Design Brainstorm Before Coding skill for Claude and Codex

Design Brainstorm Before Coding as an AI skill. It asks for The idea, Project context, Who it is for and 2 more, then does the rest. Free to install in Claude…

Install it once and Claude or Codex runs it for you. When your request matches, your AI loads the skill, asks for anything it is missing, and works through the template itself. Prefer to fill it in by hand? See the full prompt template.

Download the skill (.zip) · View SKILL.md

When it is used

Use when a rough feature idea needs to become a short approved design before anyone writes code. Do not use for turning an already approved design into tasks, or fixing a bug in existing code. Related topics: coding, product.

What it will ask you for

• The idea (longer free text)
• Project context (longer free text)
• Who it is for (free text, e.g. "Users or callers of the result")
• Hard constraints (longer free text)
• How decisive to be (choose one: Ask about everything, Ask only about risky choices, Propose defaults and let me veto)

How it works

1. Read the project context and note the facts the design depends on, so no question asks for something already known.
2. Ask one question at a time, multiple choice with a recommendation where possible, until purpose, scope, non-goals and failure cases are each answered.
3. Compare two plausible approaches with the cost of each and a recommendation whenever a real fork appears.
4. Draft the design doc section by section and get an explicit approval for each section before moving on.
5. Close with the approved summary and the single first task, and confirm that no code has been written.

What you get

A design doc with goal, non-goals, approach, key interfaces, error handling and success check, each section approved in turn, ending with a one-line approval statement.

What it watches out for

• Asking several questions in one message, which gets partial answers and hides the one that mattered.
• Starting to sketch code during the interview, which anchors the design on the first idea.
• Interviewing past the point of value, when remaining answers would not change the design.

How to install

Claude.ai and the Claude desktop app

1. Download the skill .zip.
2. Open Settings, then Capabilities, and find Skills.
3. Choose Upload skill and select the .zip.
4. Ask Claude for help with the task. It loads the skill when your request matches.

Claude Code

1. Download the skill .zip.
2. Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ (or .claude/skills/ inside a project).
3. Start a new session. Claude Code loads the skill when your request matches.

Codex

1. Download the skill .zip.
2. Unzip it into ~/.agents/skills/ (or .agents/skills/ inside a project).
3. Codex picks it up on its own. Type $ and the skill name to use it, or just ask for the task.

Cursor

1. Download the Cursor rule (.mdc).
2. Save it in .cursor/rules/ inside your project.
3. Cursor's agent applies the rule when your request matches its description.

AGENTS.md (Codex, Cursor, and other coding agents)

1. Copy the AGENTS.md section.
2. Paste it into AGENTS.md at the root of your repository, creating the file if needed.
3. Coding agents that read AGENTS.md follow it when your request fits.