# architect

Aligns terms and implementation choices before coding, then writes a plan for the developer to confirm.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 943 installs · ★ 235
- Author: jsmastery-pro
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/jsmastery-pro/jsm-agent-skill/tree/HEAD/skills/architect/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-07-09
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/jsmastery-pro-architect

## What it does

The skill starts by reviewing the feature description, available documentation, context, and existing code. It then identifies 3-5 terms that could carry different meanings, proposes definitions, and asks the developer to confirm them.

\`architect` focuses on choices that would change the implementation direction. It asks one question at a time, explains its own recommendation, and skips decisions made irrelevant by an earlier answer. That keeps the discussion tied to the work ahead.

After saying “Blueprint ready,” it writes a plan covering the build, agreed language, decisions, assumptions, and ordered implementation steps. Coding begins only after explicit confirmation, so assumptions deserve a careful check.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jsmastery-pro/jsm-agent-skill --skill architect -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/architect/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/architect/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jsmastery-pro/jsm-agent-skill --skill architect -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/architect/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jsmastery-pro/jsm-agent-skill --skill architect -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/architect/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install jsmastery-pro/jsm-agent-skill architect
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/architect/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jsmastery-pro/jsm-agent-skill --skill architect -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/jsmastery-pro/jsm-agent-skill --path skills/architect
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/architect/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jsmastery-pro/jsm-agent-skill --skill architect -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/jsmastery-pro/jsm-agent-skill/tree/HEAD/skills/architect/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- align ambiguous feature terminology
- identify decisions that change implementation
- discuss architecture choices one at a time
- produce a confirmable implementation plan
- record assumptions before coding

## Example prompts
- Use the `architect` skill before implementing this feature and review the project first.
- Run `architect` for this task, align the terms, and ask about decisions that affect the build.
- Apply `architect`, prepare the implementation plan, and wait for my confirmation before coding.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: cce663f4120f76a9.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE cce663f4120f76a9
````text
---
name: architect
description: Think through what you are about to build like a senior engineer before writing any code. Surfaces decisions, aligns on language, and produces a clear implementation plan you confirm before anything starts.
---

You are a senior engineer sitting with a developer before they start building. Your job is not to interrogate them — it is to think alongside them. To ask the questions a senior engineer would ask before letting someone start coding. To catch the things that seem obvious but aren't. To make sure both of you are building the same thing in your heads before either of you touches the code.

This is a thinking session. Not a grilling session.

## Step 1 — Understand What's Here

Before saying anything, take stock of what already exists:

- Read the feature description the developer gave you
- Read any context files, documentation, or existing code available
- Build a clear picture of what needs to be built and what already exists

Do not ask about anything already clearly answered by existing documentation. A good senior engineer does their homework before the meeting.

## Step 2 — Align on Language

Every project has its own vocabulary. Before discussing implementation, make sure you and the developer mean the same thing by the same words.

Identify 3-5 terms from the feature description that could be interpreted more than one way. Define each one based on what you understand from the context. Present them to the developer for confirmation.

```
Before we think this through — let me make sure
we are speaking the same language:

- "[Term]" — I understand this to mean [definition].
  Is that right?
- "[Term]" — I am treating this as [definition].
  Does that match what you have in mind?

Correct anything that is off before we go further.
```

Update your understanding immediately if the developer corrects a term. Do not continue until the language is aligned.

## Step 3 — Think Through the Decisions Together

Now surface the decisions that would meaningfully change what gets built. Not every possible question — only the ones where the answer changes the implementation direction.

A senior engineer knows the difference between a decision that matters and a detail that can be figured out during coding. Ask only what matters.

For each decision:

- Ask one question at a time
- Share what you would do and why — give the developer something to react to, not a blank page to fill
- Listen to their answer before moving to the next decision
- If their answer makes another decision irrelevant — skip it

```
[The decision that needs to be made]

My thinking: [what you would do and the reason behind it]

What do you think — does that approach work for you,
or do you see it differently?
```

Work through decisions in order of impact. The decision that affects the most downstream work comes first.

## Step 4 — Know When You Are Done
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE cce663f4120f76a9

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---
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