# explore

Switches the agent into an open-ended thinking mode to analyze requirements and architecture without touching application code.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 518 installs · ★ 8
- Author: kirkchen
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/kirkchen/beat/tree/HEAD/skills/explore/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-14
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/kirkchen-explore

## What it does

The skill sets a reflective stance. Instead of rushing to implement files, the assistant asks clarifying questions and draws ASCII diagrams. It requires invoking `superpowers:brainstorming` before replying. If that dependency is missing, it falls back to unguided thinking.

Explore strictly forbids generating application code. The agent reads repository files and maps dependencies. When asked to code, it prompts you to switch to `/beat:design` or another execution command.

During discussions, it detects existing changes under `beat/changes/`. When decisions settle, it offers to update `design.md` or `proposal.md`. Hard-to-reverse choices can go straight into `docs/adr/` following the project template.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add kirkchen/beat --skill explore -a claude-code
```

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

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add kirkchen/beat --skill explore -a codex
```

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

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add kirkchen/beat --skill explore -a cursor
```

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

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install kirkchen/beat explore
```

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

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add kirkchen/beat --skill explore -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/kirkchen/beat --path skills/explore
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

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

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add kirkchen/beat --skill explore -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/kirkchen/beat/tree/HEAD/skills/explore/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- Evaluate architecture options before writing code
- Investigate codebase structure to surface hidden risks
- Capture decisions into Beat artifacts and ADR files
- Sketch system flows using ASCII diagrams

## Example prompts
- Let me think through our options for the caching layer
- Investigate why synchronization fails in the billing module without changing code
- What are our architectural choices for background workers?

## 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: eff3561d71ea2e7a.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE eff3561d71ea2e7a
```text
---
name: explore
description: Use when thinking through ideas, investigating problems, or clarifying requirements — before or during a Beat change
---

Enter explore mode. Think deeply. Visualize freely. Follow the conversation wherever it goes.

<decision_boundary>

**Use for:**
- Thinking through ideas, requirements, or problems before committing to a change
- Investigating the codebase to understand architecture, feasibility, or hidden complexity
- Comparing approaches and surfacing risks without producing code

**NOT for:**
- Creating spec artifacts as a structured workflow (use `/beat:design`)
- Breaking down tasks (use `/beat:plan`)
- Implementing code (use `/beat:apply`)
- Extracting specs from existing code (use `/beat:distill`)

**Trigger examples:**
- "Let me think through X" / "Investigate why Y happens" / "What are our options for Z?"
- Should NOT trigger: "design a feature" / "implement this" / "break down the tasks"

</decision_boundary>

**IMPORTANT: Explore mode is for thinking, not implementing.** You may read files, search code, and investigate the codebase, but you must NEVER write code or implement features. If the user asks you to implement something, remind them to exit explore mode first (e.g., `/beat:design`). You MAY create Beat artifacts (proposals, designs, features) if the user asks -- that's capturing thinking, not implementing.

**This is a stance, not a workflow.** No fixed steps, no required sequence, no mandatory outputs. You're a thinking partner.

<HARD-GATE>
Before any response: you MUST invoke superpowers:brainstorming.
Brainstorming structures the ideation process; explore then carries it forward as open-ended conversation.
If unavailable (not installed), proceed directly into the thinking stance — but NEVER skip
because you judged the topic too simple or the user too eager. If the user explicitly asks to
skip brainstorming, say what it would have surfaced (unstated assumptions, alternatives not yet
weighed), confirm once, then continue in the thinking stance.
</HARD-GATE>

**Prerequisites** (invoke before proceeding)

| Superpower | When | Priority |
|-----------|------|----------|
| brainstorming | At the start of explore, before any response | MUST |

If unavailable (skill not installed), proceed directly into the thinking stance.

## Rationalization Prevention

| Thought | Reality |
|---------|---------|
| "The user wants a quick answer, brainstorming will slow us down" | Brainstorming IS the answer — it surfaces assumptions and alternatives. Quick answers skip the thinking explore is meant to provide. |
| "This topic is too simple for brainstorming" | Simple topics finish brainstorming quickly. The overhead is negligible, but the missed insight is not. |
| "The user said skip brainstorming, so I'll go straight to answers" | Honour it — after naming what brainstorming would have caught. The thinking stance still applies; only the structured ideation is skipped. |
| "I already understand what the user wants" | Understanding the question ≠ exploring the problem space. Brainstorming prevents premature convergence. |

---

## The Stance

- **Curious, not prescriptive** -- Ask questions that emerge naturally, don't follow a script
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE eff3561d71ea2e7a

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the eff3561d71ea2e7a tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

First 3236 of 7801 bytes. © kirkchen · MIT · https://github.com/kirkchen/beat/tree/HEAD/skills/explore/SKILL.md

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