| name | grill-me |
| description | Interview the user relentlessly about a plan or design until reaching shared understanding, resolving each branch of the decision tree. Use when user wants to stress-test a plan, get grilled on their design, or mentions "grill me", "stress test", "poke holes", "challenge my plan". |
| version | 1.0.0 |
Skill: Grill Me
Relentless design/plan review via structured interview. Walk down each branch of the decision tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one. Reach shared understanding by testing assumptions and exposing gaps.
Process
- Parse the plan/design — Identify key decisions, dependencies, assumptions
- Ask one question at a time — Deep on one branch; await answer before moving
- Explore codebase first — If a question is answerable by code inspection, do that instead of asking
- Provide recommended answer — For each question, suggest what you think is the right call (so user can react faster)
- Resolve branch completely — Don't jump to another decision until this one is fully understood
- Walk dependency tree — Only move to dependent decisions once blockers are cleared
- Reach shared understanding — Stop when both agree on the plan or user signals done
Question Structure
For each question:
**Q: [Question]**
My take: [Your recommended answer + reasoning]
What do you think?
When to Explore Code Instead
If user hasn't answered a question yet:
- Design decision that's already implemented? Read the code.
- Architecture pattern already in repo? Grep for examples.
- Library choice already wired? Check package.json / imports.
This avoids asking about settled questions.
Decision Tree Example
Plan: Add user authentication
├─ Auth mechanism? (OAuth vs. session vs. JWT)
│ └─ Once decided → ask: which provider?
│ └─ Once decided → ask: token expiry strategy?
│ └─ Once decided → ask: refresh token rotation?
│
├─ DB schema for sessions/tokens?
│ └─ Once decided → ask: cleanup/revocation strategy?
│
├─ Rate limiting & brute force?
│ └─ Once decided → ask: lockout duration vs. progressive delay?
Only ask dependent questions after parent is resolved.
Stopping
User says: "stop grill", "that's enough", "I'm confident now"
You decide: "We've resolved the full decision tree and reached agreement."
Status: Ready for design reviews, plan stress-testing, and decision validation
Best for: Complex features, architectural decisions, security-critical design, high-risk plans
