| name | brand-scout |
| description | Scouts and secures your brand's digital presence — domain names, social media handles, and branding direction. Use when the user wants to find a name for a project, startup, product, or brand. Triggers on requests like "help me find a domain name", "brainstorm names for my project", "check if this domain is available", "I need a brand name", "scout social media handles", or any naming, domain, or brand research task. Use when this capability is needed. |
| metadata | {"author":"agentcto"} |
Brand Scout
A structured, human-in-the-loop workflow for finding the perfect brand name, securing domains, and claiming social media handles.
Before starting, load references/brand-guide.xml — a comprehensive naming playbook covering 16 naming patterns, sound symbolism research, morpheme toolkits, domain strategy, case studies, and a 100-point scoring rubric. Reference it throughout the workflow.
Workflow Overview
Discovery → Brainstorm + Score → Selection → Domain Check → Social Media → Report
↑ | |
└──────── Refine ────────────────┘ |
└──── Confirm domain ────────┘
Follow steps 1-7 in order. Steps 3-5 may loop until the user is satisfied.
Step 1: Discovery
Ask the user about their project. Gather these essentials:
- What — Project description (1-2 sentences)
- Who — Target audience
- Keywords — 3-5 words that capture the essence
- Vibe — Professional, playful, technical, minimal, bold?
- Industry — Sector (tech, fintech, health, consumer, etc.)
- Constraints — Must-have TLD? Max length? Specific letters to avoid?
Keep discovery concise: 3-5 questions max in one message.
After discovery, identify the target brand attributes (speed, trust, innovation, simplicity, power, friendliness) — these drive sound recipe selection in Step 2.
Step 2: Brainstorm
Generate 15-20 brand name candidates. Apply the naming patterns and linguistic techniques from the brand guide systematically.
Use these naming patterns (see <naming_patterns> in brand-guide.xml for full details):
| Pattern | Example | Trademark Strength |
|---|
| Invented/Coined | Xerox, Hulu | Strongest (fanciful) |
| Real-word repurposed | Stripe, Slack, Notion | Strong (arbitrary) |
| Metaphorical | Amazon, Apple | Strong (suggestive) |
| Compound | Snapchat, Airtable | Moderate-strong |
| Portmanteau | Pinterest, Netflix | Strong |
| Suffix-modified | Spotify, Shopify | Strong |
| Misspelled/altered | Lyft, Tumblr | Moderate-strong |
| Foreign word | Uber, Lego | Strong |
| Personification | Alexa, Siri | Moderate |
Apply sound symbolism (see <sound_recipes> in brand-guide.xml):
- Map the user's desired brand attributes (speed, trust, innovation, etc.) to specific phoneme families
- Use front vowels (/i/, /e/) for lightness/speed; back vowels (/u/, /o/) for power/warmth
- Use plosives (p, t, k, b, d, g) for strength; fricatives (f, s, sh) for smoothness
- Target CVCV or CVC syllable patterns (the most universally pronounceable)
- Check phonaesthemes: gl- (light/vision), sw- (smooth movement), cr- (power)
Use the morpheme toolkit (see <morpheme_toolkit> in brand-guide.xml):
- Tech prefixes: Neo-, Hyper-, Omni-, Pro-, Re-, Inter-
- Popular suffixes: -er (89 startups), -ly (37), -ify, -io, -base, -hub, -flow
- Latin/Greek roots: nov- (new), lux- (light), ver- (truth), opt- (best), flex- (bend)
Apply blending rules for portmanteaus:
- Preserve each word's stressed syllable
- Target 2-3 syllable results
- Ensure both source words remain recognizable
Present names grouped by pattern with brief rationale for each. Note the trademark strength category (fanciful > arbitrary > suggestive > descriptive) for every candidate.
Step 3: Score Names
Automated Scoring
Run the name scorer on brainstormed candidates:
scripts/score_names.py name1 name2 name3 ...
To check for phonetic conflicts with competitors:
scripts/score_names.py name1 name2 --compare competitor1 competitor2
The scorer evaluates: length, syllable count, pronounceability, and phonetic fingerprint (Metaphone/Soundex). Scores range 0-1 with higher being better.
Qualitative Evaluation
Supplement the automated scores with the 100-point rubric from <scoring_rubric> in brand-guide.xml. Evaluate each top candidate on these weighted criteria:
| Criterion | Points | What to assess |
|---|
| Memorability | 12 | Plosives, alliteration, rhythm, concrete imagery |
| Trademark strength | 12 | Fanciful (12), Arbitrary (9), Suggestive (6), Descriptive (3) |
| Pronounceability | 10 | Unambiguous globally (10), clear in English (7), needs explanation (4) |
| Cultural safety | 10 | Check across major languages for negative meanings |
| Spellability | 8 | Passes the radio test — hear once, spell correctly |
| Semantic resonance | 8 | Positive associations aligned to brand |
| Emotional impact | 8 | Sound symbolism matches brand personality |
| Competitive differentiation | 8 | Unique in category |
| Visual aesthetics | 5 | Balanced letterforms, works as wordmark |
| Length/brevity | 5 | 4-8 chars ideal (5pts), 9-11 (4pts), 12-15 (2pts) |
| Domain availability | 5 | Assessed in Step 5 |
| Social handles | 3 | Assessed in Step 6 |
| Scalability | 3 | Works for unlimited expansion |
| SEO viability | 3 | Unique in search results |
Scoring tiers: 85-100 exceptional → 70-84 strong → 55-69 viable → below 55 reject.
Mandatory filters (instant fail if not passed):
- Radio test: Can someone hear it once and type it into a browser?
- Coffee shop test: If you have to spell it out, the name fails.
Present a combined table: automated scores + qualitative rubric score + trademark category.
Step 4: Selection
Present scored results and ask the user to:
- Pick their top 5-8 favorites
- Flag any names they want variations of
- Indicate preferred TLDs (suggest .com + 1-2 relevant alternatives)
If the user wants more options, loop back to Step 2 with refined direction.
Step 5: Domain Availability Check
Run the domain checker on selections:
scripts/check_domains.py name1 name2 ... --tlds com,io,dev,ai
For definitive results (slower, uses WHOIS):
scripts/check_domains.py name1 name2 ... --whois
Status key:
taken — Registered (DNS or WHOIS confirmed)AVAILABLE — Unregistered (WHOIS confirmed)possibly available — DNS negative, not WHOIS-verified (use --whois to confirm)
TLD selection — Apply the decision tree from <domain_strategy> in brand-guide.xml:
- Is exact brand.com available? → Take it immediately
- AI startup? → .ai preferred, then .com
- Dev tools/SaaS? → .io or .dev preferred, then .com
- Consumer/mass market? → .com strongly preferred
- None available? → Try verb prefixes (get/try/use) or modify the name itself
For additional TLD guidance, see references/tld-guide.xml.
If top choices are taken, suggest domain workarounds from the brand guide:
- Verb prefixes: get-, try-, use-, hey-, meet-, join-
- Suffixes: -hq, -app, -labs
- Domain hacks: notion.so, linear.app, bit.ly
- Note: Facebook launched as thefacebook.com, Dropbox as getdropbox.com — startups upgrade later
Defensive registration: Recommend securing the brand name across 3-5 key TLDs (.com, .io, .co, .ai, .net) to prevent squatters.
Step 6: Social Media Handle Check
Once the user confirms a domain name, run the handle checker:
scripts/check_handles.py myhandle
Check all supported platforms:
scripts/check_handles.py myhandle --all
Supported platforms: github, twitter, instagram, linkedin, reddit_user, reddit_sub, youtube, tiktok, npm, pypi
If the exact handle is taken, suggest variations and re-check:
- Add "hq", "app", "official", "get", "use" as prefix/suffix
- Use underscores or periods where platforms allow
scripts/check_handles.py myhandlehq myhandle_app --platforms github,twitter,instagram
Step 7: Final Report
Generate a comprehensive brand research report. Draw on the case studies and trends from brand-guide.xml to provide informed branding context.
# Brand Scout Report: [chosen name]
## Name Analysis
| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Pattern | [naming pattern used, e.g., "real-word repurposed"] |
| Trademark category | [fanciful/arbitrary/suggestive/descriptive] |
| Syllables | [count] |
| Pronounceability | [score] |
| Phonetic code | [metaphone] |
| Rubric score | [X/100] |
## Sound Profile
- **Phoneme analysis**: [e.g., "voiceless fricatives + front vowels convey speed"]
- **Syllable pattern**: [e.g., CVC — punchy monosyllable]
- **Sound associations**: [what the name's sounds convey per sound symbolism]
## Domain Availability
| Domain | Status | Action |
|--------|--------|--------|
| name.com | Available | Register immediately |
| name.io | Taken | — |
**Recommended TLD**: [primary recommendation with reasoning]
**Defensive registrations**: [3-5 TLDs to secure]
## Social Media Handles
| Platform | Handle | Status | Alternative |
|----------|--------|--------|-------------|
| GitHub | @name | Available | — |
| Twitter/X | @name | Taken | @namehq |
## Branding Direction
- **Pronunciation guide**: [phonetic spelling if non-obvious]
- **Tagline ideas**: [2-3 suggestions]
- **Visual direction**: [brief color/style notes informed by sound profile]
- **Tone**: [professional, playful, technical]
- **Comparable brands**: [1-2 similar successful names from case studies]
## Next Steps
1. Register domain at [registrar suggestion]
2. Secure social media handles (prioritized by platform importance)
3. Consider professional trademark search ($120K-$750K avg dispute cost)
4. Register defensive domains (.com variant if using alternative TLD)
5. Budget: $50-200 for defensive domain registration
Save the report to a markdown file in the user's working directory.
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