Brainstorm

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.

Process

0. Product-Path Scope Resolution

Resolve research scope by product path before using code or app structure as a hint:

1. If $ARGUMENTS names a non-archived research/{slug}/ directory or a product-path ID whose scope_path points there, use that path. Treat {slug} as the product/app name, not the ICP, audience, or segment label.
2. If $ARGUMENTS names only research/_archive/{slug}/ or a manifest entry with status: archived or legacy status: abandoned, stop and warn that the path is archived; do not write or update scoped outputs there.
3. Read research/.progress.yaml when present. Normalize legacy active_path to active_paths on read and write back active_paths on manifest updates. Treat legacy abandoned as archived; exclude archived, abandoned, deferred, revisit_candidate, promoted, and any scope_path under research/_archive/ from active target selection.
4. If active product paths exist in the manifest, use those paths. If multiple active paths exist, ask which one to target unless this skill explicitly supports cross-path output.
5. If no active manifest target exists, list non-archived product directories under research/, excluding research/_archive/ and dot directories. Auto-select only when exactly one exists; ask when multiple exist.
6. If no product directories exist, use flat research/ single-product mode.
7. Detect monorepo/app/package structure only as a secondary hint. Suggest creating a missing research/{slug}/ product path when code clearly exposes an app, but do not require code or monorepo detection before using research/{slug}/.

When product path {slug} is active, read and write research under research/{slug}/, specs under specs/{slug}/, and treat top-level research/*.md files as flat-mode documents or cross-path summaries.

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/{slug}/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/{slug}/customer-feedback.md) if it exists — "Wrong" and "New" findings are highest-signal ideation input. Read research/metrics.md (or research/{slug}/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/{slug}/icp.md), research/mvp-gap.md (or research/{slug}/mvp-gap.md), or research/competitive-analysis.md (or research/{slug}/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/{slug}/mvp-gap.md) not yet in roadmap
   • Competitive white space — features or capabilities no competitor offers well, from research/competitive-analysis.md (or research/{slug}/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 product-path 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/{slug}/).

Alignment Page

When this skill produces durable deliverables (research, specs, plans, reports, prototypes, or any document output), build a full-depth HTML alignment page following ALIGNMENT-PAGE.md in this skill's directory. Output: alignment/brainstorm-{topic}.html.

Default Shipping Contract

Follow the shared shipping contract convention in CLAUDE.md.