brainstorming

name	brainstorming
description	Use before any creative work - creating features, building components, or modifying behavior

Brainstorming

Turn ideas into designs through collaborative dialogue before writing any code.

Hard Gate

Do NOT write code or invoke implementation skills until design is approved.

Process

1. Explore context — check files, docs, recent commits
2. Ask clarifying questions — one at a time, use the ask tool with multiple-choice options
3. Propose 2-3 approaches with trade-offs and your recommendation, use the ask tool
4. Present design section by section, use the ask tool to get approval after each section
5. Once approved, present the final spec in full

Always use the ask tool for steps 2–4. Do not present a section and then continue to the next — wait for the user's explicit approval via ask before moving forward.

After Approval

Once the design is approved by the user, present the complete spec in your response — do NOT write it to disk. The spec stays in the conversation and flows directly into the next step.

Use the ask tool to ask what happens next:

ask({
  questions: [{
    id: "next-step",
    question: "Design approved. What would you like to do next?",
    options: [
      { label: "Run a reviewer" },
      { label: "Create implementation plan" },
      { label: "Save spec for later" },
      { label: "Revise the design" }
    ]
  }]
})

If the user chooses "Run a reviewer", THEN:

1. Dispatch the reviewer subagent with: "Review type: spec"
2. Present the reviewer's feedback
3. If the reviewer found issues, address them or ask the user how to proceed
4. After review is done (or if user skips), re-ask the question about what to do next

If the user chooses "Create implementation plan", respond:

"OK then. When you're ready, just say the word and I'll load the create-plan skill to turn this spec into an implementation plan."

When the user confirms, load the create-plan skill and invoke it — do not start planning on your own. The create-plan skill handles the entire planning process.

Clear the todo list — use manage_todo_list to remove all entries now that brainstorming is complete.

If the user chooses "Save spec for later", THEN:

1. Write it to docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-spec.md
2. Add the new spec to docs/plans/README.md in the appropriate category with status 📋 DRAFT
3. Update the Quick Stats (increment Total Plans and remaining count)

Principles

• Always use the ask tool for every decision point — clarifying questions, approach selection, section approval, and post-approval next steps
• One question per ask call
• Never skip ahead to the next section without explicit user approval via ask
• YAGNI — remove unnecessary features
• Design for clear boundaries and single responsibilities
• In existing codebases, follow established patterns
• Scale detail to complexity — a few sentences if simple, more if nuanced