Grilling

Bucket: Productivity · Slash command: /zsl:grilling · Source: skills/productivity/grilling/SKILL.md

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The shared design-tree interview protocol — the status markers, the example tree, the reprint rules, and the node status-lifecycle. Use when running or structuring a relentless one-question-at-a-time interview that walks a decision tree to resolve every branch of a plan or design. Composed by grill-me and grill-with-docs.

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The shared engine for a relentless, one-question-at-a-time interview that walks a design tree until every branch is resolved. One home for the protocol so the markers, the example, the reprint rules, and the status lifecycle mean the same thing in every skill that grills — grill-me, grill-with-docs, and anything else that needs the interview loop composes this instead of carrying its own copy.

The loop

Interview the user relentlessly about every aspect of the plan until you reach a shared understanding. Walk down each branch of the design tree, resolving dependencies between decisions one-by-one. For each question, provide your recommended answer. Ask the questions one at a time, waiting for feedback on each before continuing. If a question can be answered by exploring the codebase, explore the codebase instead of asking.

Design tree

Before the first question, print the design tree you intend to traverse — the decisions and sub-decisions you've identified, with a status marker on each:

• [ ] unresolved
• [→] currently being grilled
• [✓] resolved

Example:

Design tree
├── [→] Auth strategy
│   ├── [ ] Session storage (cookie vs JWT)
│   └── [ ] Refresh-token rotation
├── [ ] Persistence layer
│   ├── [ ] Primary store
│   └── [ ] Migration path from current schema
└── [ ] Rollout
    ├── [ ] Feature-flag gate
    └── [ ] Backfill plan

Reprint the tree whenever it changes: a node is resolved, a new branch is discovered, the focus moves to a new node, or scope shifts. Don't reprint between every question — only when the shape or status actually changes. Always reprint the full tree, not a diff, so progress is visible at a glance.

Status lifecycle for a single node:

stateDiagram-v2
    direction LR
    [*] --> unresolved: node added
    unresolved: [ ] unresolved
    grilling: [→] currently grilling
    resolved: [✓] resolved
    unresolved --> grilling: focus moves here
    grilling --> resolved: decision made
    grilling --> unresolved: focus moves elsewhere<br/>before deciding
    resolved --> grilling: reopened (new info)
    resolved --> [*]: tree complete