Brainstorm Ideas
Before your coding agent writes a line of code, it talks through what you're actually building and turns it into a design spec you approve, so you never ship the wrong thing fast.
Install the skill or give me an instruction how to install it - brainstorming from https://github.com/obra/superpowers Free Open source Works in Claude, Cursor, Codex & more
What it does
Brainstorming stops your coding agent from jumping straight to code. You describe an idea; it explores the project, then asks one question at a time to pin down purpose, constraints, and success criteria, proposing two or three approaches with a clear recommendation.
Once you agree on a direction, it presents the design in bite-sized sections for your sign-off, writes the spec to a dated design doc, commits it, and reviews it for gaps before handing off to planning. You get a validated spec you actually read, not a pile of code built on a guess.
When to use it
- You're about to build something new
Describe the idea and get a design you've signed off on before any code is written.
- Your agent codes before it understands the ask
Force a design conversation first, so you don't discover the misunderstanding after it's already built.
- The request is vague or too big for one spec
It flags a sprawling idea, breaks it into scoped sub-projects, and refines them one at a time.
- You need a spec you can hand off
It writes a committed design doc covering architecture, data flow, and testing that feeds straight into an implementation plan.
FAQ
Does it write any code?
No. The brainstorming skill only produces a design spec and stops. It hands off to a planning skill, and no implementation happens until you've approved the design.
What do I end up with?
A dated design doc committed to your repo, covering architecture, components, data flow, error handling, and testing. It's short for simple projects and fuller for nuanced ones.
Do I have to answer a long questionnaire?
No. Brainstorming asks one question at a time, prefers multiple choice, and scales the design to the project, from a few sentences to a couple hundred words per section.
Can I use it without the rest of Superpowers?
Yes. Brainstorming runs as its own skill, though it's built to flow into the writing-plans skill once your design is approved.