stevennitesh Prototype
Produce evidence that can change a design decision. Codebase-design owns the broader architecture choice; this skill owns the experiment. A direct prototype request ends with findings and any requested demo. When embedded in authorized implementation, return the evidence so that work can continue without another approval gate. A successful probe does not establish production readiness.
1. Frame an answerable question
Identify the uncertainty, the decision it affects, and an observation that would support or reject the proposed direction. Reuse a question supplied by the caller; do not reopen settled requirements. If source or an existing result already settles it, return that evidence without building a ceremonial prototype.
Choose representative conditions and the comparison rule before the decisive run. Include a case that could expose the approach's limitation, not just its best demonstration. For subjective choices, distinguish your recommendation from the intended user's judgment. An experiment cannot choose an unresolved product priority on their behalf.
Keep the question bounded by the decision. Several cases or variants may belong to one experiment; unrelated questions do not. If exploration reveals a better question or metric, state the revision and gather evidence for it rather than silently changing the success rule to fit a result.
2. Choose the necessary fidelity
Build the smallest artifact that can distinguish the relevant outcomes. Keep the mechanism under investigation real: an in-memory simulation cannot establish database isolation, and a static screen cannot establish an interaction. Simplify incidental infrastructure, state, and polish. Name substitutions that limit the answer. If the required environment is unavailable, return the remaining gap instead of presenting a substitute as equivalent evidence.
For state, logic, or integration behavior, visual layout or interaction, or variable measurements, read the relevant section of Evidence methods. Choose the form for the question and its recipient: a script, focused harness, interactive demo, or repository-native test may each be the cheapest valid probe. Do not build a demo UI for a machine-checkable question unless it helps judgment.
3. Build and observe
Use an invocation-owned scratch location, following repository conventions or
.tmp/prototype/<question>/ by default. Identify existing work before editing.
When real application context is necessary, use an isolated checkout or a
verified development-only path within existing authorization. A hidden link or
a name containing "prototype" does not keep a route out of production.
Keep experiment effects within authorized targets. Use scratch data and stub unrelated mutations; a disposable file location does not isolate a shared service or database. Track the processes and resources the probe creates so they can be released after success, failure, or interruption.
Run the actual behavior, render, or measurement under the framed conditions. Check that the harness exercises the intended mechanism and exposes the result; a successful start is insufficient. Add assertions or harness checks when they prevent misleading evidence, without turning disposable code into a production test project.
Stop when the evidence distinguishes the options, exposes a blocking limitation, or further runs would not resolve the remaining uncertainty. Improve a failed harness when practical; distinguish a broken instrument from a failed design. Do not expand the experiment into implementation to obtain a positive verdict.
4. Return evidence and settle the artifacts
Return the answer or precise unresolved question, the decisive observations, and the conditions and substitutions that limit the conclusion. Preserve enough input, command, environment, and output detail to judge the claim or repeat the important observation. Use the caller's existing artifact when suitable; no separate report, issue, or branch is mandatory.
Stop probe-owned processes and release temporary resources. Restore only changes you own; preserve and report conflicts with unrelated work. Keep a requested demo or evidence artifact at a clear path with rerun instructions. Do not delete an artifact still awaiting the requested human evaluation. Otherwise remove disposable material after preserving the findings. A live preview may remain only when requested or needed for an ongoing authorized review; report its location and how to stop it.
Complete when the caller has judgeable evidence or a truthful gap, and retained artifacts and resources have an explicit purpose. Adoption belongs to the calling work: reassess any reused code against production requirements and prove its real integration. Neither automatic promotion nor a mandatory rewrite follows from the experiment's success.