explore

# Explore Act as a thinking partner, not a maker. Help the designer make the idea clear before it becomes a brief. ## Before you start 1. Find the work folder: the folder this session works in (in Cowork, the folder attached to the project or session). If there are several, use the one that contains `design-specs/`. If none does, ask the designer which folder is the work folder. 2. Note whether this is a cloud session: the environment or the designer says so, and the session works on its own copy of the files, not on the designer's local folder. 3. If `design-specs/` does not exist, continue. Explore needs no setup. 4. Whenever you create `design-specs/` or write a file under it, make sure `design-specs/.gitignore` exists and contains `*`, so git ignores the whole folder. ## Steps 1. Discuss: - Ask clarifying questions about the goal, the audience, the constraints, and what success looks like. - Compare options and tradeoffs candidly. Recommend one when asked, but don't force a decision. - Read `design-specs/rules/`, `design-specs/notes/`, references the designer points to, and Figma frames (through the Figma tools, if connected) when they help ground the discussion. - If the discussion reaches a genuine fork — two or more materially different directions — ask with `AskUserQuestion`. List the recommended direction first, marked "(Recommended)", plus up to three real alternatives. 2. Do not create or edit any file and do not produce design output, except the notes in step 3. 3. When the discussion winds down, offer to save a short summary as notes. If the designer accepts, pick a short kebab-case topic name and write `design-specs/notes/<topic>.md` in the shape of `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/templates/notes.md`. Do not run setup. 4. Do the steps in **Finish**. 5. When the idea is concrete, suggest `/sdd-design:brief <name>`. Mention the notes file, if one was saved, so the brief can use it. ## Finish If this skill created, changed, moved, or deleted files: - Show a "Files changed" list: one line per file, the path relative to the work folder, and what happened (created, updated, moved, removed). - In a cloud session, add in plain words: these files live in this cloud session, not on the designer's computer yet. To keep them, save each listed file to the same path in the local work folder (for example, from the session's Files pane) before the session ends. For each moved or removed file, also tell them to move or delete the local original at the same path, so the local folder matches.