--- name: prototype description: Build a throwaway prototype to flesh out a design — a runnable terminal app for state/business-logic questions, or several radically different UI variations toggleable from one route. disable-model-invocation: true category: "development" risk: "safe" source: "community" source_repo: "mattpocock/skills" source_type: "community" date_added: "2026-06-19" author: "Matt Pocock" license: "MIT" license_source: "https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/blob/main/LICENSE" tags: - engineering - workflow - coding-agents tools: - claude-code - codex-cli - cursor --- # Prototype ## When to Use Use when this workflow matches the user request: Build a throwaway prototype to flesh out a design — a runnable terminal app for state/business-logic questions, or several radically different UI variations toggleable from one route. _Source: [mattpocock/skills](https://github.com/mattpocock/skills) (MIT)._ A prototype is **throwaway code that answers a question**. The question decides the shape. ## Pick a branch Identify which question is being answered — from the user's prompt, the surrounding code, or by asking if the user is around: - **"Does this logic / state model feel right?"** → [LOGIC.md](LOGIC.md). Build a tiny interactive terminal app that pushes the state machine through cases that are hard to reason about on paper. - **"What should this look like?"** → [UI.md](UI.md). Generate several radically different UI variations on a single route, switchable via a URL search param and a floating bottom bar. The two branches produce very different artifacts — getting this wrong wastes the whole prototype. If the question is genuinely ambiguous and the user isn't reachable, default to whichever branch better matches the surrounding code (a backend module → logic; a page or component → UI) and state the assumption at the top of the prototype. ## Rules that apply to both 1. **Throwaway from day one, and clearly marked as such.** Locate the prototype code close to where it will actually be used (next to the module or page it's prototyping for) so context is obvious — but name it so a casual reader can see it's a prototype, not production. For throwaway UI routes, obey whatever routing convention the project already uses; don't invent a new top-level structure. 2. **One command to run.** Whatever the project's existing task runner supports — `pnpm `, `python `, `bun `, etc. The user must be able to start it without thinking. 3. **No persistence by default.** State lives in memory. Persistence is the thing the prototype is _checking_, not something it should depend on. If the question explicitly involves a database, hit a scratch DB or a local file with a clear "PROTOTYPE — wipe me" name. 4. **Skip the polish.** Use the minimum validation and error handling needed to answer the question safely; do not build a general framework. A focused check is appropriate when an edge case or repository-required test is the question. The point is to learn something fast and then delete it. 5. **Surface the state.** After every action (logic) or on every variant switch (UI), render the relevant synthetic state so the user can see what changed; redact secrets and unnecessary personal data. 6. **Delete or absorb when done.** When the prototype has answered its question, either delete it or fold the validated decision into the real code — don't leave it rotting in the repo. ## When done The _answer_ is the only thing worth keeping from a prototype. Capture it somewhere durable (commit message, ADR, issue, or a `NOTES.md` next to the prototype) along with the question it was answering. If the user is around, that capture is a quick conversation; if not, leave the placeholder so they (or you, on the next pass) can fill in the verdict before deleting the prototype. ## Limitations - Requires the upstream tool, account, API key, or local setup when the workflow names one. - Does not authorize destructive, production, paid, or external-message actions without explicit user approval. - Validate generated artifacts or recommendations against the user's real sources before treating them as final. --- Source attribution: mattpocock/skills contributors, via Agentic Awesome Skills Original project: https://github.com/mattpocock/skills License: MIT + CC-BY-4.0 License information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Original upstream instructions; downloaded from Dave AI. ## Upstream license notice MIT License Copyright (c) 2026 Matt Pocock Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. # Dave AI resource metadata Creator / publisher: mattpocock/skills contributors, via Agentic Awesome Skills Original project: https://github.com/mattpocock/skills Attribution basis: Recorded upstream repository Fields of work: Development & Engineering Roles: Software Developer Specialties: Specialty not specified Tools: Tool not specified Country applicability: Country not specified Classification basis: Dave AI task classification from package title, description, and declared metadata Instruction SHA-256: 00801bacc65a0e37769762595bcaec52d03835a3479c5f5b0532a50c47a737a2 Metadata reviewed: 2026-10-27 This metadata supersedes earlier Dave AI catalog attribution. Original instruction and supporting files are preserved.