Is the Design Explore skill free?

Yes. The skill itself is free from vbcherepanov/total-agent-memory. SkillProof publishes the install command and an independent test verdict at no cost.

What is the Design Explore SkillProof Score?

8.8/10 — installs cleanly 4/5, triggers reliably 5/5, output vs. baseline 8/10, docs & honesty 5/5.

How do I install Design Explore?

Copy the install command from this page, run it in your terminal, and restart Claude Code. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ inside a project.

Can I use Design Explore with Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex or other AI tools?

The SKILL.md format is native to Claude (Claude Code, Desktop, claude.ai). The instructions inside adapt to other assistants: Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, Windsurf rules, Custom GPTs, AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex, and GEMINI.md for Google Gemini CLI — our conversion guides cover each, and the free converter on the tools page does the wrapping for you.

Design Explore

Forces a 2-4 option pros/cons/criteria matrix before any architecture or refactor code gets written.

by vbcherepanov · vbcherepanov/total-agent-memory

Works with setup

Install — copy the command Download source ↗

Test report

Verdict: Works with setup
Score: 8.8/10
Tested: Jul 14, 2026
Environment: Claude Code 2.x (agent harness)
Upstream re-checked: Aug 10, 2026 · 28200dc

Ran a real mini design decision (API rate limiting) through the template: baseline gave one paragraph recommending Redis; the skill forced three named options scored on a 4-criterion matrix with an explicit discard rationale, a materially more auditable artifact. Real friction: it's shipped as an example inside a large separate MCP memory server project, and steps 1/5 (memory_recall/analogize/save_decision) only work once that whole server is installed and connected.

Scored on four weighted criteria — install, triggering, output vs. baseline, docs. How scoring works

Installs cleanly 4/5
Triggers reliably 5/5
Output vs. baseline 8/10
Docs & honesty 5/5

What Design Explore does

A pre-implementation design-decision skill: generates 2-4 named options with implementation sketches, scores them on a criteria matrix, picks one with justification, and names what was discarded. Triggers on architecture/refactor/subsystem-level ('how should we do X') requests; explicitly opts out for trivial fixes or single-option situations. Meant to pair with the save_decision/memory_recall/analogize MCP tools from the same total-agent-memory project.

How to install Design Explore

git clone https://github.com/vbcherepanov/total-agent-memory
cd total-agent-memory
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r examples/skills/design-explore ~/.claude/skills/design-explore

Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ (per-project). Restart Claude Code after installing.

Commands — how to trigger Design Explore

/design-explore Forces a 2-4 option pros/cons/criteria matrix before any architecture or refactor code gets written.

It also activates on plain-language prompts like these:

Before we refactor this subsystem, lay out two or three architecture options
How should we redesign our auth module, weigh the tradeoffs for me
I need a pros and cons matrix before we commit to a new data layer approach

Frequently asked questions

Is the Design Explore skill free?: Yes. The skill itself is free from vbcherepanov/total-agent-memory. SkillProof publishes the install command and an independent test verdict at no cost.
Does Design Explore work with Claude Code?: We tested it with Claude Code 2.x (agent harness) on Jul 14, 2026. Verdict: Works with setup. Ran a real mini design decision (API rate limiting) through the template: baseline gave one paragraph recommending Redis; the skill forced three named options scored on a 4-criterion matrix with an explicit discard rationale, a materially more auditable artifact. Real friction: it's shipped as an example inside a large separate MCP memory server project, and steps 1/5 (memory_recall/analogize/save_decision) only work once that whole server is installed and connected.
What is the Design Explore SkillProof Score?: 8.8/10 — installs cleanly 4/5, triggers reliably 5/5, output vs. baseline 8/10, docs & honesty 5/5.
How do I install Design Explore?: Copy the install command from this page, run it in your terminal, and restart Claude Code. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ inside a project.
Can I use Design Explore with Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex or other AI tools?: The SKILL.md format is native to Claude (Claude Code, Desktop, claude.ai). The instructions inside adapt to other assistants: Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, Windsurf rules, Custom GPTs, AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex, and GEMINI.md for Google Gemini CLI — our conversion guides cover each, and the free converter on the tools page does the wrapping for you.