tech-design

Draft, review, and refine technical design documents as Notion-compatible markdown files.

3|Updated Apr 14, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/nvie/skills --skill tech-design-nvie
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: tech-design
Source: https://github.com/nvie/skills/tree/main/skills/tech-design
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/nvie/skills --skill tech-design-nvie

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Turning rough ideas, notes, or PRDs into clear, review-ready technical design documents is slow and often produces bloated, template-driven docs that senior engineers won't read. This Skill writes concise, example-grounded TDs and reviews existing ones for gaps and weak assumptions. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Five operating modes: Draft a TD from an idea or notes, review an existing TD for risks and reviewer objections, spar on unsettled designs, compare alternatives with a recommendation, or compress messy notes into a polished document. - Notion-ready output: Writes the document to a local markdown file using only headings, tables, checkboxes, and formatting that paste cleanly into Notion. - Senior-reviewer critique: Flags unclear problems, vague claims, missing migration plans, and padding with severity ratings and suggested fixes. - Use Case: An engineer pastes a Slack thread about redesigning an API and receives a tight one-page TD file with concrete code examples, rejected alternatives, and open questions, ready to share for review. ## Quick Start Ask the assistant to draft a technical design document from your notes or issue description and save it as a markdown file.

Frequently Asked Questions about tech-design

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

FAQPage Schema
How do I write a technical design document from rough notes?▼

Provide your notes, issue, or PRD and the Skill compresses them into a polished TD while preserving intent. It asks 3-5 high-leverage questions only when missing information materially changes the design, and marks unknowns with [TODO: ...] placeholders.

How do I review an existing tech design doc for weaknesses?▼

Share the existing TD and the Skill acts as a senior reviewer, checking for unclear problems, hidden scope creep, weak alternatives, unsupported recommendations, and vague claims. Each issue gets a severity rating, an explanation of why it matters, and a suggested fix.

Does the tech design output work with Notion?▼

Yes, the markdown is written in a dialect Notion understands on paste. It uses only three heading levels, GFM pipe tables, checkbox syntax, fenced code blocks, and standard bold, italic, and links, avoiding raw HTML and footnotes.

What sections should a technical design document include?▼

Structure follows the content rather than a fixed template. Common sections are context, proposed solution, alternatives considered, recommendation, rollout, and open questions, while boilerplate like testing strategy, failure mode tables, and decision logs is omitted.

When should I not use a full technical design document?▼

Skip sections or the entire formal structure when the change is trivially backward-compatible or the rollout is straightforward. The Skill deliberately omits boilerplate sections that add no decision-making value for senior readers.