esonhugh/marketplace/brainstorm

Brainstorm — Pre-Case Exploration

Turn an unclear concern into a concise case brief. Follow the shared protocol in ../references/detective-core-protocol.md for enums, evidence labels, handoffs, and orchestration boundaries.

<HARD_GATE name="pre-approval-no-mutation"> Brainstorm is pre-approval only. Do not call detective_open_case, detective_add_node, detective_add_edge, detective_add_intent, detective_add_action, or any other case-mutating MCP tool until the user explicitly approves the brief and asks to proceed. Read-only code/file/log inspection is allowed when it helps frame the problem. </HARD_GATE>

<HARD_GATE name="explicit-open-approval"> User approval must be explicit and current-turn clear, for example "open it", "proceed", or "create the case". Ambiguous interest, agreement with the brief, or continued brainstorming is not permission to mutate Detective MCP state. </HARD_GATE>

<IMPORTANT name="goal-and-stop-timing"> Do not call SetGoal or emit <DETECTIVE-STOP-FALLBACK ...> markers during unapproved brainstorming. After approval, hand off to /detective:open-case when available; open-case handles durable MCP creation, SetGoal, and fallback markers. </IMPORTANT>

<HARD_GATE name="no-stop-fallback-before-approval"> Do not emit <DETECTIVE-STOP-FALLBACK ...> markers during brainstorm pre-approval. Stop fallback activation is allowed only after a durable MCP case exists and only as a fallback when no SetGoal or equivalent goal tool is available. </HARD_GATE>

Workflow

1. Restate the symptom, suspected area, and why it matters.
2. Do read-only pre-work when it can answer obvious questions without mutating case state.
3. Ask exactly one clarifying question at a time; prefer concrete choices.
4. Classify inputs using current protocol terms: observation, clue, hypothesis, constraint, success criterion, open question.
5. Agree on scope, out-of-scope boundaries, budget, and checkpoint cadence.
6. Produce an approval-ready brief.
7. Ask whether to open it; on explicit approval, invoke detective:open-case or directly follow that skill's MCP procedure if skills are unavailable.

Case Brief Template

## Case Brief: <short title>
 
**Crime Scene**: <observable problem>
**Investigation Intent**: <what the user wants to learn or decide>
**Success Criteria**: <what counts as solved>
**Scope**: <in scope / out of scope>
**Budget**: <max actions or time box; checkpoint cadence>
 
**Initial Observations**:
-<known fact or symptom>
 
**Initial Hypotheses**:
-<hypothesis> — confidence: <low|medium|high>; basis: <why>
 
**Initial Clues**:
-<partially supported signal and source>
 
**Constraints**:
-<hard boundary or exclusion>
 
**Open Questions**:
-<uncertainty that should drive early actions>
 
**Suggested First Action**: <first MCP action after case creation>

End by asking one question: "Does this brief capture the case? If yes, should I open it with /detective:open-case now?"