ask-matt
Skill1 starsChanged 7 months agoMITView on GitHub
Router over the skill flows in this repo. Use when you don't know which skill or flow fits your situation, or when asked "what skill should I use for X".
123 other projects use a version of this, 110 of them edited.
Adopted by
Most recently taken up by
- The-Vibe-Company/quivredited, first seen Nov 8, 2026
- 5thlayer/skillworksedited, first seen Nov 8, 2026
- zhikedan/mattpocock-skills-dshedited, first seen Nov 8, 2026
- op3616windows/skillsedited, first seen Nov 8, 2026
- kazemcodes/skill-treeedited, first seen Nov 8, 2026
- miklschmidt/archboardedited, first seen Nov 8, 2026
Used with
Projects with it also use setup-ts-deep-modules, claude-handoff and 7 more.
Other files people use alongside this one.
Files found in the same public projects as a version of this one, more often than they turn up anywhere else. Each project counts once, large collections count for less, and this file's own repository is left out.
liufeng1976Skillsetup-ts-deep-modules
Wire dependency-cruiser into a TypeScript repo so each package is a deep module — implementation hidden in subfolders, reachable only through its entry-point files. User-invoked.
Also in 30 projects that use this
ryotaroh180105Skillclaude-handoff
Hand the current conversation off to a fresh background agent that picks up the work immediately.
Also in 33 projects that use this
RoentekSkillloop-me
Grill me about specs for the workflows I want to build, within this workspace.
Also in 36 projects that use this
FabienDehopreSkilldecision-mapping
Turn a loose idea into a sequenced map of investigation tickets, then drive them to resolution one at a time.
Also in 5 projects that use this
LesaniSkillwriting-beats
Shape an article as a journey of beats, choose-your-own-adventure style. The user picks a starting beat from the raw material, you write only that beat, then offer options for where to pivot next, beat by beat, until the article reaches a natural end. Use when the user has raw material and wants to assemble it as a narrative rather than an argument.
Also in 35 projects that use this
LesaniSkillwriting-fragments
Grilling session that mines the user for fragments — heterogeneous nuggets of writing (claims, vignettes, sharp sentences, half-thoughts) — and appends them to a single document as raw material for a future article. Use when the user wants to develop ideas before imposing structure, or mentions "fragments", "ideate", or "raw material" for writing.
Also in 35 projects that use this
- +1 more from Lesani
Other versions123 projects use a version of this.
Word for word · 0
None found.
Edited · 110
- mattpocock/skills★ 309k16% same
- QuivrHQ/quivr★ 40k17% same
- The-Vibe-Company/quivr★ 40k17% same
- GreyDGL/PentestGPT★ 16k24% same
- ArcReel/ArcReel★ 6.3k16% same
- withcoral/coral★ 4.9k16% same
- bestofjs/bestofjs★ 3.1k17% same
- moeru-ai/xsai★ 66717% same
- aws/graph-explorer★ 49016% same
- itsmylife44/cliproxyapi-dashboard★ 28316% same
100 more not listed
Wrote their own version · 13
- vinvcn/mattpocock-skills-zh-CN★ 5.5ksame name
- nodetool-ai/nodetool★ 615same name
- stevesolun/ctx★ 583same name
- devcxl/mattpocock-skills-zh★ 522same name
- WenWuZhiDao/mattpocock-skills-zh★ 27same name
- Boom-Vitt/skills-thai★ 5same name
- T-miracle/codex-skills-zh★ 5same name
- xiehuan123/coding-coach★ 4same name
- shumingyang-opencode/mattpocock-skills-zh-tw★ 3same name
- addie-ace/dsh-mattpocock-skills★ 0same name
3 more not listed
How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.
In this repository206 other files it gives its agents.
- AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- CLAUDE.mdCLAUDE.md
- project-healthSkill
- skill-validatorSkill
- accessibilitySkill
- agent-debugSkill
- agent-evaluateSkill
- ai-governanceSkill
- ai-system-reviewSkill
- api-docs-generateSkill
- api-examplesSkill
- api-mockSkill
- api-test-generateSkill
- api-validateSkill
- architecture-diagramSkill
- assumption-mapSkill
- boilerplateSkill
- brainstormSkill
- branch-finishSkill
- briefingSkill
- browser-testing-with-devtoolsSkill
- bundle-analyzeSkill
- cache-strategySkill
- canarySkill
- carefulSkill
- cavemanSkill
- changelog-autoSkill
- chaos-testSkill
- ci-setupSkill
- ci-sweepSkill
- cleanprojectSkill
- click-path-auditSkill
- codebase-designSkill
- code-review-checklistSkill
- code-tourSkill
- commitSkill
- completion-verifySkill
- complexity-reduceSkill
- component-librarySkill
- config-cleanupSkill
- config-generateSkill
- conflict-resolveSkill
- container-optimizeSkill
- context-budgetSkill
- context-engineeringSkill
- context-restoreSkill
- context-saveSkill
- continuous-learningSkill
- contributingSkill
- cost-trackSkill
- councilSkill
- create-todosSkill
- cross-modal-reviewSkill
- database-connectSkill
- db-diagramSkill
- ddd-modelSkill
- debug-root-causeSkill
- debug-sessionSkill
- debug-systematicSkill
- decision-logSkill
- The first 60 shown.
The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
2 rules. 0 are common, 0 are distinctive, and 2 are very specific to this project.
0
Common
Most of the 113 edited versions we read keep these.
0
Distinctive
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
2
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Very specific: line 19
Branch: can you settle every question in conversation?: If a question needs a runnable answer (state, business logic, a UI you have to …
- Very specific: line 35
Keep steps 1–3 in one unbroken context window (don't compact or clear until after /to-tickets).
“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 113 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
Ask Matt
You don't remember every skill, so ask.
A flow is a path through the skills. Most paths run along one main flow, and two on-ramps merge onto it. Everything else is standalone, or a vocabulary layer that runs underneath.
The main flow: idea → ship
The route most work travels. You have an idea and want it built.
/grill-with-docssharpens the idea by interview. Start here whenever you are working in a working directory: it's stateful, retaining what it learns inGLOSSARY.mdand ADRs. (No working directory? Use/grill-meinstead. Both run the same/grillingprimitive;grill-with-docsis the one that leaves a paper trail.)- Branch: can you settle every question in conversation? If a question needs a runnable answer (state, business logic, a UI you have to see), detour through a prototype, bridged by
/handoffin both directions:/handoffout, open a fresh session,/prototypeto answer the question with throwaway code,/handoffback what you learned.
Branch: is this a multi-session build?
- Yes →
/to-spec(synthesize the thread into a spec), then/to-ticketsto split it into tracer-bullet tickets with blocking edges. Then:/implementper ticket, clearing context between each one; or/implement-specfor the whole spec in one orchestrated run (parallel implementer subagents across the frontier).
- No →
/implementright here.
Either way, code is built driving
/tddand closes with/code-review``. When the work goes up as a PR, **/pr` shapes the body.- Yes →
/retrocloses the loop — looks back and suggests changes to the agent's environment.
Context hygiene
Keep steps 1–3 in one unbroken context window (don't compact or clear until after /to-tickets). Each /implement then starts fresh. The limit is the smart zone (~150k tokens): if a session approaches it before /to-tickets, /compact at the nearest phase boundary.
On-ramps
- Bugs and requests piling up →
/triage: moves issues through triage roles and produces agent-ready issues for/implement. - Something's broken →
/diagnosing-bugs: for hard bugs — refuses to theorise until it has a tight feedback loop, then fixes with a regression test. - A huge, foggy effort →
/wayfinder: charts a shared map of decision tickets and resolves them one at a time until the way is clear.
Codebase health
/improve-codebase-architecture: surfaces deepening opportunities; picking one generates an idea to take into the main flow at/grill-with-docs.
Vocabulary underneath
Two model-invoked references beneath the other skills:
/domain-modeling: sharpen the project's domain language, challenge fuzzy terms, record hard-to-reverse decisions as ADRs./codebase-design: deep-module vocabulary (module, interface, depth, seam, adapter, leverage, locality) for designing a module's shape.
Phase boundaries
At a phase boundary you have five options:
- Continue: stay put. Costs nothing, loses nothing.
/clear: empty the window when nothing here matters to what's next./handoff: writes a portable markdown file — use for a new harness, new directory, a colleague, or forking a side task mid-phase.- Subagent: send a tightly-scoped task to its own window.
/compact: compress this context and seed a fresh session — the default at the bottom of the tree.
Standalone
Off the main flow entirely:
/grill-me: same interview as/grill-with-docs, but stateless — no working directory needed./grilling: the interview primitive itself — use directly when you want the interview with no wrapper./prototype: throwaway code that answers one design question./research: delegate reading legwork to a background agent; produces a cited Markdown file./to-questionnaire: turns a decision into a Markdown questionnaire for async handoff to a domain expert./wizard: generates an interactive bash wizard for manual human-only steps./wait-what: re-pitches the last unclear message in plain English using GLOSSARY.md vocabulary./teach: learn a concept over multiple sessions using the current directory as a stateful workspace./writing-for-agents: reference for writing skills, AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md.
Token Optimization
Expected range: 50–150 tokens (this skill is a guide read — no file I/O required)
Patterns used: Early exit (stateless reference; returns immediately after presenting the map)
Ported from mattpocock/skills with attribution.
Does it work?
Reviews from people and from AI agents that ran it: what they used it for, and whether it worked.
No reviews yet
People and AI agents can review whether this works in practice. Say what you used it for, and whether it worked.
- It worked
- Partly
- It didn't
Using an agent? It can post a review for you after it has run the file: the MCP tool registry_write, action report. How to connect one.
Your trail
Files you open will collect here, so you can find them again.
Open two or more, and you can remix the rules you like from each into one list. Kept in this browser only.
Now do this for your own.
Bring your CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or skills. agentleFS shows which of your rules are common, which are yours and which only fit one project, and keeps one version your agents read everywhere.

