Idea Genie
boshu2/agentops
Brainstorm evidence-backed options for what to build, or stress-test an idea.
Consult a distilled persona of a colleague for their likely take, critique, or pushback on an idea — locally, without involving them.
Install Ask Colleague
$ npx skills add nickwinder/synthteam --skill ask-colleague -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install nickwinder/synthteam ask-colleague --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/nickwinder/synthteam.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/ask-colleague .claude/skills/ask-colleague && 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 "ask-colleague" agent skill from https://github.com/nickwinder/synthteam/tree/main/skills/ask-colleague into .claude/skills/ask-colleague/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ask-colleague", 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/nickwinder/synthteam/tree/main/skills/ask-colleagueType 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 nickwinder/synthteam --skill ask-colleague -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install nickwinder/synthteam ask-colleague --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/nickwinder/synthteam.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/ask-colleague .agents/skills/ask-colleague && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "ask-colleague" agent skill from https://github.com/nickwinder/synthteam/tree/main/skills/ask-colleague into .agents/skills/ask-colleague/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ask-colleague", 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 nickwinder/synthteam --skill ask-colleague -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install nickwinder/synthteam ask-colleague --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/nickwinder/synthteam.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/ask-colleague .cursor/skills/ask-colleague && 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 "ask-colleague" agent skill from https://github.com/nickwinder/synthteam/tree/main/skills/ask-colleague into .cursor/skills/ask-colleague/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ask-colleague", 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/nickwinder/synthteam.git --path skills/ask-colleague--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 nickwinder/synthteam --skill ask-colleague -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install nickwinder/synthteam ask-colleague --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/nickwinder/synthteam.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/ask-colleague .gemini/skills/ask-colleague && 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 "ask-colleague" agent skill from https://github.com/nickwinder/synthteam/tree/main/skills/ask-colleague into .gemini/skills/ask-colleague/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ask-colleague", 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 nickwinder/synthteam ask-colleagueInstalls 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 nickwinder/synthteam --skill ask-colleague -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/nickwinder/synthteam.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/ask-colleague .github/skills/ask-colleague && 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 "ask-colleague" agent skill from https://github.com/nickwinder/synthteam/tree/main/skills/ask-colleague into .github/skills/ask-colleague/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ask-colleague", 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 nickwinder/synthteam --skill ask-colleague -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install nickwinder/synthteam ask-colleague --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/nickwinder/synthteam.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/ask-colleague .opencode/skills/ask-colleague && 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 "ask-colleague" agent skill from https://github.com/nickwinder/synthteam/tree/main/skills/ask-colleague into .opencode/skills/ask-colleague/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ask-colleague", 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
ask-colleague- GitHub stars
- 112
- Token cost
- ~1.4k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 721 words
- Files
- 2
- Skills in repo
- 3
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- None found
At a glance
Consult a distilled persona of a colleague for their likely take, critique, or pushback on an idea — locally, without involving them.
- Works in 4 steps: Resolve the colleague → Load the persona → Answer in first-person, focused on… → …
- The user wants to brainstorm
- SKILL.md covers Announce at the start, Phase 1 — Resolve the colleague, Phase 2 — Load the persona and Phase 3 — Answer in…, plus 4 more sections
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Ask Colleague is an agent skill from nickwinder/synthteam. Consult a distilled persona of a colleague for their likely take, critique, or pushback on an idea — locally, without involving them. Use when the user wants to brainstorm, pressure-test a plan, anticipate a reaction, spot missed objections, or stress-test a decision through a specific person's lens. Personas live at ~/.synthteam/personas/<name.md and capture knowledge, opinions, and decision-making patterns (not voice or style). Invoke when the user says "ask <name", "what would <name think", "get <name's take"…
Its SKILL.md is about 1.4k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 1 other file (for example `README.md`). Compatibility notes: Requires per-colleague persona files at ~/.synthteam/personas/<slug.md. Use the distill-slack-persona skill to create or refresh one.
It sits in Testing & QA, covering Load testing and Brainstorming. It works with Slack. The repository describes itself as: Consult distilled personas of colleagues — build them from Slack history, get one colleague's take, or convene a deliberating panel. A plugin for Claude Code and Codex.
When your agent uses it
- The user wants to brainstorm
- Pressure-test a plan
- Anticipate a reaction
- Spot missed objections
Example prompts
- “ask <name”
- “what would <name think”
- “get <name”
- “/ask-colleague”
Requirements
- Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires per-colleague persona files at ~/.synthteam/personas/<slug>.md. Use the distill-slack-persona skill to create or refresh one.
Workflow steps
4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
- Resolve the colleague
- Load the persona
- Answer in first-person, focused on substance
- Close with the disclaimer
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 7d27255. 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.
Compatibility
Requires per-colleague persona files at ~/.synthteam/personas/<slug>.md. Use the distill-slack-persona skill to create or refresh one.
From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Context cost
Ask Colleague loads about 1.4k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 155 tokens; SKILL.md has 721 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
Without a licence we can't republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 721 words (~1,373 tokens).
“Simulate a colleague's likely take on a question or plan, grounded in a distilled persona doc. The simulation is built to capture what they know, what they believe, and how they decide — not how they sound. Substance over style.”
- name
- ask-colleague
- compatibility
- Requires per-colleague persona files at ~/.synthteam/personas/<slug>.md. Use the distill-slack-persona skill to create or refresh one.
Files
SKILL.md and 1 other file in skills/ask-colleague of nickwinder/synthteam.
- SKILL.md
- README.md
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 7d27255
Compare with similar skills
Ask Colleague 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ask Colleague this skillnickwinder/synthteam | 112 | — | ~1.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Idea Genieboshu2/agentops | 448 | 1 repos | ~1.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| Grill Menateherkai/AIS-OS | 1.6k | — | ~1.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Pm Product Brainstormingevolution-foundation/evo-nexus | 545 | 1 repos | ~3.9k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Evanflow Brainstormingevanklem/evanflow | 418 | — | ~1k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Research Refineappleweiping/WEIPING_WIKI | 119 | — | ~887 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
Similar skills
Grill Me
nateherkai/AIS-OS
Interview the user relentlessly about a plan, design, or topic, checkpointing every answer to a brainstorm file so nothing is lost.
Pm Product Brainstorming
evolution-foundation/evo-nexus
Brainstorm product ideas, explore problem spaces, and challenge assumptions as a thinking partner.
Evanflow Brainstorming
evanklem/evanflow
Clarify intent, propose 2-3 approaches, embedded grill to stress-test the chosen path.
Research Refine
appleweiping/WEIPING_WIKI
Disciplined idea refinement for research projects. An agent skill from appleweiping/WEIPING_WIKI.
Zcode Large Task Fixture
zai-org/ZCode
Generate, verify, or remove large synthetic ZCode task fixtures in local ~/.zcode persistence for UI/session performance testing.
More from nickwinder/synthteam
Distill Slack Persona
nickwinder/synthteam
Build or refresh a distilled persona doc for a colleague from their Slack history — dump their channel messages, then run a multi-agent distillation into a structured persona file that the…
Ask Team
nickwinder/synthteam
Convene a simulated panel of colleague personas to deliberate a question together — each persona becomes its own research agent, they react to each other's positions over multiple rounds, and the…
Related
Works with
Categories
Questions about Ask Colleague
What does Ask Colleague do?
Consult a distilled persona of a colleague for their likely take, critique, or pushback on an idea — locally, without involving them. Ask Colleague is an agent skill from nickwinder/synthteam. Consult a distilled persona of a colleague for their likely take, critique, or pushback on an idea — locally, without involving them.
When should I use Ask Colleague?
Ask Colleague fits situations like: the user wants to brainstorm; pressure-test a plan; anticipate a reaction; spot missed objections.
How do I install Ask Colleague in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add nickwinder/synthteam --skill ask-colleague -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/ask-colleague in nickwinder/synthteam) into .claude/skills/ask-colleague in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Ask Colleague in Codex?
Run `npx skills add nickwinder/synthteam --skill ask-colleague -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/ask-colleague in nickwinder/synthteam) into .agents/skills/ask-colleague in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Ask Colleague 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 nickwinder/synthteam --skill ask-colleague -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/ask-colleague, .gemini/skills/ask-colleague, .github/skills/ask-colleague and .opencode/skills/ask-colleague in your project.
What does Ask Colleague need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Ask Colleague is instructions for the agent only. Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires per-colleague persona files at ~/.synthteam/personas/<slug>.md. Use the distill-slack-persona skill to create or refresh one..
Does Ask Colleague 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 Ask Colleague 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 Ask Colleague use?
No licence was found for Ask Colleague or its repository. Without one, default copyright applies: ask the author before reusing or redistributing it.
How many tokens does Ask Colleague use?
About 1.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.5k 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 Ask Colleague?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Ask Colleague: Idea Genie (boshu2/agentops, 448 stars), Grill Me (nateherkai/AIS-OS, 1.6k stars), Pm Product Brainstorming (evolution-foundation/evo-nexus, 545 stars) and Evanflow Brainstorming (evanklem/evanflow, 418 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Ask Colleague?
nickwinder (a GitHub user) maintains it in nickwinder/synthteam, which has 112 GitHub stars. The repository holds 3 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on May 18, 2026.
Source: nickwinder/synthteam on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.