Design Agent Skill
| Use in pre-implementation (idea-to-design) stages to understand spec/requirements and create a correct implementation plan before writing actual code. Turns ideas into a fully-formed PRD/design/specification and implementation-plan. Creates design docs and task lists in docs/wip/.
Install
one command, takes just this skill from the repositorynpx skills add https://github.com/serpro69/claude-toolbox --skill designWhat comes with it
55 036 bytes besides the instructionThe instruction itself
5 sections, as written by the author<!-- codex: tool-name mapping applied. See .codex/scripts/session-start.sh -->
Task Analysis Process
Goal: Before writing any code, make sure you understand the requirements and have an implementation plan ready.
Conventions
- Read capy knowledge base conventions at shared-capy-knowledge-protocol.md.
- Read profile detection at shared-profile-detection.md. When an active profile contributes a
design/subdirectory (e.g.,../../profiles/k8s/design/), itsquestions.mdfeeds the idea-refinement question pool and itssections.mdlists required sections the design document must cover. Both the idea-to-design and continue-WIP flows consult the shared procedure; see each flow's workflow file for the specific integration points.
For fresh ideas, two reference files provide methodology and evaluation rubric: frameworks.md (ideation lenses for the diverge phase) and refinement-criteria.md (evaluation dimensions and MVP scoping for the converge phase). These are loaded during the instruction-load step and consumed by idea-process.md Step 3 sub-phases.
Workflow
Mandatory order — understanding before engagement. The flow below is strictly sequential. Do not engage with the idea prose beyond a keyword scan, ask refinement questions, or write design content until all instructions — this SKILL.md, the relevant process file, the shared profile-detection procedure, every resolved profile's design/ content, and (for fresh ideas) the reference files frameworks.md and refinement-criteria.md — are fully loaded.
The $kk:design skill has two entry points; each has its own process file with a detailed workflow. Both follow the same mandatory ordering:
- Keyword scan only. The idea prose (or WIP feature directory) is scanned at the keyword/filename level — enough to drive profile detection, not enough to engage with the content.
- Load instructions. Read the relevant process file (idea-process.md or existing-task-process.md), and (for fresh ideas) the reference files frameworks.md (ideation lenses) and refinement-criteria.md (evaluation rubric).
- Detect active profiles. Delegate to shared-profile-detection.md. For fresh ideas, this uses the design interaction pattern (token matching against idea prose). For WIP features, this uses file-based detection with design-pattern fallback.
- Load profile content. For each active profile contributing a
design/subdirectory, read itsindex.mdand all always-load entries (questions.md,sections.md). These feed the refinement question pool and required design sections. - Engage with subject matter. Only now: ask refinement questions, analyze the idea, write design content.
Ideas and Prototypes
_Use this for ideas that are not fully thought out and do not have a fully-formed design/specification and/or implementation-plan._
For example: I've got an idea I want to talk through with you before we proceed with the implementation.
Your job: Help me turn it into a fully formed design, spec, implementation plan, and task list.
See idea-process.md.
Continue WIP Feature
_Use this to resume work on a feature that already has design docs and a task list in /docs/wip/._
For example: Let's continue working on the auth system.
Your job: Review the current state of the feature, understand what's been done and what's next, then proceed with implementation.
See existing-task-process.md.
Other skills for the same job
different authors, same section of the catalogue
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How to use it
Take serpro69/claude-toolbox-design from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal
use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.
The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the
same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.