Agent skill

Brainstorm

Use before any creative work or significant changes. An agent skill from umputun/cc-thingz.

Install Brainstorm

skills CLI

$ npx skills add umputun/cc-thingz --skill brainstorm -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install umputun/cc-thingz brainstorm --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm .claude/skills/brainstorm && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.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/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "brainstorm" agent skill from https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz/tree/master/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm into .claude/skills/brainstorm/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "brainstorm", 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

$skill-installer install https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz/tree/master/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm

Type 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.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add umputun/cc-thingz --skill brainstorm -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install umputun/cc-thingz brainstorm --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm .agents/skills/brainstorm && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "brainstorm" agent skill from https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz/tree/master/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm into .agents/skills/brainstorm/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "brainstorm", 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.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add umputun/cc-thingz --skill brainstorm -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install umputun/cc-thingz brainstorm --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm .cursor/skills/brainstorm && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "brainstorm" agent skill from https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz/tree/master/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm into .cursor/skills/brainstorm/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "brainstorm", 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

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz.git --path plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add umputun/cc-thingz --skill brainstorm -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install umputun/cc-thingz brainstorm --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm .gemini/skills/brainstorm && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.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/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "brainstorm" agent skill from https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz/tree/master/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm into .gemini/skills/brainstorm/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "brainstorm", 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.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install umputun/cc-thingz brainstorm

Installs 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).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add umputun/cc-thingz --skill brainstorm -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm .github/skills/brainstorm && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.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/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "brainstorm" agent skill from https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz/tree/master/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm into .github/skills/brainstorm/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "brainstorm", 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.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add umputun/cc-thingz --skill brainstorm -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install umputun/cc-thingz brainstorm --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm .opencode/skills/brainstorm && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "brainstorm" agent skill from https://github.com/umputun/cc-thingz/tree/master/plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm into .opencode/skills/brainstorm/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "brainstorm", 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: brainstorm
GitHub stars: 484
Token cost: ~1.7k tokens
SKILL.md length: 688 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 16
Repo updated: Oct 5, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Use before any creative work or significant changes. An agent skill from umputun/cc-thingz.

Works in 4 steps: Understand the Idea → Explore Approaches → Present Design → …
Asks for thorough analysis of changes
SKILL.md covers custom rules loading, Process, Key Principles and Task Tracking
Calls bash

What it does

Brainstorm is an agent skill from umputun/cc-thingz. Use before any creative work or significant changes. Activates on "brainstorm", "let's brainstorm", "deep analysis", "analyze this feature", "think through", "help me design", "explore options for", or when user asks for thorough analysis of changes, features, or architectural decisions. Guides collaborative dialogue to turn ideas into designs through one-at-a-time questions, approach exploration, and incremental validation.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.7k 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 Agent Workflows, covering Brainstorming. The repository describes itself as: various things for claude code. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Asks for thorough analysis of changes
Architectural decisions

Example prompts

“brainstorm”
“s brainstorm”
“deep analysis”
“/brainstorm”

Requirements

Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash, Agent, Skill, AskUserQuestion, EnterPlanMode

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

Understand the Idea
Explore Approaches
Present Design
Next Steps

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 99e1c8d. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:
- Read
- Write
- Edit
- Glob
- Grep
- Bash
- Agent
- Skill
- AskUserQuestion
- EnterPlanMode
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- bash
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

Brainstorm loads about 1.7k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 110 tokens; SKILL.md has 688 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~110
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.7k

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: notes

The automated check noted patterns worth knowing about, such as sudo or a known installer.

NotePre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: Bash)SKILL.md

allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash, Agent, Skill, AskUserQuestion, EnterPlanMode

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 umputun/cc-thingz at commit 99e1c8d, republished under its MIT licence (© umputun). 688 words, ~1,651 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: brainstorm
description: Use before any creative work or significant changes. Activates on "brainstorm", "let's brainstorm", "deep analysis", "analyze this feature", "think through", "help me design", "explore options for", or when user asks for thorough analysis of changes, features, or architectural decisions. Guides collaborative dialogue to turn ideas into designs through one-at-a-time questions, approach exploration, and incremental validation.
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash, Agent, Skill, AskUserQuestion, EnterPlanMode

Brainstorm

Turn ideas into designs through collaborative dialogue before implementation.

custom rules loading

before starting, run this command via Bash tool to check for user-provided custom rules:

bash

bash ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/resolve-rules.sh brainstorm-rules.md ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}

if the output is non-empty, treat it as additional instructions that supplement (not replace) the built-in rules below. apply custom rules alongside the skill's own instructions throughout the brainstorm process — they may influence design preferences, naming conventions, technology choices, or other aspects of the brainstorm session. custom rules content is guidance for the brainstorm dialogue, not content to embed verbatim in the output.

rules management

when the user asks to add, show, or clear custom brainstorm rules, handle these operations:

show rules: run bash ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/resolve-rules.sh brainstorm-rules.md ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA} and display the output. if the output is empty, tell the user no custom rules are configured at either level. otherwise, to determine the source, check if .claude/brainstorm-rules.md exists and is non-empty (project-level) — if not, the output came from user-level. tell the user which level it came from.
add/update project rules: write content to .claude/brainstorm-rules.md in the current working directory.
add/update user rules: first check if $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA is set (run echo "$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA"). if empty, tell the user that user-level rules require the plugin to be installed from the marketplace and offer project-level instead. if set, write content to $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/brainstorm-rules.md.
clear project rules: delete .claude/brainstorm-rules.md.
clear user rules: if $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA is set, delete $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/brainstorm-rules.md. if not set, tell the user user-level rules are not available.

project-level rules (.claude/brainstorm-rules.md) take precedence over user-level rules ($CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/brainstorm-rules.md). when both non-empty files exist, only project-level rules are loaded. empty files are treated as absent and fall through to the next level. see ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/custom-rules.md for full documentation on the rules mechanism.

CRITICAL: this skill must NEVER modify its own files (skills, scripts, references, hooks, plugin.json). the ONLY files it may create or modify for rules management are .claude/brainstorm-rules.md and $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/brainstorm-rules.md. if the user asks to change the skill's behavior, suggest creating a plan — do not edit skill files directly.

Process

Phase 1: Understand the Idea

Check project context first, then ask questions one at a time:

Gather context - check files, docs, recent commits relevant to the idea
Ask questions one at a time - prefer multiple choice when possible
Focus on: purpose, constraints, success criteria, integration points

Do not overwhelm with multiple questions. One question per message. If a topic needs more exploration, break it into multiple questions.

Show full SKILL.md (290 more words)Show less

Phase 2: Explore Approaches

Once the problem is understood:

Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs
Lead with recommended option and explain reasoning
Present conversationally - not a formal document yet

Example format:

I see three approaches:

**Option A: [name]** (recommended)
- how it works: ...
- pros: ...
- cons: ...

**Option B: [name]**
- how it works: ...
- pros: ...
- cons: ...

Which direction appeals to you?

Phase 3: Present Design

After approach is selected:

Break design into sections of 200-300 words each
Ask after each section whether it looks right
Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing
Be ready to backtrack if something doesn't make sense

Do not present entire design at once. Incremental validation catches misunderstandings early.

Phase 4: Next Steps

After design is validated, use AskUserQuestion tool:

json

{
  "questions": [{
    "question": "Design looks complete. What's next?",
    "header": "Next step",
    "options": [
      {"label": "Write plan", "description": "Create docs/plans/yyyymmdd-<task-name>.md with implementation steps via /planning:make"},
      {"label": "Plan mode", "description": "Enter plan mode for structured implementation planning"},
      {"label": "Start now", "description": "Begin implementing directly"}
    ],
    "multiSelect": false
  }]
}

Write plan: invoke /planning:make command to create the plan file. Pass brainstorm context (discovered files, selected approach, design decisions) as arguments so the plan command has full context without re-asking questions
Plan mode: uses EnterPlanMode tool for detailed planning with user approval workflow
Start now: proceeds directly if design is simple enough

Key Principles

One question at a time - do not overwhelm with multiple questions
Multiple choice preferred - easier to answer than open-ended when possible
YAGNI ruthlessly - remove unnecessary features from all designs, keep scope minimal
Explore alternatives - always propose 2-3 approaches before settling
Incremental validation - present design in sections, validate each
Be flexible - go back and clarify when something doesn't make sense
Lead with recommendation - have an opinion, explain why, but let user decide
Duplication vs abstraction - when code repeats, ask user: prefer duplication (simpler, no coupling) or abstraction (DRY but adds complexity)? explain trade-offs before deciding

Task Tracking

When implementing after brainstorm:

Track implementation tasks using available task management tools (task lists, plan file checkboxes, or similar)
Mark each task as completed immediately when done (do not batch)
Keep user informed of progress through status updates

Files

Just SKILL.md in plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm of umputun/cc-thingz.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 99e1c8d

Compare with similar skills

Brainstorm 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.

Brainstorm compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Brainstorm this skillumputun/cc-thingz	484	—	~1.7k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	3 days ago
Brainstormingxpinjection/test-driven-spring-boot	112	54 repos	~2.6k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	1 mo ago
LLM Councilgcpdev/llm-council-skill	461	1 repos	~1k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	9 mo ago
Typesafe AIOpenAgentsInc/openagents	455	9 repos	~2.5k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Yao Meta Skillyaojingang/yao-meta-skill	2.7k	—	~768	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	1 mo ago
Trellis StartROYIANS/foliq-print-template-designer	135	6 repos	~646	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	1 mo ago

Similar skills

Brainstorming
xpinjection/test-driven-spring-boot
You MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, or modifying behavior.
112 GitHub starsUsed in 54 repos~2.6k tokens
Agent WorkflowsAuto-check passed
LLM Council
gcpdev/llm-council-skill
Multi-LLM collaborative brainstorming and planning. An agent skill from gcpdev/llm-council-skill.
461 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1k tokens
Agent WorkflowsAuto-check: notes
Typesafe AI
OpenAgentsInc/openagents
Build AI-powered software with TypeSafe: small units of AI intelligence you can use like programming primitives.
455 GitHub starsUsed in 9 repos~2.5k tokens
Agent WorkflowsAuto-check passed
Yao Meta Skill
yaojingang/yao-meta-skill
Create, improve, or evaluate an existing skill from workflows, prompts, SOPs, scripts.
2.7k GitHub stars~768 tokensUpdated 1 mo ago
Agent WorkflowsAuto-check passed
Trellis Start
ROYIANS/foliq-print-template-designer
Initializes an AI development session by reading workflow guides, developer identity, git status, active tasks, and project guidelines from .trellis/.
135 GitHub starsUsed in 6 repos~646 tokens
Agent WorkflowsAuto-check passed
Brainstorming Before Building
jnMetaCode/superpowers-zh
Turns a rough idea into an approved design before any code is written, sorting the request into spike, bounded or architectural and enforcing an approval gate.
8.3k GitHub stars~1.8k tokensUpdated 4 days ago
Agent WorkflowsAuto-check passed

Questions about Brainstorm

What does Brainstorm do?

Use before any creative work or significant changes. An agent skill from umputun/cc-thingz. Brainstorm is an agent skill from umputun/cc-thingz. Use before any creative work or significant changes.

When should I use Brainstorm?

Brainstorm fits situations like: asks for thorough analysis of changes; architectural decisions.

How do I install Brainstorm in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add umputun/cc-thingz --skill brainstorm -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm in umputun/cc-thingz) into .claude/skills/brainstorm in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Brainstorm in Codex?

Run `npx skills add umputun/cc-thingz --skill brainstorm -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/brainstorm/skills/brainstorm in umputun/cc-thingz) into .agents/skills/brainstorm in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Brainstorm 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 umputun/cc-thingz --skill brainstorm -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/brainstorm, .gemini/skills/brainstorm, .github/skills/brainstorm and .opencode/skills/brainstorm in your project.

What does Brainstorm need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Brainstorm needs the command-line tools its instructions call (bash). Its frontmatter pre-approves these tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash, Agent, Skill, AskUserQuestion, EnterPlanMode.

Does Brainstorm 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 Brainstorm safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (pre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: bash)), nothing it rates as a warning. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Brainstorm use?

Brainstorm 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 Brainstorm use?

About 1.7k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.6k 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 Brainstorm?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Brainstorm: Brainstorming (xpinjection/test-driven-spring-boot, 112 stars), LLM Council (gcpdev/llm-council-skill, 461 stars), Typesafe AI (OpenAgentsInc/openagents, 455 stars) and Yao Meta Skill (yaojingang/yao-meta-skill, 2.7k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Brainstorm?

umputun (a GitHub user) maintains it in umputun/cc-thingz, which has 484 GitHub stars. The repository holds 16 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 5, 2026.

Source: umputun/cc-thingz on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Brainstorm

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Brainstorm

custom rules loading

rules management

Process

Phase 1: Understand the Idea

Phase 2: Explore Approaches

Phase 3: Present Design

Phase 4: Next Steps

Key Principles

Task Tracking

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from umputun/cc-thingz

Related

Questions about Brainstorm