aif-explore

AI exploratory thinking is a partnered process for framing problems, discovering requirements, and investigating ideas before implementation. It acts as a non-judgmental partner to question assumptions, map paths, and clarify options using visual reasoning and structured thought processes.

Yes, you can use ASCII diagrams for visual reasoning during problem framing. The skill encourages visualization-heavy exploration to clarify options and tradeoffs, supporting structured thought processes without advancing into actual code implementation.

You can persist exploration notes in .ai-factory/RESEARCH.md for safe, reversible exploration. The skill upholds optional persistence to ensure your requirement discovery and architecture exploration outputs are saved without automatically committing to implementation.

Yes, the exploration skill enforces project-specific overrides from .ai-factory/skill-context/aif-explore/SKILL.md. It reads this project context to tailor guidance and apply guardrails, ensuring your ideation and problem framing align with established rules.

You should not use an exploratory thinking partner when you are ready to commit to implementation. The skill enforces strictly non-implementation exploration, meaning it is designed solely for early problem framing and requirement discovery rather than writing code.