Start a Stage Manager session. Read project context, orient to what the builder is working on, and offer to watch alongside them — suggesting skills as signals emerge. Use this skill to begin a working session, when a builder says "let's start," "stage manage this," or wants a thinking partner while they build. This is the orchestration skill — it watches for signals and surfaces the right skill at the right moment. Not brainstorming. Staging work from a larger sense, not a prompt sense. Part of the Stage Manager Artful Making Skill Library by MNFST Ai.
Challenge the premise before a single line of code. Fires when a builder moves toward staging without naming what they validated first — no user contact, no findings, no hungry users identified. Use this skill when a builder says "let's build X" with no prior mention of who they talked to or what they found, when the orchestrator detects a new idea with no prior user contact, or when a builder wants to skip straight to coding without validating the premise. This is the gate between conviction and evidence. Part of the Stage Manager Artful Making Skill Library by MNFST Ai.
Stop and check whether the work in progress is still coherent — still pointing at the original intent, still serving the right user, still worth building in this form. Use this skill when a builder senses something is off but can't name it, feels like the work has drifted, wants to reset before continuing, asks "are we still on track," "does this still make sense," or "should we keep going." Also use at natural transition points — between chunks, after unexpected results from a coding tool, or whenever the plot feels lost mid-build. Can be run on any artifact: a prompt, a chunk, a PRD, a conversation, a set of cards. This is a lightweight gate — 2 minutes at any transition point. For the full shape/stage boundary synthesis with inline change suggestions and a staged spec, use Shape Brief instead. Part of the Stage Manager Artful Making Skill Library by MNFST Ai.
Generate a live interview script that a human runs with a real person — not a survey, not a sales call. A structured conversation designed to kill assumptions using negative framing to provoke correction. Use this skill after running invalidate-prep, when a builder is ready to talk to real people, wants an interview script for assumption testing, or says "how do I test this." The script uses negative framing — state the assumption wrong so the interviewee corrects you. The lean-in moment is the signal that matters most. Part of the Stage Manager Artful Making Skill Library by MNFST Ai.
Help a builder surface and rank their assumptions, identify who holds the answer, and generate problem statements for invalidation interviews. Use this skill when a builder has an idea but hasn't talked to anyone yet, wants to figure out what to test first, says "I think users want," or needs to prepare before running invalidation interviews. This is the entry point to the invalidation flow — excavate assumptions, rank by cost-if-wrong, name personas, and generate problem statements. Part of the Stage Manager Artful Making Skill Library by MNFST Ai.
Process what a builder heard in invalidation interviews. Score each assumption as validated, invalidated, or still open. Surface the pull signal if it appeared — lean-in, reach, referral, emotion, behavior, or time. Use this skill after running invalidation interviews, when a builder comes back from a conversation and says "here's what I heard," "did I find pull," or wants to know whether their assumptions survived contact with reality. Part of the Stage Manager Artful Making Skill Library by MNFST Ai.
Read the accumulated output from one or more shape skills (Find the Holes, Collapsed Options, Risk Sequence, Soul Check) and synthesize findings into a ranked top-three problem areas with suggested fixes — then generate inline change suggestions for the builder to accept or reject, produce a Stage_Manager_Brief.md handoff document, and write an updated spec as [original-filename]-Staged.md ready for /ce:brainstorm, /ce:work, /ce:plan, or Superpowers. Use when a builder has run one or more shape skills and wants to move forward without manually synthesizing the output themselves. Also use when a builder says "brief this," "synthesize the shape," "what are the top problems," or "I'm ready to hand off." Part of the Stage Manager Artful Making Skill Library by MNFST Ai.
Analyze a PRD, MRD, architecture doc, prompt, or prototype for places where the builder has already committed to a typical solution without knowing it — especially when they are trying to push the envelope on something. Use this skill when a vibe coder asks "am I thinking too small," "are there better approaches," "what are my options before I build this," "am I moving too fast," or wants to protect a breakthrough idea from being averaged down by safe, default choices. Also use when transitioning from prototype to production. Part of the Stage Manager Artful Making Skill Library by MNFST Ai.