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grill

Pressure-test a spec, design, or idea to surface hidden assumptions, open questions, and fuzzy language before they cost you.

/cl-dev:grill challenges whatever you point it at (a spec, a design, an implementation plan, or a rough idea) to find the weak spots before they turn into rework.

What it does

It interrogates your material one push at a time: it names an assumption you're relying on but haven't stated, flags a term that means different things to different people, or asks the question the work quietly skips over. You answer, it presses on the next thing. It exposes the soft parts of your thinking while they're still cheap to firm up, so you leave with a sharper, more defensible version of whatever you brought in.

Because it goes one point at a time and waits for your response, you stay in control of the conversation and decide what actually needs to change.

When to use it

Reach for it whenever something feels vaguer or shakier than you'd like, and you want a skeptical second opinion before committing. It's most valuable early. Grilling a spec or a solution design catches fuzzy requirements and unstated assumptions while they're still words on a page, long before they're baked into code.

It fits alongside the other pressure-test steps in the workflow: /cl-dev:reduce-complexity hunts for parts of a design that are too heavy, and /cl-dev:review-design gives a structured written review. Where those focus on structure, grill focuses on the assumptions and language underneath it. Use it any time you'd benefit from someone poking holes before you move forward.

How to invoke it

Run it in your coding agent:

/cl-dev:grill

Point it at what you want challenged: a spec or design for the current work item, some text from the conversation, or an idea you describe on the spot. If you're partway through the workflow it can pick up the artifact you're working on; otherwise, tell it what to grill when you invoke it.

Plan

Related skills

Other skills in the same phase of the workflow.

approve-planApprove a drafted implementation plan so implementation can begin.
claim-issueClaim a spec'd issue by creating its feature branch, a placeholder plan, and a draft pull request.
create-impl-planTurn a claimed issue into a phased implementation plan an agent can execute.
design-solutionShape and pressure-test a solution design for a larger issue before you commit to a plan.
reduce-complexityRun an interactive complexity review of a design, plan, or code to find the parts carrying too much weight and simplify them.
review-designGet a written structural, security, and privacy review of a design or plan before you build.
specTurn a plain request into a detailed specification captured as a project issue with testable acceptance criteria.

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