# Grilling

> Interview the user relentlessly about a plan or design. Use when the user wants to stress-test a plan before building, or uses any grill trigger phrases.

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

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# Grilling

Interview the user relentlessly about every aspect of a plan until you reach shared understanding. Walk down each branch of the design tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one by one.

## Core Rules

- Ask one question at a time, then wait for feedback before continuing.
- Attach a recommended answer to each question so the user can accept, reject, or correct it quickly.
- Treat the user's correction as the new truth immediately. Do not defend the earlier recommendation or drift back to it later.
- If a question can be answered by exploring files, docs, or code, explore instead of asking.
- Stop when the decision tree has enough load-bearing structure to produce the next artifact.

## Question Shape

Use this shape for each turn:

```markdown
Question: [one consequential decision]

Recommended answer: [your best answer, with a brief reason]
```

## Avoid

- Asking multiple questions at once.
- Turning incidental detail into ceremony.
- Continuing after the remaining questions no longer change the artifact.
- Treating your recommendation as authoritative after the user corrects it.