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name: brainstorm description: > Use when user says "brainstorm", "let's design", "help me think through", "I have an idea", "before I start coding", "explore approaches", or wants to refine rough ideas into designs through collaborative questioning. argument-hint: [topic]

Brainstorm Ideas Into Designs

Help turn ideas into fully formed designs and specs through natural collaborative dialogue.

Start by understanding the current project context, then ask questions one at a time to refine the idea. Once you understand what you're building, present the design in small sections (200-300 words), checking after each section whether it looks right so far.

Process

1. Understand context

• Check project state (files, docs, recent commits)
• If $ARGUMENTS provided, start with that topic
• Ask questions one at a time to refine the idea
• Prefer multiple choice when possible, but open-ended is fine too
• Only one question per message—if a topic needs more exploration, break it into multiple questions
• Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria

2. Explore approaches

• Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs
• Present options conversationally with your recommendation and reasoning
• Lead with your recommended option and explain why

3. Present design incrementally

• Break into 200-300 word sections
• Ask after each section whether it looks right so far
• Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
• Be ready to go back and clarify if something doesn't make sense

Principles

• One question at a time — Don't overwhelm with multiple questions
• Multiple choice preferred — Easier to answer than open-ended when possible
• YAGNI ruthlessly — Remove unnecessary features from all designs
• Explore alternatives — Always propose 2-3 approaches before settling
• Incremental validation — Present design in sections, validate each
• Be flexible — Go back and clarify when something doesn't make sense

Output

When design is complete, offer to save:

• Technical designs → ./[topic]-design.md
• Save only if user confirms