grilling

Stress-tests plans and decisions through structured rounds of interrogative questions.

Updated Aug 19, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/PVMalove/claude-agent-harness --skill grilling-pvmalove
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: grilling
Source: https://github.com/PVMalove/claude-agent-harness/tree/main/skills/first-party/pvmalove/grilling
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/PVMalove/claude-agent-harness --skill grilling-pvmalove

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Plans and design decisions often hide unstated assumptions and logical gaps that only surface late in implementation. This Skill systematically interrogates the user about a plan, decision, or idea, mapping every decision as a design tree so blind spots are exposed before any code or tickets are created. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Design Tree Exploration: Models the decision space as a tree and works through a frontier of settled prerequisites, asking at most 4 questions per round so downstream questions never precede their dependencies. - Live Artifact Tracking: Maintains an opt-in list of relevant file paths discovered during exploration, publishing them to a shared artifact (or a plain-text fallback) only after explicit user consent. - Structured Question Formats: Uses the AskUserQuestion tool with categorical options and recommendations when available, falling back to plain text with a stated recommendation otherwise. - Use Case: Before writing a spec for a new feature, run a grilling session to validate the architecture, scope, and trade-offs, then hand the confirmed plan off to a spec-writing step. ## Quick Start Ask the agent to grill you about your plan for the new feature so every assumption is challenged before you write the spec.

Frequently Asked Questions about grilling

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

FAQPage Schema
How do I stress-test a plan before writing a spec?▼

Start a grilling session by describing your plan or decision. The skill interviews you in rounds of at most 4 questions, mapping decisions as a tree so downstream questions only appear after their prerequisites are settled.

How does the design tree frontier work in grilling sessions?▼

The frontier is the set of decisions whose prerequisites are already settled. Each round asks only current frontier questions, summarizes newly settled decisions as the Trunk, and carries overflow questions into the next round.

Does the grilling skill work without the AskUserQuestion tool?▼

Yes, it warns once at session start and falls back to plain text questions with an explicit recommendation. Open-ended questions use plain text even when the tool is available, since discrete options would misrepresent them.

Can the grilling skill add files to the Live Artifact automatically?▼

No, every path requires explicit opt-in consent each round via a grouped prompt. Declined paths are not re-asked unless they resurface with a new decision, and the approved list is append-only.

When does a grilling session end?▼

The session ends when the frontier is empty and no silent assumptions remain. The skill synthesizes the final plan and asks you to confirm it, then directs you to invoke the spec-writing step manually.