---
name: brainstorm
description: Evaluate the codebase and suggest ideas to explore with $feature-interview
type: planning
version: v0.0
argument-hint: "[optional focus area]"
---

# Brainstorm

Invoke as `$brainstorm`.

Evaluate the current codebase and generate actionable suggestions that the user can take into `$feature-interview` for human/agent alignment, planning-destination triage, and follow-up specification or roadmap work.

## Workflow

### 0. App Scope Resolution (Monorepo Support)

Before checking prerequisites, determine the app scope:

1. If `$ARGUMENTS` specifies an app name matching a subdirectory of `research/`, use it.
2. If `research/` contains subdirectories (excluding files), list them and ask the user which app to target. If the session is already in Plan mode and there are 2-3 concrete choices, prefer `request_user_input`; otherwise ask in plain text. If only one subdirectory exists, use it automatically.
3. If no subdirectories exist, proceed with flat structure (single-product mode).

When app scope `{app}` is active:
- Read/write research from `research/{app}/` instead of `research/`
- Read/write specs from `specs/{app}/` instead of `specs/`
- Also read `research/icp.md` (cross-app overview) for broader context

1. Read CLAUDE.md, README, package config, and key source files to understand the project.
2. Check `tasks/roadmap.md`, `tasks/todo.md`, `tasks/manual-todo.md`, `tasks/record-todo.md`, `tasks/recurring-todo.md` (when they exist), and specs from `specs/` (or `spec.md`) if they exist — avoid suggesting things already planned or deferred as advisory records. Read `research/competitive-analysis.md` (or `research/{app}/competitive-analysis.md`) if it exists — competitor gaps, market white space, and positioning weaknesses are high-signal inputs for ideation. Read `research/customer-feedback.md` (or `research/{app}/customer-feedback.md`) if it exists — "Wrong" and "New" findings are highest-signal ideation input. Read `research/metrics.md` (or `research/{app}/metrics.md`) if it exists — instrumentation gaps can generate ideas.
3. Analyse the codebase across these dimensions:

   **Strategic / Product**
   - New features that would make the project significantly more useful or valuable
   - New workflows or end-to-end automation the project could enable
   - Product line expansion — adjacent use cases, new audiences, or complementary products the core could serve
   - Integration opportunities with external tools, platforms, or APIs that multiply value

   **Improvement**
   - Missing capabilities the architecture is set up for
   - Pain points, rough edges, or manual steps that could be automated
   - Performance bottlenecks or low-hanging optimisations
   - Developer experience friction

   **Hygiene**
   - Technical debt where code has outgrown its design
   - Testing gaps in critical paths
   - Security hardening opportunities

   **Market Fit** (only when `research/icp.md` (or `research/{app}/icp.md`), `research/mvp-gap.md` (or `research/{app}/mvp-gap.md`), or `research/competitive-analysis.md` (or `research/{app}/competitive-analysis.md`) exist)
   - ICP alignment — features addressing ICP pain points that are missing or incomplete
   - Journey gaps — steps where the product loses the user or customer
   - Unaddressed MVP gaps from `research/mvp-gap.md` (or `research/{app}/mvp-gap.md`) not yet in roadmap
   - Competitive white space — features or capabilities no competitor offers well, from `research/competitive-analysis.md` (or `research/{app}/competitive-analysis.md`) market gaps
   - Competitor leapfrog — specific competitor weaknesses to exploit, or table-stakes features competitors have that you lack
   - Positioning plays — ideas that sharpen differentiation against the competitive landscape
4. If the user provides a focus area, scope the analysis there. Otherwise cover all dimensions.

## Output

Append the suggestions to `tasks/ideas.md` (do not overwrite existing content). Also display them to the user. When app scope is active, prefix each suggestion with the app name.

Group suggestions by effort level (hours / days / weeks). Each suggestion should include:
- A specific, actionable title
- A one-line description with the concrete codebase signal that motivates it
- A `$feature-interview <topic>` prompt the user can copy-paste

## Constraints

- Be specific and actionable — no vague aspirations.
- Limit to 3–5 suggestions per effort level.
- Do not suggest changes that conflict with CLAUDE.md conventions.
- Do not repeat work already in `tasks/roadmap.md`, `tasks/todo.md`, `tasks/manual-todo.md`, `tasks/record-todo.md`, `tasks/recurring-todo.md`, or `specs/` (or `specs/{app}/`).

## Alignment Page

When this skill produces durable deliverables (research, specs, plans, reports, prototypes, or any document output), build a full-depth HTML alignment page at `alignment/brainstorm-{topic}.html`. Use a normalized topic slug derived from the app, feature, research subject, report subject, or output filename.

**Full content requirement.** The alignment page must contain the complete content of every proposed markdown deliverable -- every section, every finding, every detail, every list item. It is a thorough interactive review document, not a summary. Render the full deliverable content in clean, readable HTML with appropriate hierarchy, styling, and navigation. If the skill writes multiple scoped deliverables in one run, build one alignment page that contains all deliverables with anchor-linked navigation. Durable tracker artifacts, such as `research/assumption-tracker.md`, remain canonical markdown outputs but must also be fully rendered into the alignment page before approval.

**Dark-mode styling.** Use a dark color scheme by default. Base CSS variables: `--bg: #0d1117; --surface: #161b22; --border: #30363d; --text: #c9d1d9; --text-muted: #8b949e; --accent: #58a6ff; --green: #3fb950; --red: #f85149; --orange: #d29922; --purple: #bc8cff;`. Apply `background: var(--bg); color: var(--text);` on body. Use `--surface` for cards, nav, and table headers. Use `--border` for all borders. Use `--purple` for question blocks and gate headings. Use `--accent` for links and section headings. Keep headings `color: #fff` or `var(--accent)` for hierarchy. Question block backgrounds should use `#1c2333`.

**Alignment gates.** Treat gates as explicit review sections inside the HTML page. A gate blocks finalization until its required inline questions are answered and compiled into YAML. Include every gate that applies to the skill output, and include these gate types whenever relevant: evidence coverage, assumptions/confidence, scope/non-goals, candidate/verdict decisions, artifact destination, proposed file changes, coverage checkpoint, and post-approval route.

**Report-only research gates.** For report-only or pre-approval research skills, the alignment page must explicitly contain evidence coverage, assumptions/confidence, recommended path, proposed file changes, and approval gates before any canonical research, spec, or task file is created or updated.


**Required inline questions.** Each gate must contain at least one required inline question placed directly under the content it governs, inside a visually distinct question block. Each question must use radio-button inputs and include two standing options after the skill-generated choices: "Other / None of the above" backed by a multi-line text box for free-form input, and "Need clarification" backed by an optional notes box where the user can explain what is unclear. When any radio option other than "Other" or "Need clarification" is selected, show an optional "Additional notes" text box beneath it so the user can qualify their choice. Generate questions based on what genuinely needs user input -- do not add filler questions. Do not create a separate bottom "Decisions & Clarifications" section.

**Gate YAML contract.** At the bottom of the page, include a "Compile Answers" button that aggregates answers from all inline gate questions throughout the page, including free-text notes. The button remains disabled until every required question has a selection, shows a count of remaining unanswered questions, and scrolls to the first unanswered question if clicked early. When every question is answered, generate a structured YAML block with one item per gate answer using this stable shape: `section`, `gate_type`, `status` (`answered`, `other`, or `needs-clarification`), `answer`, optional `notes`, and optional `target_artifact` or `target_path` when the gate controls file output. After successful compilation, automatically attempt to copy the YAML to the clipboard with the Clipboard API, display copy status, and display the YAML in a read-only textarea with an explicit "Copy YAML" button. The copy button must retry clipboard copy when supported and fall back to selecting the textarea contents when clipboard access is unavailable or blocked.

**Pre-approval stop.** Before user approval, the next action is review of the HTML alignment page, not downstream routing. Ask the user to review the page and provide the compiled YAML answers. Do not include `Recommended next skill`, `Recommended next command`, or downstream routing language until after compiled YAML has been provided and the approved artifacts have been written or updated.

**Diff highlighting on updates.** When the agent updates an existing alignment page after receiving compiled answers, highlight what changed since the previous version. The agent chooses inline annotation or side-by-side layout per situation.

**Archiving.** Before replacing an existing alignment page, archive it to `docs/history/archive/YYYY-MM-DD/HHMMSS/alignment/brainstorm-{topic}.html`.

**Browser open.** Attempt to open the resulting HTML page in the browser and report whether the open succeeded or was blocked. A blocked browser-open attempt does not make the skill fail when the files were written correctly.

## Default Shipping Contract

- **Default next-step routing:** when reporting completion, include either `Recommended next skill: <command>` or the two-line pair `**Next work:** <specific task or "none">` and `**Recommended next command:** <one command or route>` so the next operator has a concrete handoff.
- If this skill creates or modifies tracked repository files, finish by committing and pushing all intended changes to the repository primary branch (`main` when present, otherwise `master`) before stopping, even if the user did not explicitly ask for commit/push.
- Do not leave tracked changes or unpushed commits behind. If unrelated tracked work is already present, either include it in sensible commits too or stop and explain the blocker.
- This contract does not override stricter safety rules about secrets, destructive history changes, release publication/tag confirmation, or production deploy confirmation.
