| name | brainstorming |
| description | Socratic design refinement before implementation — challenges assumptions, surfaces alternatives, identifies risks before code is written |
| version | 1.1.0 |
| model | sonnet |
| invoked_by | both |
| user_invocable | true |
| tools | ["Read","Write","Bash"] |
| agents | ["developer","planner","architect"] |
| category | Planning & Architecture |
| tags | ["brainstorming","design","planning","ideation","socratic"] |
| verified | true |
| lastVerifiedAt | "2026-02-22T08:50:27.367Z" |
| best_practices | ["Ask one question at a time","Prefer multiple choice over open-ended","Enforce YAGNI","Explore 2-3 alternative approaches"] |
| error_handling | graceful |
| streaming | supported |
| source | builtin |
| trust_score | 100 |
| provenance_sha | 4d97e8ca56ab52b0 |
Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs
Overview
Help turn ideas into fully formed designs and specs through natural collaborative dialogue.
Start by understanding the current project context, then ask questions one at a time to refine the idea. Once you understand what you're building, present the design in small sections (200-300 words), checking after each section whether it looks right so far.
The Process
Understanding the idea:
- Check out the current project state first (files, docs, recent commits)
- Ask questions one at a time to refine the idea
- Prefer multiple choice questions when possible, but open-ended is fine too
- Only one question per message - if a topic needs more exploration, break it into multiple questions
- Focus on understanding: purpose, constraints, success criteria
Exploring approaches:
- Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs
- Present options conversationally with your recommendation and reasoning
- Lead with your recommended option and explain why
Presenting the design:
- Once you believe you understand what you're building, present the design
- Break it into sections of 200-300 words
- Ask after each section whether it looks right so far
- Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
- Be ready to go back and clarify if something doesn't make sense
After the Design
Documentation:
- Write the validated design to
docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md
- Use context-compressor skill if available for efficient documentation
- Commit the design document to git
Implementation (if continuing):
- Ask: "Ready to set up for implementation?"
- Use writing-plans skill to create detailed implementation plan
Key Principles
- One question at a time - Don't overwhelm with multiple questions
- Multiple choice preferred - Easier to answer than open-ended when possible
- YAGNI ruthlessly - Remove unnecessary features from all designs
- Explore alternatives - Always propose 2-3 approaches before settling
- Incremental validation - Present design in sections, validate each
- Be flexible - Go back and clarify when something doesn't make sense
