brainstorm

name	brainstorm
description	Conducts structured brainstorming with divergent thinking and trade-off analysis. Use when the user asks "help me think through this," "what are the options," or is exploring tradeoffs. Produces docs with sparks. Not for quick ideas or shaping.
version	2.0.0-alpha.5

Brainstorm

Generative thinking — expanding possibilities before narrowing through structured exploration.

Critical Rules

Always

• Diverge before converging — generate options before judging
• Connect exploration to VISION.md and STRATEGY.md context
• Document discarded options — they hold valuable reasoning
• Log invocation first: loaf journal log "skill(brainstorm): <topic>"
• Capture sparks (speculative byproducts) with loaf spark capture --scope <scope> --text <text>; brainstorm summaries may render or summarize them
• Set boundaries on exploration time
• Log outcome to the project journal: loaf journal log "decision(scope): direction chosen and rationale"

Never

• Prematurely commit to an option before full exploration
• Delete brainstorm documents — archive them for context preservation
• Process sparks during the main brainstorm — capture only, expand later
• Turn brainstorm into an interview — keep it exploratory

Verification

After work completes, verify:

• Brainstorm captured in SQLite or summarized in an explicitly durable report
• Sparks captured with loaf spark capture and optionally summarized in ## Sparks
• Spark lifecycle documented: unprocessed → promoted/discarded
• Brainstorm references strategic context from VISION/STRATEGY

Quick Reference

Mode Detection

Input Pattern	Mode	Output
Idea file reference	Idea Processing	Deep dive on captured idea
Problem/question	Problem Exploration	Exploratory options
Empty	Open Brainstorm	"What should we think about?"

Spark Format

## Sparks

- **Title** -- one-line description
- **Title** -- one-line description

Sparks are: lightweight, byproducts, worth remembering. Mark as *(promoted)* or *(abandoned)* after processing.

Brainstorm documents are archived after sparks are processed — never deleted, since the exploration context has lasting value. SQLite spark state is the lifecycle source; draft markdown is a projection or narrative summary.

Suggests Next

After brainstorming, suggest /shape if a clear idea emerged, or /idea to capture sparks for later. /idea invoked without arguments scans brainstorm docs for unprocessed sparks, bridging the brainstorm → idea pipeline.

Topics

Topic	Reference	Use When
Brainstorm Template	templates/brainstorm.md	Creating structured brainstorm documents
Strategic Context	strategy/references/	Grounding exploration in project direction