# brainstorm-with-docs

A skill for **brainstorming, design alignment, and durable documentation** —
grounded in a project's existing docs and vocabulary. It takes an ambiguous
problem — whatever the domain — or a decision fork (развилка) and drives it to
shared understanding and a recommended direction — recorded in the *smallest
useful* durable artifact: a spec, ADR, runbook, research note, or `CONTEXT.md`
glossary update.

It is deliberately **not** an implementation skill. It reads project files and
proposes documentation, but stops before code, config, or infrastructure changes
— approval of a design direction is never approval to implement.

## Why this exists

It combines four things that are usually separate:

- **shared domain language** (glossary / `CONTEXT.md`) and **lightweight ADRs** —
  the discipline of capturing terminology and durable decisions as they crystallise;
- **active grilling** — not just extracting requirements, but pressure-testing
  them: challenging terms against the glossary, sharpening fuzzy language, probing
  with edge-case scenarios, cross-checking claims against the code;
- **option exploration** — comparing 2-3 viable approaches within the user's
  framing, plus at least one framing-challenger so the agent does not only
  optimise inside the first shape of the problem;
- **durable output** — the understanding is the deliverable; it's recorded in the
  smallest appropriate artifact: glossary entry, spec, ADR, runbook, research
  note, or PRD.

The closest day-to-day comparison is `grill-me`: use `grill-me` when you mainly
want the agent to pull understanding out of you and align on a plan in the
conversation. Use `brainstorm-with-docs` when the discussion must be grounded in
the repository and leave behind project documentation. `grill-with-docs` is an
upstream influence for glossary and ADR discipline, but this skill is not trying
to follow that methodology wholesale.

## Usage

Model-invoked: the agent reaches for the skill on its own when it sees an
ambiguous problem or a decision fork (развилка) — the trigger is the shape of
the task, not its domain. (It started life manual-only; live use showed the
whole value is in the agent reaching it unprompted.) You can also invoke it by
name:

```
/brainstorm-with-docs <problem-or-topic>
```

A repo can route to it explicitly — e.g. an `AGENTS.md` line sending decision
forks here.

## Layout

```
brainstorm-with-docs/
├── SKILL.md              # the skill: process, rules, grill mechanics
├── README.md             # this file
├── ROADMAP.md            # development memory: status, backlog, evidence
└── artifacts/            # output templates — read only the one you need
    ├── spec.md           # solution design / engineering spec
    ├── research-note.md  # exploratory, answer not yet known
    ├── adr.md            # lightweight architectural decision record
    ├── runbook.md        # operational procedure
    ├── prd.md            # product-facing behaviour
    └── context.md        # CONTEXT.md glossary format
```

Templates are split per type so the agent loads only what's relevant
(progressive disclosure).

## Roadmap

Status, backlog, pending decisions, live-test evidence, and rejected ideas live
in [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md) — the single source of truth. It is development
memory and can be removed once the skill stabilises.

## Attribution

This is a derived, original skill — not a copy of either source. It borrows ideas
from two MIT-licensed projects:

- **grill-with-docs / grill-me** by Matt Pocock —
  <https://github.com/mattpocock/skills> (MIT, © 2026 Matt Pocock).
  Source of the glossary/`CONTEXT.md` discipline, lightweight ADRs, and the
  active grilling techniques. This skill deliberately diverges from
  `grill-with-docs` where the user's workflow needs broader artifact creation and
  option exploration.
- **brainstorming** by Jesse Vincent (obra), from Superpowers —
  <https://github.com/obra/superpowers> (MIT, © 2025 Jesse Vincent).
  Source of the explore-context → question → compare-options → present-design flow
  and the stop-before-implementation gate.

The `CONTEXT.md` and ADR formats are adapted from Matt Pocock's `grill-with-docs`
companion files. Both upstream projects are MIT-licensed; see their repositories
for full license text.