# Surface

> Route product surfacing work — deciding how intelligence meets the world. Interface philosophy, exposure sequencing, experience design, and value architecture. Activates when a capability is ready to be exposed and the question is "in what form, to whom, and what's the value exchange?"

- Skill: `npbuilds/surface` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add npbuilds/surface`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/npbuilds/surface/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: npbuilds (https://skillmd.com/u/npbuilds)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/npbuilds/surface

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# Surface — Where Intelligence Meets the World

The boundary between what the system can do and what the world can interact with. Surfacing is not launching. It's choosing **which face** of the intelligence to show, to whom, in what form, and in exchange for what.

Not everything the system can do should be visible. The art of surfacing is the art of selection.

## Child Skills

| Skill | Type | When to Route |
|---|---|---|
| `interface-philosopher` | knowledge | Deep questions about how intelligence should present itself |
| `exposure-strategist` | action | Deciding what to surface, when, to whom, in what sequence |
| `experience-weaver` | action | Designing the emotional and aesthetic quality of interaction |
| `value-architect` | action | Designing value exchange — pricing, business model, value flow |

## Routing Logic

| Signal | Route To |
|---|---|
| "How should users interact with this?", "what's the right interface?" | interface-philosopher |
| "What do we show first?", "exposure sequence", "who sees this?" | exposure-strategist |
| "What should it feel like?", "experience quality", "emotional design" | experience-weaver |
| "How do we price this?", "value model", "monetization", "free or paid?" | value-architect |
| "Full surface design" | interface-philosopher → exposure-strategist → experience-weaver → value-architect |

## Curriculum Order

```
interface-philosopher (philosophy first) → exposure-strategist (what to show)
→ experience-weaver (how it feels) → value-architect (how value flows)
```

## The Surface → Evolve Handoff

Once a capability is surfaced, the Evolve director takes over observation. The handoff includes:
1. What was surfaced and in what form
2. The feedback loops designed by Seed (for Evolve to monitor)
3. The thesis and kill criteria (for Evolve to evaluate)
4. The expected behavior vs. what to watch for