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Author SHA1 Message Date
Matt PocockandGitHub 2ab958093e Merge pull request #681 from mattpocock/docs/install-instructions-split
docs: split install instructions by audience
2026-07-28 10:18:17 +01:00
Matt PocockandClaude Opus 5 369c264e23 docs: split install instructions by audience
Collapse the skills.sh Quickstart and the "Install as a Claude Code
plugin" section into one Installation section, ordered Claude Code →
Codex/other agents → tinkerers, each in a collapsed details block.

Claude Code now leads with the one-liner `claude plugins install
mattpocock-skills` — the plugin ships in Claude Code's official
marketplace, so the old two-step `marketplace add` → `install` dance is
gone.

`/setup-matt-pocock-skills` is promoted to a shared step 2, since every
install path needs it.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-28 10:17:03 +01:00
Matt Pocock ed37663cc5 refactor(to-tickets): remove redundant instructions for ticket implementation 2026-07-21 11:28:51 +01:00
Matt PocockandGitHub 9603c1cc81 Merge pull request #586 from mattpocock/batch-grill-me-granular-facts
batch-grill-me: granular fact-finding, don't block the round
2026-07-16 10:03:12 +01:00
Matt PocockandClaude Opus 4.8 fde4cd58cf feat(batch-grill-me): granular fact-finding, don't block the round
Fire fact-finding to a sub-agent and treat a running exploration as an
unsettled prerequisite, so only the downstream questions wait — the rest
of the frontier is asked now, instead of the whole next round blocking
behind one lookup. Phrase throughout in terms of the user.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-16 10:01:22 +01:00
Matt PocockandClaude Opus 4.8 c70cb09193 Add batch-grill-me in-progress skill
A user-invoked interview that walks the design tree in rounds: each round
asks the whole frontier of decisions whose prerequisites are already
settled, then recomputes the frontier from the answers.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-16 09:41:35 +01:00
Matt PocockandGitHub e9fcdf95b4 Merge pull request #572 from mattpocock/to-questionnaire
Add to-questionnaire skill (in-progress)
2026-07-14 19:32:22 +01:00
Matt PocockandClaude Opus 4.8 7f68c06dcb Cut no-op justification and template the questionnaire structure
Drop the sentence explaining why interrogating the subject fails — the
model already obeys it, so it was paying load to say nothing.

Replace the bulleted document structure with an XML-tagged
<questionnaire-template>, mirroring to-spec's <spec-template>: headings
with prose fill-in guidance and a nested <question-example>.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-14 19:31:22 +01:00
Matt PocockandClaude Opus 4.8 bbce2f91d6 Add to-questionnaire skill (in-progress)
A user-invoked skill that turns a decision you can't fully answer into a
Markdown discovery questionnaire to hand to one person async, or fill out
over a meeting.

Its defining move: it grills you about the *send* (who it's going to, what
you need back), never the subject — sidestepping the "I don't know, I don't
know" spiral you'd hit if it interrogated you on the very knowledge you're
offloading. The written questions then target the gap between what the
recipient knows and what you need.

Landed in in-progress/ to shake out over a few real sends before promoting.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-14 19:28:20 +01:00
Matt PocockandGitHub 66898f60e8 Merge pull request #536 from mattpocock/task/claude-codex-plugin
feat: ship the skill set as a native Claude Code plugin (v1.2)
2026-07-13 14:36:01 +01:00
Matt PocockandGitHub 0ac3f3fbf1 Merge pull request #551 from mattpocock/codex-skill-metadata
feat: add Codex agents/openai.yaml metadata to every skill
2026-07-13 13:00:38 +01:00
697d4ce974 feat: add Codex agents/openai.yaml metadata to every skill
Adds an `agents/openai.yaml` beside each `SKILL.md` so the skills work in
Codex as well as Claude Code, without generated copies:

- `interface.display_name` + `interface.short_description` for the Codex
  skill picker, hand-written for all 39 skills.
- `policy.allow_implicit_invocation: false` on the 22 user-invoked skills —
  the Codex analog of `disable-model-invocation: true`, so Codex excludes
  them from implicit invocation while explicit `$skill` still works.
- Document the dual-harness invocation model in `.agents/invocation.md`,
  `CLAUDE.md`, and the promoted-bucket READMEs.
- Add `AGENTS.md` as a symlink to `CLAUDE.md` so Codex reads the same
  instructions; note Codex as a `link-skills.sh` install target.

Slimmed-down rework of the approach prototyped in #522: keeps the essential
cross-harness metadata, drops the Ruby validator, the runtime-detector test,
per-skill `default_prompt`s, and the unrelated promotion changes.

Co-authored-by: gabimoncha <gabimoncha@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-13 12:57:18 +01:00
Matt PocockandGitHub 8f4952b6a3 Merge pull request #539 from mattpocock/fix/finish-promoted-wiring
fix: finish promoted-bucket wiring for resolving-merge-conflicts and implement
2026-07-13 12:42:15 +01:00
Matt PocockandClaude Opus 4.8 d3275456a4 fix: finish promoted-bucket wiring for resolving-merge-conflicts and implement
Close a standing CLAUDE.md-invariant gap where two promoted skills were
not fully wired into the plugin manifest and READMEs.

- resolving-merge-conflicts (model-invoked): add to .claude-plugin/plugin.json,
  top-level README.md, and skills/engineering/README.md.
- implement (user-invoked): add the missing line to skills/engineering/README.md
  (already present in plugin.json and the top README).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-13 12:00:09 +01:00
Matt PocockandGitHub 04fee67571 Merge pull request #533 from mattpocock/yagni-scope-improve-architecture
improve-codebase-architecture: scope the scan to where change is landing (YAGNI)
2026-07-13 11:27:15 +01:00
Matt PocockandGitHub 33dfc9b28f Merge pull request #538 from mattpocock/wayfinder/research-subagents
wayfinder: burn research tickets down with subagents
2026-07-13 11:18:20 +01:00
Matt PocockandGitHub 8eb8f58f0f Merge pull request #532 from mattpocock/grill-me-general-use
grilling: reword the primitive for general use
2026-07-13 11:14:03 +01:00
Matt PocockandClaude Opus 4.8 3bb587fa5c Rename "design tree" → "decision tree" across skills and docs
Align the remaining callers and docs pages with grilling's body, which now
says "decision tree".

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-13 11:13:55 +01:00
Matt PocockandClaude Opus 4.8 170ad48655 grilling: reword the primitive for general use
Drop the software-plan scoping from grilling's description and body so the
interview reads as a stress-test of any plan, decision, or idea:
"this plan" → "this", "enact the plan" → "act on it", "codebase" →
"environment". The technique is unchanged, and grill-me is left as-is.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-13 11:11:58 +01:00
Matt PocockandClaude Opus 4.8 45afd8074a improve-codebase-architecture: scope the scan to where change is landing (YAGNI)
Before scanning, decide where to look. If the user named a direction, take
it; otherwise read the last ~20 commit messages to bias exploration toward
actively-developed paths. A deepening opportunity in code nobody touches is a
refactor you'll never cash in — leverage only pays off where you keep editing.

Syncs the docs page and adds a changeset.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-13 11:01:18 +01:00
Matt PocockandClaude Opus 4.8 42a5b70fca feat: ship the skill set as a native Claude Code plugin
Add a Claude Code plugin marketplace so the promoted skills can be
installed as a managed, read-only bundle (subscribe rather than fork),
alongside the existing skills.sh installer.

- Enrich .claude-plugin/plugin.json with marketplace metadata (version,
  description, author, license, keywords); keep the curated promoted-only
  skills array.
- Add .claude-plugin/marketplace.json making the repo its own
  single-plugin marketplace (mattpocock-skills@mattpocock).
- README: document /plugin install alongside skills.sh, and the
  subscribe-vs-fork tradeoff.
- CLAUDE.md: extend the promoted-set invariant to cover marketplace.json
  and plugin.json/package.json version sync.
- ADR 0002: record why Claude ships now and a native Codex plugin is
  deferred (Codex skills field is single-path + drops symlinks, which
  can't express a curated subset of a bucketed repo without a restructure).

Verified: 'claude plugin validate . --strict' passes, and marketplace
add -> install resolves all 21 promoted skills at v1.2.0.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-13 10:14:22 +01:00
65 changed files with 429 additions and 31 deletions
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
# Ship the skill set as a native Claude Code plugin; defer a native Codex plugin
These skills have always been installable via [skills.sh](https://skills.sh/mattpocock/skills) (`npx skills add mattpocock/skills`), which copies editable skill files into a user's project across Claude Code, Codex, and other Agent-Skills-standard harnesses. A recurring request is a **plug-and-play** distribution: subscribe to the set as a read-only, always-current bundle you don't edit, rather than a fork you own. That is exactly what native plugin systems provide.
We ship a native **Claude Code plugin** and, for now, **defer** a native **Codex plugin**. The split is forced by how each ecosystem's plugin manifest selects skills, against this repo's bucketed layout.
## The constraint: bucketed skills vs. single-path selection
Skills live in bucket folders under `skills/``engineering/` and `productivity/` are **promoted** (shipped); `misc/`, `personal/`, `in-progress/`, and `deprecated/` are **not**. A plugin must expose only the promoted set, which spans two of those bucket folders.
- **Claude Code** — `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` accepts `skills` as an **array of explicit skill-directory paths**. We list the promoted skills one by one, exclude everything else with zero ambiguity, and add `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` so the repo is its own single-plugin marketplace. Verified end to end: `claude plugin validate . --strict` passes, and `marketplace add``install` resolves all promoted skills.
- **Codex** — `.codex-plugin/plugin.json` accepts `skills` only as a **single path string** (arrays are rejected with `missing or invalid plugin.json`), and Codex discovers `SKILL.md` files recursively under it. There is no way to name two bucket folders, or to curate a subset, from one path. Two escape hatches were tested and rejected:
- Pointing at `./skills/` would also ship `deprecated/`, `in-progress/`, `personal/`, and `misc/` — retired, draft, and personal skills we deliberately don't promote.
- A curated flat directory of **symlinks** into the buckets does not survive install: Codex copies the plugin tree into its cache and **drops symlinks**, so the skills arrive empty.
The only robust ways to give Codex a single promoted-only path are (a) **restructure** so `skills/` contains only promoted skills (moving the non-promoted buckets out — a large blast radius across `CLAUDE.md`, `scripts/link-skills.sh`, the bucket READMEs, and the local dev workflow that relies on `in-progress/` and `personal/`), or (b) **commit duplicate copies** of promoted skills into a flat directory (a sync burden and a second source of truth). Both are structural decisions, not something to bundle into shipping the Claude plugin. This is very likely the original, half-remembered reason a plugin wasn't shipped earlier: the manifest formats didn't cleanly express a curated subset of a bucketed repo.
## Decision
- Ship the **Claude Code plugin** now (`.claude-plugin/plugin.json` + `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json`), curated to the promoted set, as the headline v1.2 deliverable.
- Keep **skills.sh** as the universal installer — it already serves Codex and other harnesses today, so no Codex user is left without an install path.
- **Defer** the native Codex plugin until we decide between restructuring `skills/` to promoted-only vs. committing a generated flat copy. Revisit when Codex either supports a `skills` array / include-list or preserves symlinks on install.
## Invariants this creates
- Every promoted skill has an entry in `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`'s `skills` array (this already stood as a `CLAUDE.md` rule; it now also gates the plugin's contents).
- `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`'s `version` tracks `package.json`'s version — bump both together on release. Claude uses the plugin `version` to decide when installed users see an update.
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@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@
Every `SKILL.md` in this repo is a skill. The one axis that splits them is **invocation** — who can reach it:
- **User-invoked** — reachable **only by the human typing its name**. Set `disable-model-invocation: true` in the frontmatter. The `description` is **human-facing**: a one-line summary read by a person browsing slash-commands. Strip trigger lists ("Use when the user says…").
- **Model-invoked** — reachable by **model or user**. The default: omit `disable-model-invocation`. The `description` is **model-facing** and keeps rich trigger phrasing ("Use when the user wants…, mentions…, asks for…") so auto-invocation fires. The test for whether a skill should stay model-invoked: _could the model usefully reach for this autonomously?_ (Reuse is the reason to extract a skill, not the test.)
- **User-invoked** — reachable **only by the human typing its name**. Set `disable-model-invocation: true` in the frontmatter (Claude Code) and `policy.allow_implicit_invocation: false` in `agents/openai.yaml` (Codex). The `description` is **human-facing**: a one-line summary read by a person browsing slash-commands. Strip trigger lists ("Use when the user says…").
- **Model-invoked** — reachable by **model or user**. The default: omit `disable-model-invocation` and the `policy` block from `agents/openai.yaml`. The `description` is **model-facing** and keeps rich trigger phrasing ("Use when the user wants…, mentions…, asks for…") so auto-invocation fires. The test for whether a skill should stay model-invoked: _could the model usefully reach for this autonomously?_ (Reuse is the reason to extract a skill, not the test.)
Because a user-invoked skill has no description, nothing but the human can reach it — no other skill can fire it. So a user-invoked skill may invoke model-invoked skills, but it can never reach another user-invoked skill.
Each harness excludes a user-invoked skill from the model's reach in its own way, so nothing but the human can fire it — no other skill can. A user-invoked skill may invoke model-invoked skills, but it can never reach another user-invoked skill.
Every skill also carries an `agents/openai.yaml` beside its `SKILL.md`. It holds Codex UI metadata — `interface.display_name` and `interface.short_description` for the skill picker — and, for user-invoked skills, the `policy.allow_implicit_invocation: false` that pairs with `disable-model-invocation`. Keep the two in sync: a skill is user-invoked in both harnesses or neither.
Bucket `README.md`s and the top-level `README.md` group entries into **User-invoked** and **Model-invoked**.
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---
"mattpocock-skills": minor
---
Add Codex metadata alongside each skill's Claude Code frontmatter so the set works in both harnesses without generated copies.
- Add an `agents/openai.yaml` beside every `SKILL.md` with Codex UI metadata (`interface.display_name`, `interface.short_description`).
- Mark every user-invoked skill with `policy.allow_implicit_invocation: false`, the Codex analog of `disable-model-invocation: true`, so Codex excludes it from implicit invocation while explicit `$skill` invocation still works.
- Document the dual-harness invocation model in `.agents/invocation.md`, `CLAUDE.md`, and the promoted-bucket READMEs.
- Add `AGENTS.md` as a symlink to `CLAUDE.md` so Codex reads the same repo instructions.
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@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
---
"mattpocock-skills": patch
---
Reword **`grilling`** for general use. Its description and body no longer scope the interview to a software plan: "this plan" → "this", "enact the plan" → "act on it", and "exploring the codebase" → "exploring the environment". The technique is unchanged; it now reads as a stress-test of any plan, decision, or idea.
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@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
---
"mattpocock-skills": minor
---
Ship the skill set as a native **Claude Code plugin**. The repo is now its own single-plugin marketplace, so you can subscribe to the promoted skills as a managed, read-only bundle instead of copying editable files:
```
/plugin marketplace add mattpocock/skills
/plugin install mattpocock-skills@mattpocock
```
`.claude-plugin/plugin.json` gains full marketplace metadata (version, description, author, license, keywords) and a sibling `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` lists the plugin. `skills.sh` remains the universal installer (and the path for Codex and other harnesses today); a native Codex plugin is deferred — see `.agents/adr/0002-ship-as-a-claude-code-plugin.md` for why.
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
---
"mattpocock-skills": minor
---
Add a YAGNI scoping filter to the **`improve-codebase-architecture`** skill's Explore step. Instead of scanning the whole repo evenly, it now scopes to where change is actually landing: if you name a direction it takes it, otherwise it reads the last ~20 commit messages to bias exploration toward actively-developed paths. A deepening opportunity in code nobody touches is a refactor you'll never cash in — the leverage only pays off where you keep editing — so the report stops tidying dormant corners of the repo.
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@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
{
"name": "mattpocock",
"owner": {
"name": "Matt Pocock",
"url": "https://www.aihero.dev"
},
"description": "Matt Pocock's skills for real engineering, as an installable Claude Code plugin.",
"plugins": [
{
"name": "mattpocock-skills",
"source": "./",
"description": "Matt Pocock's agent skills for real engineering — grilling, spec/ticket flows, TDD, code review, domain modelling and more.",
"category": "engineering",
"keywords": [
"engineering",
"skills",
"tdd",
"code-review",
"grilling"
]
}
]
}
+19
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@@ -1,5 +1,23 @@
{
"name": "mattpocock-skills",
"version": "1.2.0",
"description": "Matt Pocock's agent skills for real engineering — grilling, spec/ticket flows, TDD, code review, domain modelling and more. Plug-and-play, not vibe coding.",
"author": {
"name": "Matt Pocock",
"url": "https://www.aihero.dev"
},
"homepage": "https://www.aihero.dev/s/skills-newsletter",
"repository": "https://github.com/mattpocock/skills",
"license": "MIT",
"keywords": [
"engineering",
"skills",
"tdd",
"code-review",
"grilling",
"domain-modeling",
"productivity"
],
"skills": [
"./skills/engineering/ask-matt",
"./skills/engineering/diagnosing-bugs",
@@ -17,6 +35,7 @@
"./skills/engineering/domain-modeling",
"./skills/engineering/codebase-design",
"./skills/engineering/code-review",
"./skills/engineering/resolving-merge-conflicts",
"./skills/productivity/grill-me",
"./skills/productivity/grilling",
"./skills/productivity/handoff",
Symlink
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@@ -0,0 +1 @@
CLAUDE.md
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@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@ Skills are organized into bucket folders under `skills/`:
- `in-progress/` — drafts not yet ready to ship
- `deprecated/` — no longer used
Every skill in `engineering/` or `productivity/` (the **promoted** buckets) must have a reference in the top-level `README.md` and an entry in `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`. Skills in `misc/`, `personal/`, `in-progress/`, and `deprecated/` must not appear in either.
Every skill in `engineering/` or `productivity/` (the **promoted** buckets) must have a reference in the top-level `README.md` and an entry in `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`'s `skills` array (the Claude Code plugin ships exactly the promoted set). Skills in `misc/`, `personal/`, `in-progress/`, and `deprecated/` must not appear in either.
The repo is also its own single-plugin Claude Code marketplace: `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` lists the one `mattpocock-skills` plugin. When bumping the release version, keep `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`'s `version` in sync with `package.json`'s — Claude uses the plugin `version` to decide when installed users see an update. Run `claude plugin validate . --strict` after touching either manifest. Why a Claude plugin but not (yet) a Codex one lives in [.agents/adr/0002-ship-as-a-claude-code-plugin.md](./.agents/adr/0002-ship-as-a-claude-code-plugin.md).
Each skill entry in the top-level `README.md` must link the skill name to its `SKILL.md`.
@@ -15,7 +17,7 @@ Each bucket folder has a `README.md` that lists every skill in the bucket with a
Skills in `engineering/` and `productivity/` also have a human-facing docs page at `docs/<bucket>/<skill-name>.md` (the docs tree mirrors those two bucket folders under `skills/`). The published URL is `https://aihero.dev/skills-<skill-name>` regardless of bucket — the docs path is repo organisation only. When you add, rename, or change the behaviour of a skill in `engineering/` or `productivity/`, create or re-sync its docs page following [.agents/writing-docs.md](./.agents/writing-docs.md). Skills in the non-promoted buckets (`misc/`, `personal/`, `in-progress/`, `deprecated/`) get **no** docs page.
Every `SKILL.md` is either user-invoked (`disable-model-invocation: true`, reachable only by the human) or model-invoked (model- or user-reachable). See [.agents/invocation.md](./.agents/invocation.md).
Every `SKILL.md` is either user-invoked (`disable-model-invocation: true` plus `policy.allow_implicit_invocation: false` in `agents/openai.yaml`, reachable only by the human) or model-invoked (model- or user-reachable). See [.agents/invocation.md](./.agents/invocation.md).
[`ask-matt`](./skills/engineering/ask-matt/SKILL.md) is the router that maps every user-reachable skill and how they relate. The same trigger that re-syncs a docs page applies to it: whenever you add, rename, remove, or change how a user-reachable skill fits the flows, re-read `ask-matt`'s `SKILL.md` and update it so the map stays accurate — a new skill it never mentions, or a stale one it still routes to, is a router that lies.
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@@ -22,22 +22,64 @@ If you want to keep up with changes to these skills, and any new ones I create,
[Sign Up To The Newsletter](https://www.aihero.dev/s/skills-newsletter)
## Quickstart (30-second setup)
## Installation (30-second setup)
1. Run the skills.sh installer:
Two ways in, two philosophies. **The [Claude Code plugin](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins)** installs the whole set as a managed, read-only bundle that updates when I ship — you subscribe rather than fork. **[skills.sh](https://skills.sh/mattpocock/skills)** copies editable skill files into your project, so you can hack on them and make them your own. Pick one — installing both leaves you with every skill twice.
### 1. Get the skills
<details>
<summary><strong>Claude Code</strong></summary>
```bash
claude plugins install mattpocock-skills
```
Or, from inside a session:
```
/plugin install mattpocock-skills
```
It's in Claude Code's official marketplace, so there's nothing to add first, and updates arrive automatically.
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Codex, and other agents</strong></summary>
```bash
npx skills@latest add mattpocock/skills
```
2. Pick the skills you want, and which coding agents you want to install them on. **Make sure you select `/setup-matt-pocock-skills`**.
Pick the skills you want, and which coding agents to install them on. **The installer lets you choose which skills to take — make sure `setup-matt-pocock-skills` is one of them.**
3. Run `/setup-matt-pocock-skills` in your agent. It will:
- Ask you which issue tracker you want to use (GitHub, Linear, or local files)
- Ask you what labels you apply to tickets when you triage them (`/triage` uses labels)
- Ask you where you want to save any docs we create
A native Codex plugin is on the roadmap — see [`.agents/adr/0002-ship-as-a-claude-code-plugin.md`](./.agents/adr/0002-ship-as-a-claude-code-plugin.md).
4. Bam - you're ready to go.
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>For tinkerers</strong></summary>
Use the same installer, on any agent — including Claude Code:
```bash
npx skills@latest add mattpocock/skills
```
It writes the skills into your repo as ordinary files you own and can edit. Nothing updates behind your back; pull my latest changes when you want them with `npx skills update`.
</details>
### 2. Run `/setup-matt-pocock-skills`
In your agent, run it once per repo. It will:
- Ask you which issue tracker you want to use (GitHub, Linear, or local files)
- Ask you what labels you apply to tickets when you triage them (`/triage` uses labels)
- Ask you where you want to save any docs we create
### 3. Bam - you're ready to go.
## Why These Skills Exist
@@ -168,6 +210,7 @@ Skills I use daily for code work.
- **[domain-modeling](./skills/engineering/domain-modeling/SKILL.md)** — Actively build and sharpen a project's domain model — challenge terms against the glossary, stress-test with edge-case scenarios, and update `CONTEXT.md` and ADRs inline.
- **[codebase-design](./skills/engineering/codebase-design/SKILL.md)** — Shared discipline and vocabulary for designing deep modules: a lot of behaviour behind a small interface, placed at a clean seam, testable through that interface.
- **[code-review](./skills/engineering/code-review/SKILL.md)** — Two-axis review of the diff since a fixed point: **Standards** (does it follow the repo's coding standards, plus a Fowler smell baseline?) and **Spec** (does it faithfully implement the originating issue/PRD?), run as parallel sub-agents so neither pollutes the other.
- **[resolving-merge-conflicts](./skills/engineering/resolving-merge-conflicts/SKILL.md)** — Work through an in-progress git merge or rebase conflict hunk by hunk, resolving by intent traced to each side's primary source, then finish the operation — never `--abort`.
### Productivity
@@ -182,4 +225,4 @@ General workflow tools, not code-specific.
**Model-invoked**
- **[grilling](./skills/productivity/grilling/SKILL.md)** — Interview the user relentlessly about a plan or design until every branch of the decision tree is resolved. The reusable loop behind `grill-me` and `grill-with-docs`.
- **[grilling](./skills/productivity/grilling/SKILL.md)** — Interview the user relentlessly about a plan, decision, or idea until every branch of the decision tree is resolved. The reusable loop behind `grill-me` and `grill-with-docs`.
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@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ This skill is stateful — it writes into your repo as it grills. Resolved terms
## The grill
The engine is a **grill**: a relentless, one-question-at-a-time walk down the design tree, resolving dependencies between decisions before moving on, with a recommended answer offered for every question. Questions the codebase can answer are answered by reading the codebase, not by asking you.
The engine is a **grill**: a relentless, one-question-at-a-time walk down the decision tree, resolving dependencies between decisions before moving on, with a recommended answer offered for every question. Questions the codebase can answer are answered by reading the codebase, not by asking you.
What makes this variant its own skill is where the answers go. As the grill runs, fuzzy language gets sharpened into canonical terms and written to the glossary inline — not batched at the end. The glossary stays a glossary: pure vocabulary, no implementation details, no spec. ADRs are offered sparingly, only when a decision is hard to reverse, surprising without context, and the result of a real trade-off. Most sessions produce a sharper glossary and few or no ADRs, and that's the intended shape.
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ npx skills update improve-codebase-architecture
It does **not** hand you a flat list of refactors. Every candidate has to pass the **deletion test** — would removing this module *concentrate* complexity behind a smaller interface, or just move it around? Only the "concentrates" cases earn a card. That filter is what stops the report from becoming generic cleanup advice.
Unless you point it at a specific area, it also scopes itself to where development is actually landing — reading the recent commits to bias toward the code you're still changing. Deepening a module pays off by making future changes to it easier, so it puts extra weight on the parts of the repo that have recently changed.
## When to reach for it
You invoke this by typing `/improve-codebase-architecture` — the agent won't reach for it on its own.
@@ -36,4 +38,4 @@ Then it stops and asks which one you want to explore. Pick one and it runs the [
## Where it fits
`improve-codebase-architecture` is **periodic maintenance** — run it every few days, not as a step in a chain. Its neighbours are [codebase-design](https://aihero.dev/skills-codebase-design), which owns the depth-and-seam vocabulary every candidate is written in, [grilling](https://aihero.dev/skills-grilling), which walks the design tree once you've chosen a candidate, and [domain-modeling](https://aihero.dev/skills-domain-modeling), which keeps `CONTEXT.md` and the ADRs current as the redesign settles. When you're unsure which skill or flow fits, [ask-matt](https://aihero.dev/skills-ask-matt) routes you.
`improve-codebase-architecture` is **periodic maintenance** — run it every few days, not as a step in a chain. Its neighbours are [codebase-design](https://aihero.dev/skills-codebase-design), which owns the depth-and-seam vocabulary every candidate is written in, [grilling](https://aihero.dev/skills-grilling), which walks the decision tree once you've chosen a candidate, and [domain-modeling](https://aihero.dev/skills-domain-modeling), which keeps `CONTEXT.md` and the ADRs current as the redesign settles. When you're unsure which skill or flow fits, [ask-matt](https://aihero.dev/skills-ask-matt) routes you.
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@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ You invoke this by typing `/grill-me` — the agent won't reach for it on its ow
Reach for it before you build, when a plan feels roughly right but you can sense unresolved decisions hiding in it — the moment you want the soft spots found and forced into the open. If you want that same interrogation to also leave a paper trail of ADRs and a glossary behind, use [grill-with-docs](https://aihero.dev/skills-grill-with-docs) instead. And if the effort is too big to hold in one session and the route to the goal is still foggy — a greenfield project, a huge feature build — start further upstream with [wayfinder](https://aihero.dev/skills-wayfinder), which charts it as a map of decisions first and then merges back into this flow.
## The design tree
## The decision tree
The session walks the plan as a tree of decisions, resolving dependencies between them one by one — a parent decision settled before the choices that hang off it. The point is not to reach agreement quickly; it is to make every implicit call explicit, so nothing important is left silently assumed. You come out the other side with a plan whose branches have all been visited.
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@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ npx skills update grilling
## What it does
`grilling` is the relentless interview that stress-tests a plan or design before you build it. It walks down the design tree branch by branch, resolving the dependencies between decisions one at a time until you and the agent share the same understanding.
`grilling` is the relentless interview that stress-tests a plan or design before you build it. It walks down the decision tree branch by branch, resolving the dependencies between decisions one at a time until you and the agent share the same understanding.
It asks **one question at a time** and waits for your answer before the next — never a bulk list, which is bewildering. Each question comes with the agent's own recommended answer, and any question the codebase can settle it explores instead of asking you. It won't start enacting the plan until you confirm the shared understanding has been reached.
@@ -22,9 +22,9 @@ Type `/grilling`, or the agent reaches for it automatically when a task fits —
Reach for it when a plan or design still has soft spots and you want them surfaced before code is written. In practice you usually invoke it through one of its two wrappers rather than by name: for a plain grilling session use [grill-me](https://aihero.dev/skills-grill-me); to have the session also write ADRs and a glossary as it goes, use [grill-with-docs](https://aihero.dev/skills-grill-with-docs).
## The design tree
## The decision tree
The mental model is a **design tree**: every plan branches into decisions, and decisions depend on each other. `grilling` descends that tree one node at a time, so an early answer can reshape which questions come next. That is why the questions arrive singly and in dependency order — a firehose of parallel questions loses the structure that makes the interview converge on a shared understanding.
The mental model is a **decision tree**: every plan branches into decisions, and decisions depend on each other. `grilling` descends that tree one node at a time, so an early answer can reshape which questions come next. That is why the questions arrive singly and in dependency order — a firehose of parallel questions loses the structure that makes the interview converge on a shared understanding.
## Pulled out on purpose
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@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ set -euo pipefail
# Links all skills in the repository into the local skill directories used by
# each agent harness:
# - ~/.claude/skills — Claude Code
# - ~/.agents/skills — pi and other Agent-Skills-standard harnesses
# - ~/.agents/skills — Codex and other Agent Skills-compatible harnesses
# Each entry is a symlink into this repo, so a `git pull` is all that's needed
# to keep installed skills up to date.
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Design an Interface"
short_description: "Explore alternative module interfaces"
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@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "QA"
short_description: "Conversational QA that files issues"
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Request Refactor Plan"
short_description: "Plan a safe incremental refactor"
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Ubiquitous Language"
short_description: "Build a shared domain glossary"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
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@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Skills I use daily for code work.
## User-invoked
Reachable only when you type them (`disable-model-invocation: true`).
Reachable only when you type them (Claude Code: `disable-model-invocation: true`; Codex: `policy.allow_implicit_invocation: false` in `agents/openai.yaml`).
- **[ask-matt](./ask-matt/SKILL.md)** — Ask which skill or flow fits your situation. A router over the user-invoked skills in this repo.
- **[grill-with-docs](./grill-with-docs/SKILL.md)** — Grilling session that also builds your project's domain model, sharpening terminology and updating `CONTEXT.md` and ADRs inline.
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ Reachable only when you type them (`disable-model-invocation: true`).
- **[setup-matt-pocock-skills](./setup-matt-pocock-skills/SKILL.md)** — Configure this repo for the engineering skills (issue tracker, triage labels, domain doc layout). Run once per repo.
- **[to-spec](./to-spec/SKILL.md)** — Turn the current conversation into a spec and publish it to the issue tracker.
- **[to-tickets](./to-tickets/SKILL.md)** — Break any plan, spec, or conversation into a set of tracer-bullet tickets, each declaring its blocking edges — text in a local file, or native blocking links on a real tracker.
- **[implement](./implement/SKILL.md)** — Build the work described by a spec or set of tickets, driving `/tdd` at pre-agreed seams and closing out with `/code-review` before committing.
- **[wayfinder](./wayfinder/SKILL.md)** — Plan a huge chunk of work — more than one agent session can hold — as a shared map of decision tickets on the issue tracker, resolved one at a time until the way to the destination is clear.
## Model-invoked
@@ -27,3 +28,4 @@ Model- or user-reachable (rich trigger phrasing so the model can reach for them)
- **[domain-modeling](./domain-modeling/SKILL.md)** — Actively build and sharpen a project's domain model — challenge terms, stress-test with scenarios, update `CONTEXT.md` and ADRs inline.
- **[codebase-design](./codebase-design/SKILL.md)** — Shared discipline and vocabulary for designing deep modules: small interfaces, clean seams, testable through the interface.
- **[code-review](./code-review/SKILL.md)** — Two-axis review of the diff since a fixed point: **Standards** (does it follow the repo's coding standards, plus a Fowler smell baseline?) and **Spec** (does it faithfully implement the originating issue/PRD?), run as parallel sub-agents.
- **[resolving-merge-conflicts](./resolving-merge-conflicts/SKILL.md)** — Work through an in-progress git merge or rebase conflict hunk by hunk, resolving by intent traced to each side's primary source, then finish the operation — never `--abort`.
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Ask Matt"
short_description: "Find the right skill or workflow"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Code Review"
short_description: "Review a diff on standards and spec"
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Codebase Design"
short_description: "Vocabulary for deep-module design"
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Diagnosing Bugs"
short_description: "Diagnose hard bugs and regressions"
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Domain Modeling"
short_description: "Build and sharpen a domain model"
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Grill with Docs"
short_description: "Grill a design and write its docs"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Implement"
short_description: "Build work from a spec or tickets"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@ This command is _informed_ by the project's domain model and built on a shared d
### 1. Explore
**Scope before you scan — YAGNI.** Deepening a module pays off by making future changes to it easier, so put extra weight on the parts of the codebase that have recently changed. Decide *where* to look before you look:
- If the user named a direction — a module, a subsystem, a pain point — take it, and skip the inference below.
- Otherwise, walk back a good stretch of the commit history (`git log --oneline`) to find the codebase's hot spots — the files and areas that keep coming up — and let those paths pull your attention first. If the changes are scattered with no clear hot spot, widen the net.
Read the project's domain glossary (`CONTEXT.md`) and any ADRs in the area you're touching first.
Then use the Agent tool with `subagent_type=Explore` to walk the codebase. Don't follow rigid heuristics — explore organically and note where you experience friction:
@@ -56,7 +61,7 @@ Do NOT propose interfaces yet. After the file is written, ask the user: "Which o
### 3. Grilling loop
Once the user picks a candidate, run the `/grilling` skill to walk the design tree with them — constraints, dependencies, the shape of the deepened module, what sits behind the seam, what tests survive.
Once the user picks a candidate, run the `/grilling` skill to walk the decision tree with them — constraints, dependencies, the shape of the deepened module, what sits behind the seam, what tests survive.
Side effects happen inline as decisions crystallize — run the `/domain-modeling` skill to keep the domain model current as you go:
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Improve Codebase Architecture"
short_description: "Find and grill architecture improvements"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Prototype"
short_description: "Prototype to answer a design question"
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Research"
short_description: "Research from high-trust sources"
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Resolving Merge Conflicts"
short_description: "Resolve merge and rebase conflicts"
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Setup Matt Pocock Skills"
short_description: "Configure a repo for the skills"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "TDD"
short_description: "Test-driven red-green-refactor"
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "To Spec"
short_description: "Turn a conversation into a spec"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
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@@ -103,5 +103,3 @@ The end-to-end behaviour this ticket makes work, from the user's perspective —
</issue-template>
In either form, avoid specific file paths or code snippets — they go stale fast. Exception: if a prototype produced a snippet that encodes a decision more precisely than prose can (state machine, reducer, schema, type shape), inline it and note briefly that it came from a prototype. Trim to the decision-rich parts — not a working demo, just the important bits.
Work the frontier one ticket at a time with `/implement`, clearing context between tickets.
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "To Tickets"
short_description: "Split a plan into tracer-bullet tickets"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Triage"
short_description: "Move issues through triage roles"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Wayfinder"
short_description: "Map a large effort as decision tickets"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
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@@ -9,3 +9,5 @@ Skills that are still being developed. They're not ready to ship — expect roug
- **[writing-shape](./writing-shape/SKILL.md)** — Take a markdown file of raw material and shape it into an article paragraph by paragraph, arguing format choices at each step.
- **[claude-handoff](./claude-handoff/SKILL.md)** — Hand the current conversation off to a fresh background agent that picks up the work immediately, seeded with a handoff summary via `claude --bg`. User-invoked.
- **[setup-ts-deep-modules](./setup-ts-deep-modules/SKILL.md)** — Wire dependency-cruiser into a TypeScript repo so each package is a deep module — implementation hidden in subfolders, reachable only through its entry-point files, tests exercising it through those. User-invoked.
- **[to-questionnaire](./to-questionnaire/SKILL.md)** — Turn a decision you can't fully answer into a Markdown questionnaire for someone else to fill in async, or over a meeting. It grills you about the send (who it's for, what you need back), not the subject. User-invoked.
- **[batch-grill-me](./batch-grill-me/SKILL.md)** — Relentless interview that walks the design tree in rounds instead of one question at a time — each round asks the whole frontier of decisions whose prerequisites are already settled, then recomputes from your answers. User-invoked.
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
---
name: batch-grill-me
description: A relentless interview that asks every frontier question at once, round by round.
disable-model-invocation: true
---
Interview the user relentlessly until you reach a shared understanding. Map this as a **design tree**: every decision branches into the decisions that hang off it.
Work the tree in **rounds**. The **frontier** is every decision whose prerequisites are already settled — the questions you can ask *now* without guessing at answers you haven't heard yet. Ask the whole frontier in one round: number each question and give your recommended answer. Then wait for the user's answers before the next round.
Each round the user answers reshapes the tree — settled decisions push the frontier outward and unblock questions that depended on them. Recompute the frontier and ask the next round. A question whose answer depends on another question still open in this round belongs to a *later* round, not this one.
Finding *facts* is your job, never the user's. When a frontier question needs a fact from the environment (filesystem, tools, etc.), dispatch a sub-agent to find it — don't ask the user for anything you could look up yourself. Don't block on it: a running exploration is an unsettled prerequisite, so only the questions downstream of it wait for the sub-agent to report — ask the rest of the frontier now. The *decisions* are the user's — put each to them and wait.
The session is done when the frontier is empty: every branch of the design tree visited, nothing left silently assumed. Do not act on it until the user confirms you have reached a shared understanding.
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Batch Grill Me"
short_description: "Sharpen a plan a round of questions at a time"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Claude Handoff"
short_description: "Hand off to a background agent"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Loop Me"
short_description: "Spec the workflows you want to build"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Setup TS Deep Modules"
short_description: "Enforce deep TypeScript modules"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
---
name: to-questionnaire
description: Turn a decision you can't fully answer into a questionnaire for someone else to fill in.
disable-model-invocation: true
---
Turn something the user can't answer alone into a **questionnaire** — a Markdown document they hand to one person to fill in async, or fill out together over a meeting. The recipient holds knowledge the user lacks; the questionnaire pulls it out of them.
**Grill the send, not the subject.** Interview the user only about the _send_, which they can always answer: who it goes to, and what they need back. The questions in the document then target the **gap** between what the recipient knows and what the user needs.
1. **Who is it going to?** Ask, in one exchange, the recipient's role, expertise, and relationship to the user. This fixes the questionnaire's tone and how much context it must carry. Done when you know who the recipient is and what they know that the user doesn't.
2. **What do you need back?** Ask, in one exchange, the specific decisions or facts the user can't resolve alone and needs from this person. Done when you have a concrete list of what the user must walk away able to do or decide.
3. **Write the questionnaire.** Draft questions aimed at the gap from steps 12, following the Document structure below. Write it to `to-questionnaire-<slug>.md` in the current directory (slug from the topic) and report the path. Done when the file exists and every item the user named in step 2 is covered by a question.
## Document structure
Frame the document as a **discovery questionnaire**: the user lacks context, the recipient holds it. Order questions most-important-first — async means you may only get one pass — and group them under `##` headings by theme once there are more than a handful. Write it using the template below.
<questionnaire-template>
# <Questionnaire title>
**Purpose:** why this questionnaire exists and the decision riding on it.
**From:** <the user> — **To:** <the recipient> — **How your answers will be used:** <where they go>
## Context
One paragraph orienting a recipient who wasn't in the user's head. Enough to answer well, not a page.
## How to answer
Deadline and rough effort. Partial answers and "I don't know" are useful — flag anything you're unsure of rather than skipping it.
## <Theme heading>
One `##` section per theme. Under each, its questions, most-important-first. Every question is one idea — never compound — with an answer stub directly beneath, and a one-line _why this matters_ only where the question could be misread or invite a throwaway answer.
<question-example>
### What load is the system expected to handle at launch?
_Why this matters: it decides whether we provision for burst traffic now or defer it._
>
</question-example>
## Anything else?
A closing catch-all: anything we didn't ask that we should know?
</questionnaire-template>
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "To Questionnaire"
short_description: "Front-load questions into a doc for someone to answer"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Wizard"
short_description: "Generate an interactive setup wizard"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Writing Beats"
short_description: "Assemble raw material into beats"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Writing Fragments"
short_description: "Mine raw writing fragments"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Writing Shape"
short_description: "Shape raw material into an article"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Git Guardrails for Claude Code"
short_description: "Block dangerous git commands"
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Migrate to Shoehorn"
short_description: "Replace test assertions with shoehorn"
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Scaffold Exercises"
short_description: "Scaffold lint-ready course exercises"
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Setup Pre-Commit"
short_description: "Add pre-commit quality checks"
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Edit Article"
short_description: "Restructure and tighten a draft"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Obsidian Vault"
short_description: "Manage linked notes in Obsidian"
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@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ General workflow tools, not code-specific.
## User-invoked
Reachable only when you type them (`disable-model-invocation: true`).
Reachable only when you type them (Claude Code: `disable-model-invocation: true`; Codex: `policy.allow_implicit_invocation: false` in `agents/openai.yaml`).
- **[grill-me](./grill-me/SKILL.md)** — Get relentlessly interviewed about a plan or design until every branch of the decision tree is resolved.
- **[handoff](./handoff/SKILL.md)** — Compact the current conversation into a handoff document so another agent can continue the work.
@@ -15,4 +15,4 @@ Reachable only when you type them (`disable-model-invocation: true`).
Model- or user-reachable (rich trigger phrasing so the model can reach for them).
- **[grilling](./grilling/SKILL.md)** — Interview the user relentlessly about a plan or design until every branch of the decision tree is resolved.
- **[grilling](./grilling/SKILL.md)** — Interview the user relentlessly about a plan, decision, or idea until every branch of the decision tree is resolved.
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Grill Me"
short_description: "Sharpen a plan through interview"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
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@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
---
name: grilling
description: Grill the user relentlessly about a plan or design. Use when the user wants to stress-test a plan before building, or uses any 'grill' trigger phrases.
description: Grill the user relentlessly about a plan, decision, or idea. Use when the user wants to stress-test their thinking, or uses any 'grill' trigger phrases.
---
Interview me relentlessly about every aspect of this plan until we reach a shared understanding. Walk down each branch of the design tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one. For each question, provide your recommended answer.
Interview me relentlessly about every aspect of this until we reach a shared understanding. Walk down each branch of the decision tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one. For each question, provide your recommended answer.
Ask the questions one at a time, waiting for feedback on each question before continuing. Asking multiple questions at once is bewildering.
If a *fact* can be found by exploring the codebase, look it up rather than asking me. The *decisions*, though, are mine — put each one to me and wait for my answer.
If a *fact* can be found by exploring the environment (filesystem, tools, etc.), look it up rather than asking me. The *decisions*, though, are mine — put each one to me and wait for my answer.
Do not enact the plan until I confirm we have reached a shared understanding.
Do not act on it until I confirm we have reached a shared understanding.
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
interface:
display_name: "Grilling"
short_description: "Stress-test thinking one question at a time"
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Handoff"
short_description: "Compact a conversation into a handoff"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Teach"
short_description: "Learn a concept in a guided workspace"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
interface:
display_name: "Writing Great Skills"
short_description: "Principles for predictable skills"
policy:
allow_implicit_invocation: false