PR Design Doc
OpenHands/OpenHands
For a non-trivial pull request, write a self-contained HTML design doc under the temporary .pr/ directory and link a visibility-appropriate preview in the PR description, so maintainers grasp the…
Researches real projects, papers, and documented failures before proposing a new feature, architecture, or technology choice.
Install Vibe Research Before Design
$ npx skills add ash1794/vibe-engineering --skill vibe-research-before-design -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install ash1794/vibe-engineering vibe-research-before-design --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design .claude/skills/vibe-research-before-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "vibe-research-before-design" agent skill from https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering/tree/master/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design into .claude/skills/vibe-research-before-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "vibe-research-before-design", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering/tree/master/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-designType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add ash1794/vibe-engineering --skill vibe-research-before-design -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install ash1794/vibe-engineering vibe-research-before-design --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design .agents/skills/vibe-research-before-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "vibe-research-before-design" agent skill from https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering/tree/master/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design into .agents/skills/vibe-research-before-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "vibe-research-before-design", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add ash1794/vibe-engineering --skill vibe-research-before-design -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install ash1794/vibe-engineering vibe-research-before-design --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design .cursor/skills/vibe-research-before-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "vibe-research-before-design" agent skill from https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering/tree/master/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design into .cursor/skills/vibe-research-before-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "vibe-research-before-design", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering.git --path plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add ash1794/vibe-engineering --skill vibe-research-before-design -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install ash1794/vibe-engineering vibe-research-before-design --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design .gemini/skills/vibe-research-before-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "vibe-research-before-design" agent skill from https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering/tree/master/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design into .gemini/skills/vibe-research-before-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "vibe-research-before-design", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install ash1794/vibe-engineering vibe-research-before-designInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add ash1794/vibe-engineering --skill vibe-research-before-design -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design .github/skills/vibe-research-before-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "vibe-research-before-design" agent skill from https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering/tree/master/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design into .github/skills/vibe-research-before-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "vibe-research-before-design", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add ash1794/vibe-engineering --skill vibe-research-before-design -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install ash1794/vibe-engineering vibe-research-before-design --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design .opencode/skills/vibe-research-before-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "vibe-research-before-design" agent skill from https://github.com/ash1794/vibe-engineering/tree/master/plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design into .opencode/skills/vibe-research-before-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "vibe-research-before-design", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
vibe-research-before-design- GitHub stars
- 163
- Token cost
- ~905 tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 444 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 33
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Researches real projects, papers, and documented failures before proposing a new feature, architecture, or technology choice.
- Works in 7 steps: Frame the question — What exactly is… → Decompose into sub-problems that can be… → Research each sub-problem using whatever… → …
- Design decisions with multiple valid approaches
- SKILL.md covers When to Use This Skill, When NOT to Use This Skill, Steps and Red Flags, plus 1 more section
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Vibe Research Before Design is an agent skill from ash1794/vibe-engineering. Researches real projects, papers, and documented failures before proposing a new feature, architecture, or technology choice. Use for design decisions with multiple valid approaches, not for implementing an existing spec or fixing a known bug.
Its SKILL.md is about 910 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
It sits in Development, covering Architecture decision records. The repository describes itself as: 33 engineering discipline skills for Claude Code, OpenAI Codex & Gemini CLI + a CLI for CI/CD enforcement. Extracted from real-world multi-agent system development. Born from… The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Design decisions with multiple valid approaches
- Not for implementing an existing spec
- Fixing a known bug
Example prompts
- “Use the vibe-research-before-design skill to research real projects, papers, and documented failures before proposing a new feature, architecture…”
- “/vibe-research-before-design”
Workflow steps
7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- Frame the question — What exactly is being decided? What are the hard constraints (scale, latency, cost, team skills, existing stack)?
- Decompose into sub-problems that can be researched independently.
- Research each sub-problem using whatever web search or research tool the harness provides. Run sub-problems in parallel (subagents) when…
- Verify before citing — Every source must be something you actually opened in this session. Don't quote adoption numbers (stars, downloads…
- Synthesize — Compare the options side by side, with the imported failures up front.
- Recommend — Base the recommendation on the evidence and state your confidence. Name the condition that would change your mind.
- Record — Log the decision and the rejected alternatives with vibe-decision-journal.
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 8f1d71b. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Vibe Research Before Design loads about 905 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 68 tokens; SKILL.md has 444 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
The full file from ash1794/vibe-engineering at commit 8f1d71b, republished under its MIT licence (© ash1794). 444 words, ~905 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/vibe-research-before-design/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- vibe-research-before-design
- description
- Researches real projects, papers, and documented failures before proposing a new feature, architecture, or technology choice. Use for design decisions with multiple valid approaches, not for implementing an existing spec or fixing a known bug.
- user-invocable
- true
vibe-research-before-design
Other people's documented failures count as observed failure. Before proposing a design, find out how others solved the same problem and where it broke for them.
When to Use This Skill
- Designing a new feature, subsystem, or architecture
- Choosing between technologies, frameworks, or patterns
- Making a decision with long-term consequences that is expensive to reverse
- The user asks "how should we build X?"
- You're about to say "I recommend..." for a design choice
When NOT to Use This Skill
- Implementing an already-designed spec (the research was done at design time)
- Fixing a bug with a known approach
- Routine or mechanical changes with one obvious correct solution
- The user has already chosen the technology and wants implementation
- The decision was already researched and recorded (check
vibe-decision-journalfirst)
Steps
Frame the question — What exactly is being decided? What are the hard constraints (scale, latency, cost, team skills, existing stack)?
Decompose into sub-problems that can be researched independently.
Research each sub-problem using whatever web search or research tool the harness provides. Run sub-problems in parallel (subagents) when the harness supports it. For each, find:
Requirement Minimum Real projects or production systems 2+, with a link Paper, post-mortem, or engineering write-up 1+, with a link and year Mechanism How it actually works, not marketing copy Known failures What went wrong for others, and under what conditions Fit How it maps to our constraints, specifically Verify before citing — Every source must be something you actually opened in this session. Don't quote adoption numbers (stars, downloads, users) from memory; either read them from the source or leave them out. If search is unavailable, say so and label the output "from prior knowledge, unverified."
Synthesize — Compare the options side by side, with the imported failures up front.
Recommend — Base the recommendation on the evidence and state your confidence. Name the condition that would change your mind.
Record — Log the decision and the rejected alternatives with
vibe-decision-journal.
Show full SKILL.md (117 more words)Show less
Red Flags
| Thought | Reality |
|---|---|
| "I already know the best approach" | You know one approach. Research finds the others. |
| "This is too niche for research" | If someone built it, someone documented where it failed. |
| "Research will slow us down" | A rewrite is slower. |
| "Everyone uses X" | Popularity is not fitness for your constraints. |
| "I'll cite what I remember" | Unverified citations are the most common way research output goes wrong. |
Output Format
Research Summary
- Decision: [what we're deciding]
- Constraints: [key constraints]
- Options evaluated: X
Comparison
| Criteria | Option A | Option B | Option C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | |||
| Known failures | |||
| Fit with constraints |
Recommendation
[Evidence-based recommendation, confidence level, and what would change it]
Sources
[Links actually opened, one line each on what they showed]
© ash1794, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
Just SKILL.md in plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design of ash1794/vibe-engineering.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 8f1d71b
Compare with similar skills
Vibe Research Before Design next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vibe Research Before Design this skillash1794/vibe-engineering | 163 | — | ~905 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| PR Design DocOpenHands/OpenHands | 91k | — | ~2.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Cto AdvisorIbrahim-3d/orchestrator-supaconductor | 381 | 4 repos | ~2.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Domain Modelingbrim-borium/spotify_sdk | 166 | 7 repos | ~806 | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| Architecture DecisionDonchitos/Claude-Code-Game-Studios | 26k | — | ~1.7k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Improve Codebase Architectureywwynm/EverythingDone | 144 | 15 repos | ~1.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | GPL-3.0 |
Similar skills
Cto Advisor
Ibrahim-3d/orchestrator-supaconductor
Technical leadership guidance for engineering teams, architecture decisions, and technology strategy.
Domain Modeling
brim-borium/spotify_sdk
Build and sharpen a project's domain model. An agent skill from brim-borium/spotify_sdk.
Architecture Decision
Donchitos/Claude-Code-Game-Studios
Create an ADR documenting a technical decision: context, alternatives considered, consequences.
Improve Codebase Architecture
ywwynm/EverythingDone
Find deepening opportunities in a codebase, informed by the domain language in CONTEXT.md and the decisions in docs/adr/.
Design Doc Mermaid
SpillwaveSolutions/design-doc-mermaid
Create Mermaid diagrams (flowchart, sequence, class, ER, state, C4, architecture) from text or source code.
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Related
Categories
Questions about Vibe Research Before Design
What does Vibe Research Before Design do?
Researches real projects, papers, and documented failures before proposing a new feature, architecture, or technology choice. Vibe Research Before Design is an agent skill from ash1794/vibe-engineering. Researches real projects, papers, and documented failures before proposing a new feature, architecture, or technology choice.
When should I use Vibe Research Before Design?
Vibe Research Before Design fits situations like: design decisions with multiple valid approaches; not for implementing an existing spec; fixing a known bug.
How do I install Vibe Research Before Design in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add ash1794/vibe-engineering --skill vibe-research-before-design -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design in ash1794/vibe-engineering) into .claude/skills/vibe-research-before-design in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Vibe Research Before Design in Codex?
Run `npx skills add ash1794/vibe-engineering --skill vibe-research-before-design -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/vibe-engineering/skills/vibe-research-before-design in ash1794/vibe-engineering) into .agents/skills/vibe-research-before-design in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Vibe Research Before Design in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add ash1794/vibe-engineering --skill vibe-research-before-design -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/vibe-research-before-design, .gemini/skills/vibe-research-before-design, .github/skills/vibe-research-before-design and .opencode/skills/vibe-research-before-design in your project.
What does Vibe Research Before Design need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Vibe Research Before Design is instructions for the agent only.
Does Vibe Research Before Design access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Vibe Research Before Design safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Vibe Research Before Design use?
Vibe Research Before Design is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Vibe Research Before Design use?
About 905 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.6k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Vibe Research Before Design?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Vibe Research Before Design: PR Design Doc (OpenHands/OpenHands, 91k stars), Cto Advisor (Ibrahim-3d/orchestrator-supaconductor, 381 stars), Domain Modeling (brim-borium/spotify_sdk, 166 stars) and Architecture Decision (Donchitos/Claude-Code-Game-Studios, 26k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Vibe Research Before Design?
ash1794 (a GitHub user) maintains it in ash1794/vibe-engineering, which has 163 GitHub stars. The repository holds 33 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.
Source: ash1794/vibe-engineering on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.