brainstorming

Guides collaborative design exploration and produces approved spec documents before implementation.

Updated Apr 29, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/fred-meng/harness --skill brainstorming-fred-meng
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: brainstorming
Source: https://github.com/fred-meng/harness/tree/main/.github/skills/brainstorming
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/fred-meng/harness --skill brainstorming-fred-meng

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill includes scripts (resource) components.

What problem does it solve? Teams and agents often jump straight into coding without clarifying requirements, leading to wasted work on misunderstood features. This Skill enforces a structured design dialogue that turns vague ideas into reviewed, approved spec documents before any implementation begins. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Structured Design Dialogue: Explores project context, asks clarifying questions one at a time, proposes 2-3 approaches with trade-offs, and presents the design in sections for incremental approval. - Spec Document Generation: Writes validated designs to dated spec files under docs/superpowers/specs/, runs a self-review for placeholders and contradictions, and gates implementation behind user approval. - Visual Companion Server: Ships a Node.js WebSocket server with shell scripts that serves browser-based mockups, wireframes, and clickable option screens, recording user selections as JSON events. - Use Case: Before building a new dashboard feature, use this Skill to interview the user about goals, compare layout approaches visually in the browser, and commit an approved design spec that a planning skill then converts into an implementation plan. ## Quick Start Ask the agent to brainstorm the design for your next feature before writing any code, and answer its clarifying questions one at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions about brainstorming

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I brainstorm a feature design before writing code?

Invoke the brainstorming flow before any implementation work. It explores your project context, asks clarifying questions one at a time, proposes 2-3 approaches with trade-offs, and presents the design in sections for your approval before writing a spec document.

What is the visual companion for design mockups?

The visual companion is a browser-based tool that displays mockups, wireframes, and clickable option screens during brainstorming. A local Node.js server serves HTML content you write to a session directory, and user clicks are recorded as JSON events for the agent to read.

How do I start the brainstorming companion server?

Run scripts/start-server.sh with --project-dir pointing at your project root. It returns JSON with the URL, screen directory, and state directory. On Windows or Codex environments it auto-switches to foreground mode, which you run as a background task.

Does the brainstorming skill work for small simple projects?

Yes, every project goes through the design flow regardless of perceived simplicity. The design can be just a few sentences for trivial work, but it must still be presented and approved before implementation begins.

Why is my brainstorm server not staying alive?

Some environments reap detached background processes, notably Windows Git Bash and Codex. The start script auto-detects these and switches to foreground mode; launch it with your platform's background execution mechanism and read server-info from the state directory.

What happens after the design spec is approved?

After the user approves the written spec, the flow invokes the writing-plans skill to create a detailed implementation plan. It explicitly does not invoke frontend-design, mcp-builder, or any other implementation skill directly.