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Brainstorm a Feature

Turns a vague feature idea into a scoped requirements plan before any code is written

Source Download skill
Repository
EveryInc/compound-engineering-plugin
Stars
25,850
Licence
MIT
Files
15 files

What it does

When you ask the agent to brainstorm or scope something you want to build, this skill makes it run a structured dialogue: it asks focused questions, sizes the work, and records what to build (requirements, scope boundaries, success criteria) without implementing code. Small requests end as a short chat summary; larger ones produce a planning document under a plans folder that a later planning step can extend with technical details.

Great for

  • Developers who have a fuzzy feature idea and want it clarified before coding
  • Product-minded engineers who want written requirements a planner or reviewer can use
  • Teams running a repeatable spec-before-build workflow with Claude Code

Skip it if

  • Executing work that is already specified, since the skill is designed to stop and route instead of building (use an implementation workflow)
  • Non-software brainstorming; the skill routes those to a different reference file
  • Asking for a verdict on adopting a named external technology, which the skill hands off to a separate ce-pov skill

Try asking

  • “Brainstorm a notifications feature for our mobile app and tell me what to build”
  • “Help me scope an improvement to our CSV import flow”
  • “Explore an ambitious idea for a team dashboard and write a requirements plan”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Brainstorm a FeatureInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 15 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    ce-brainstorm.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip ce-brainstorm.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip ce-brainstorm.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Give a concrete problem or outcome in the first message so the dialogue starts from something real
  • Answer the clarifying questions one at a time; the skill is designed to ask only one per turn
  • Review the written plan's Ready for Planning Check before handing off to planning

What's inside

  • references/agents/slack-researcher.md
  • references/approaches.md
  • references/bakeoff.md
  • references/blindspot-pass.md
  • references/brainstorm-sections.md
  • references/dialogue.md
  • references/handoff.md
  • references/html-rendering.md
  • references/interaction-rules.md
  • references/markdown-rendering.md
  • references/model-tiers.md
  • references/output-mode.md
  • references/phase-0.md
  • references/plan-write.md
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from EveryInc/compound-engineering-plugin under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.