or Pages Router codebases, especially around server/client boundaries, reduced motion, LazyMotion, bundle size, hydration, or route transitions. Avoid for GSAP-style timelines, WebGL or 3D scenes, heavy scroll storytelling, or CSS-only effects unless Motion is explicitly requested.