danielvm-git/bigpowers/grill-me

Grill Me

Use this vs grill-with-docs: grill-me surfaces assumptions from the conversation and context alone — no documentation fetching. Use grill-with-docs (the doc-grounded variant) when the plan relies on a specific library or external API and every challenge must cite a real doc URL.

Two modes. Default is Design. Switch to Docs by saying "grill me with docs" or when the plan relies on a specific library or external API.

HARD GATE — Do NOT accept a design until every hard decision has been stress-tested. "Seems right" is not a decision. Grilling must identify and resolve tensions before build begins.

Design mode (default)

Interview relentlessly about every aspect of this plan until reaching shared understanding. Walk each branch of the design tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one. For each question, provide your recommended answer. Ask one question at a time.

If a question can be answered by exploring the codebase, explore it instead.

Facts vs. Decisions Boundary

Distinguish between facts and decisions:

• Facts — things discoverable by exploring the codebase, reading docs, or checking APIs. Do not ask the user to confirm facts; find them yourself.
• Decisions — choices that require user input (trade-offs, preferences, priorities). Always present options and ask the user to choose.

Never "grill yourself" — if the answer is in the code, go find it. Only ask questions where the user's judgment is needed.

Docs mode

Ground every challenge in real documentation — no assumption about a library's behavior goes unchecked. See REFERENCE.md for the full process.

Short form:

1. List every external library, third-party API, and framework behavior relied upon.
2. Fetch the actual docs for each (WebFetch the official API reference).
3. Challenge each plan assumption against the real docs: correct method signature? right version? deprecated?
4. Report confirmed ✓, corrected ✗ (with the real behavior), and uncertain → spike-prototype.
5. Update the plan for each confirmed discrepancy.

Confirmation Gate

HARD GATE — Do NOT enact the plan or generate specifications until the user explicitly confirms shared understanding. Wait for explicit approval (e.g., "looks good", "confirmed", "proceed") before transitioning to any implementation, spec-writing, or task-slicing step.