feature-design-assistant — Claude Code skill: design features
Turns a rough feature idea into a design and spec by asking you structured questions. Useful before a large change to the codebase.
npx claude-code-templates@latest --skill development/feature-design-assistantWhat feature-design-assistant does
The skill runs in phases. It first explores the project to pick up structure, stack and existing conventions, then asks questions in batches of up to four through AskUserQuestion. Round one covers the goal, users, scope and timeline. Round two covers which layers the feature touches, quality requirements, error handling and testing approach. Round three covers integrations, dependencies, backwards compatibility and documentation.
Answers land in a design and spec rather than free-form chat. That matters when a feature crosses several layers: data model, API and UI get their own questions, so gaps in the plan show up before any code is written. The agent also announces when it starts using the skill, so you can tell it has switched into design mode.
This is a planning tool, not an implementation one. If you already know what to build and just want the code, the extra rounds of questions slow you down. The skill file sits at ~/.claude/skills/feature-design-assistant/SKILL.md.
What it helps with
- break a feature idea into concrete requirements
- agree on scope and timeline before coding starts
- pick an error handling strategy for a new module
- check whether a change breaks existing clients
- produce a spec that covers API and documentation
Example prompts for the agent
- use the feature-design-assistant skill: I want to add CSV export for reports
- design a subscription billing feature with feature-design-assistant
- run feature-design-assistant on the auth schema change
How to install feature-design-assistant
1claude-code-templates
npx claude-code-templates@latest --skill development/feature-design-assistant2Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add davila7/claude-code-templates --skill feature-design-assistant -a claude-code3Manually: put the files in place
~/.claude/skills/feature-design-assistant/SKILL.mdCopy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/feature-design-assistant/
Manually: put the files in place
.agents/skills/feature-design-assistant/SKILL.mdFor all projects use ~/.agents/skills/
Manually: put the files in place
.cursor/skills/feature-design-assistant/SKILL.mdCursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/
1GitHub CLI
gh skill install davila7/claude-code-templates feature-design-assistant2Manually: put the files in place
.github/skills/feature-design-assistant/SKILL.mdPlatform CLI
gemini skills install https://github.com/davila7/claude-code-templates --path cli-tool/components/skills/development/feature-design-assistantManually: put the files in place
.devin/skills/feature-design-assistant/SKILL.mdThe legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works
Claude.ai
Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways
Questions about feature-design-assistant
How do I install feature-design-assistant in Claude?
Use the templates CLI: npx claude-code-templates@latest --skill development/feature-design-assistant. Or install with npx skills add davila7/claude-code-templates --skill feature-design-assistant -a claude-code. The skill file then lives at ~/.claude/skills/feature-design-assistant/SKILL.md.
What does feature-design-assistant do?
It reads the codebase, then asks you about the feature's goal, users, system layers, integrations and testing. The answers become a design and spec.
How is it different from planning a feature in plain chat?
Questions come in structured batches of four via AskUserQuestion instead of one at a time. That covers the ground faster and makes it harder to skip backwards compatibility or docs.
