# System Design

> Guides the agent in analyzing, recommending, and documenting software system architecture and trade-offs. Use this skill for high-level design tasks such as component breakdowns, performance constraints, and architectural patterns.

- Skill: `mbuyco/system-design` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add mbuyco/system-design`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/mbuyco/system-design/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Web & Frontend
- License: Apache-2.0
- Author: mbuyco (https://skillmd.com/u/mbuyco)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/mbuyco/system-design

---


# System Design Skill

## Overview

This skill enables the agent to perform robust system design reasoning with explicit attention to quality attributes: performance, scalability, reliability, and security.

## When to use

Activate this skill when the task involves:
- Designing a system architecture
- Evaluating design trade-offs (performance vs cost vs complexity)
- Recommending architectural patterns
- Identifying non-functional requirements

## Instructions

1. Start by identifying the *contextual constraints* (scale, latency, consistency, security requirements).
2. Enumerate system components and interactions.
3. For each major quality attribute (performance, reliability, security), provide explicit reasoning on trade-offs.
4. Recommend patterns (e.g., microservices, event-driven, caching strategies) and justify selection.
5. Produce a structured design document (sections: Overview, Requirements, Components, Quality Attribute Analysis, Diagrams/References).

## Examples

**Input:** “Design a scalable document search system for 10M users with sub-second queries and secure access controls.”  
**Output:**  
- Requirements breakdown  
- Quality attribute analysis  
- Suggested architecture pattern  
- Estimated throughput/latency

## Edge Cases

- Conflicting non-functional requirements
- Undefined performance constraints