brainstorming git:20260419.b80e991A

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---
name: brainstorming
description: "You MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, or modifying behavior. Explores user intent, requirements and design before implementation."
---

# Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs

Help turn ideas into fully formed designs through collaborative dialogue.

<HARD-GATE>
Do NOT write any code, scaffold any project, or take any implementation action until you have presented a design and the user has approved it. This applies to EVERY project regardless of perceived simplicity.
</HARD-GATE>

"Simple" projects are where unexamined assumptions cause the most wasted work. The design can be short (a few sentences for truly simple projects), but you MUST present it and get approval.

## Process

1. **Explore context** — check files, docs, recent commits
2. **Ask clarifying questions** — one at a time, prefer multiple choice, understand purpose/constraints/success criteria
3. **Propose 2-3 approaches** — with trade-offs and your recommendation
4. **Present design** — scale each section to its complexity, ask after each section if it looks right
5. **Write spec** — save to `docs/specs/` (create directory if needed) and commit
6. **User reviews spec** — wait for approval before proceeding
7. **Transition** — invoke writing-plans skill to create implementation plan

## Design Principles

- **One question at a time** — don't overwhelm with multiple questions
- **YAGNI ruthlessly** — remove unnecessary features
- **Design for isolation** — break into units with one clear purpose, well-defined interfaces, testable independently
- **Explore alternatives** — always propose 2-3 approaches before settling
- **Scope check** — if the request describes multiple independent subsystems, decompose into sub-projects first

## Working in Existing Codebases

- Explore the current structure before proposing changes. Follow existing patterns.
- Where existing code has problems that affect the work, include targeted improvements as part of the design.
- Don't propose unrelated refactoring. Stay focused on what serves the current goal.

## After Design Approval

Invoke the writing-plans skill to create a detailed implementation plan. Do NOT invoke any other skill — writing-plans is the next step.