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brainstormingcommit 2ce8aa1SKILL.md · Requirements

Brainstorming

Asks one question at a time to learn what the user actually wants and why, then writes a design doc they approve before anything is built.

npx skills add obra/superpowers --skill brainstorming
Permissions
  • read-repo
  • write-files
  • shell
  • network
Compatible with
Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode
GitHub
310.3k
Source
Community · Jesse Vincent
Status
Scan passed
License
MIT
Category
Requirements
Repository
github.com/obra/superpowers/skills/brainstorming

Core rule

Nothing gets built until the user approves the design doc.

Execution Phases

  1. Phase 01Look before asking

    Read the project and any material the user pointed to first, and never ask what it already answers.

  2. Phase 02One question, then play back

    End each message with one open question; once a part is clear, describe it back in about 200-300 words and ask what is wrong or missing.

  3. Phase 03Lay out the approaches

    In a message of its own, present two or three ways to build it with their trade-offs, recommend one with a reason, and let the user pick.

  4. Phase 04Write the design doc

    Write a short or full design depending on size; for a project, run a builder check with a fresh subagent, and in a repo save it under docs/superpowers/specs/ and commit it.

  5. Phase 05Approve and hand off

    Once the design doc is approved, invoke superpowers:writing-plans and no other skill.

Permissions (summarised from SKILL.md)

CapabilityNeededDetails
File writesLimitedBefore approval it writes only the design doc and any throwaway spike the user agreed to; no product code, scaffolding or dependency installs.
Command executionLimitedCommits the design doc with git and, if the user accepts, runs the bundled scripts to start the local visual companion server.
Network outboundLimitedWeb lookups only when the user agrees to that recon; the visual companion runs on localhost.

SKILL.md frontmatter (YAML)

SKILL.md frontmatter (YAML)commit 2ce8aa1
---
name: brainstorming
description: "You MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, modifying behavior, or planning anything new, in software or out of it (a talk, a business, a renovation)."
---

Related skills

A rule scan cannot catch every risk. Read this skill's SKILL.md and check its permissions before installing.
Markdown version GitHub