prototype is agent-read markdown (skill) from swingerman/engineer: Use to rough out a working thing fast, zero ceremony, before committing to the pipeline — the prototype IS the spec. Triggers — "/engineer.prototype", "prototype this", "quick prototype", "spike it", "rough it out", "throwaway version", "let's prototype"..
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What the file says
# prototype
The **prototype-first path** to a feature (see
`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/two-paths.md`). Build a **rough working thing
fast** and **iterate it** — no feature list, no stories, just the concept and
rounds — until it converges. No ACs, no plan, no tests, no gates, no gauntlet:
there is nothing to grade against yet, because **the prototype is what
everything else will be graded against.** Most prototypes are learning; the ones
worth keeping **convert to spec** — reaching the *same* fully-specced, hardened
feature as spec-first, by build-then-spec instead of spec-then-build.
The **iteration loop is the point** — it is where the speed comes from. Expect
several rounds; the "one thing it must demonstrate" sharpens as you go.
Sits *before* `discuss`/`feature-init` in ceremony: `discuss` talks an idea
through; `prototype` builds it to find out. `discuss` and `feature-init` offer
this path as a first-class entry.
## When to use
- `/engineer.prototype "<idea>"` — spike an idea into a runnable rough cut.
- The core question is "what would this even look like / feel like / do?" and a
paragraph of spec won't answer it but ten minutes of code will.
…
Pin to a label to follow the author's releases, or to a sha256 to freeze the exact bytes forever. Either way the resolved hash is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install reproduces it on any machine.
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_hja57qdbwaeg3g5e
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=swingerman/engineer/prototype
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/9d2eea61e1ec756f7ac8048fd351fb1da5418d876615f287a3dff75e3e428e97
Your agent does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
swingerman/engineer · crap-analyzer/skills/crap-analyzer/SKILL.md · Use to produce a risk-based refactor + test plan for recently-changed code on a diff/branch/PR by computing CRAP…
swingerman/engineer · engineer/skills/arch-check/SKILL.md · Use to check a feature's code against the charter's architecture rules — dependency layering, cycles, forbidden…
swingerman/engineer · engineer/skills/atdd/SKILL.md · Use to write a feature's acceptance specs and generate its test pipeline — Checkpoint 3 of the DAE pipeline. The…
swingerman/engineer · engineer/skills/clarify/SKILL.md · Use when a single DAE artifact has ambiguities to resolve. Triggers — "/engineer.clarify", "clarify this spec"…
swingerman/engineer · engineer/skills/consistency-check/SKILL.md · Use to validate DAE artifacts for schema correctness and cross-artifact consistency. Triggers —…
swingerman/engineer · engineer/skills/discover-acs/SKILL.md · Use when a Ready feature needs its acceptance criteria discovered before specs are written. Triggers —…
swingerman/engineer · engineer/skills/discuss/SKILL.md · Use when exploring a feature idea before committing, or revisiting a parked one. Triggers — "/engineer.discuss"…
swingerman/engineer · engineer/skills/express/SKILL.md · Use to build an XS (express-lane) feature in one pass — intake→implement→verify in a single context, no handoff chain…
swingerman/engineer · engineer/skills/feature-edit/SKILL.md · Use when an in-flight feature must change — scope shifts, an AC is refined, the plan evolves, a behavior is added or…
swingerman/engineer · engineer/skills/feature-init/SKILL.md · Use when a new feature folder must be created for the DAE pipeline, or when discuss promotes/parks an idea. Triggers —…
swingerman/engineer · engineer/skills/fix/SKILL.md · Use to drive a bug fix from first report through close, with a "why didn't we catch it?" loop at the end. Triggers —…
swingerman/engineer · engineer/skills/next/SKILL.md · Use at the start of a work session, or any time the question is "what should I pick up now" across the whole project…
emilkowalski/skills · skills/prototype/SKILL.md · Build multiple genuinely different versions of a UI piece you describe, rendered behind a visual picker so you can flip…
plugin87/ux-ui-agent-skills · .claude/skills/prototype/SKILL.md · Move an idea up the fidelity ladder (content-first → wireframe → low-fi → high-fi → code) with a validation plan at…
mxyhi/ok-skills · prototype/SKILL.md · Build a throwaway prototype to answer a design question. Use when the user wants to sanity-check whether a state model…
tobihagemann/turbo · claude/skills/prototype/SKILL.md · Build a self-contained local prototype at .turbo/prototypes/<slug>.html, drive it, and hand it to the user to settle…
tobihagemann/turbo · codex/skills/prototype/SKILL.md · Build a self-contained local prototype at .turbo/prototypes/<slug>.html, drive it, and hand it to the user to settle…
outlinedriven/odin-claude-plugin · plugins/odin-design/skills/prototype/SKILL.md · Use when asked to prototype one design question through a cheap logic or UI experiment, including button-driven…
vodailocz/kilo-kit-mcp · skills/engineering/prototype/SKILL.md · Build a throwaway prototype to answer a design question. Use when the user wants to sanity-check whether a state model…
j-star-films-studios/vibecode-protocol-suite · assets/.agent/skills/frontend-ui/prototyping-variants/SKILL.md · Build a throwaway prototype to answer a design question. Use when the user wants to sanity-check whether a state model…
