Skills

aid-brainstorm

Frontmatter

name — aid-brainstorm
description — Diverge on a problem not yet formed into an answerable question, then converge it to a DESIGN SEED in .aid/design/<slug>.md — exploration, framings, and the candidate directions worth pursuing. Use this skill when a problem space is still open and you want to explore it, rather than answer one specific question. Grounded in the Knowledge Base (.aid/knowledge/) and the project source. It WRITES NO production code and NO KB document, and it RESOLVES NOTHING — you decide what to do with the seed. For an already-answerable technical question that wants a curated, verified answer, use /aid-research instead. Produced by the aid-architect agent and independently verified by aid-reviewer. Allocates a work-NNN folder.
allowed-tools — Read, Glob, Grep, Bash, Write, Edit, Agent
argument-hint — <subject> — a fuzzy problem or theme to explore (not yet a formed question)

Definition: canonical/skills/aid-brainstorm/SKILL.md

Flow

flowchart TB
  classDef aidNode color:#fff
  classDef aidEntry fill:#166534,stroke:#14532d,color:#fff
  classDef aidExit fill:#991b1b,stroke:#7f1d1d,color:#fff
  classDef aidDecision fill:#92400e,stroke:#78350f,color:#fff
  classDef aidLoopBack fill:#1e3a8a,stroke:#1e3a8a,color:#fff
  classDef aidStep fill:#1a2035,stroke:#d4a853,color:#f1f5f9
  n1(["INTAKE"])
  n2["DESIGN"]
  n3["VERIFY"]
  n4["PRESENT<br/>hard stop -- the user decides"]
  n5(["DONE"])
  n1 --> n2
  n2 --> n3
  n3 -.-> n2
  n3 --> n4
  n4 --> n5
  class n1 aidEntry
  class n2 aidStep
  class n3 aidLoopBack
  class n4 aidStep
  class n5 aidExit
  class n1 aidNode
  class n2 aidNode
  class n3 aidNode
  class n4 aidNode
  class n5 aidNode

Source fragments

Every node in the chart above, in chart order, with the exact canonical/ text it was derived from.

1 · INTAKE · entry

## State: INTAKE

1. **Require a subject.** Empty argument -> ask one bootstrapping question ("What problem
   or theme do you want to explore?") and wait. The subject may be fuzzy -- an unformed
   problem is exactly this skill's case, so INTAKE never refuses an argument for not being
   a question.
2. **Confirm the seed slug.** Because `artifact` is empty, feature-002 §4's `<token>` =
   `artifact` rule does not apply: derive a kebab-case `<slug>` from the subject and
   **confirm it with the user**, then the seed is `.aid/design/<slug>.md`.
3. **Allocate** through the Work Initiation Gate exactly as the contract's Allocation rule
   requires (`canonical/skills/aid-design/SKILL.md` INTAKE step 4 is the shape), with
   `initiator: aid-brainstorm`. `phase` is not driven. The `work-NNN` folder is where
   `STATE.md` and the review gate live, even though the seed is the deliverable.
4. **Classify complexity** for the `aid-architect` dispatch (verifier tier >= producer).

Source: canonical/skills/aid-brainstorm/SKILL.md#L37-L50 · full step: canonical/skills/aid-brainstorm/SKILL.md#L37-L52

2 · DESIGN · step

## State: DESIGN

Dispatch **`aid-architect`** (clean context, tiered) to write or iterate
`.aid/design/<slug>.md` in the seed shape the contract fixes (`design-seed.md`;
feature-002 §4), grounded in `.aid/knowledge/` and the project source plus any prior seed.
It diverges -- framings, angles, prior art -- then converges to the candidate directions
worth pursuing. The seed's `## Destination` is **optional** here: brainstorm has no fixed
destination until the user promotes the seed. **Never writes `.aid/knowledge/` and never
writes production code** -- the `design` invariant (`design-lifecycle.md`).

Source: canonical/skills/aid-brainstorm/SKILL.md#L56-L64 · full step: canonical/skills/aid-brainstorm/SKILL.md#L56-L66

3 · VERIFY · loop-back

## State: VERIFY

**Full verify**, as `design-lifecycle.md` defines it. Not clean -> loop to DESIGN; the
3-cycle circuit breaker there escalates to IMPEDIMENT + `lifecycle: Blocked`.

Source: canonical/skills/aid-brainstorm/SKILL.md#L70-L73 · full step: canonical/skills/aid-brainstorm/SKILL.md#L70-L75

4 · PRESENT — hard stop — the user decides · step

## State: PRESENT (hard stop -- the user decides)

Set `lifecycle: Paused-Awaiting-Input`. Present the seed clearly. Assert no resolution --
the user iterates (re-invoke this skill), promotes the seed into a `design` lifecycle
entry, or takes it forward however they choose.

Source: canonical/skills/aid-brainstorm/SKILL.md#L79-L83 · full step: canonical/skills/aid-brainstorm/SKILL.md#L79-L85

5 · DONE · exit · UNSPECIFIED

## State: DONE

Set `lifecycle: Completed`, `updated` now, append a `## Lifecycle History` row. The seed
persists at `.aid/design/<slug>.md`; brainstorm has no `create` counterpart to consume it.

Source: canonical/skills/aid-brainstorm/SKILL.md#L89-L92 · full step: canonical/skills/aid-brainstorm/SKILL.md#L89-L92

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