Exploring Alternatives

Name: Exploring Alternatives
Author: obra/clank

$npx mdskill add obra/clank/Exploring Alternatives

Explore multiple designs before coding to avoid premature commitment.

Prevents developers from locking into flawed initial architecture choices.
Requires no external tools or API integrations to function effectively.
Decides recommendations by comparing trade-offs across viable solution paths.
Delivers clear justification for selecting the optimal approach before implementation.

.github/skills/Exploring AlternativesView on GitHub ↗

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Skill	Description
Commenting Intent	Comment WHY code exists and non-obvious decisions, not WHAT code does (mechanics)
Creating Skills	TDD for process documentation - test with subagents before writing, iterate until bulletproof
Designing Before Coding	Design in pseudocode first, iterate approaches, then translate to code
Domain-Focused Naming	Name code by what it does in the domain, not how it's implemented or its history
Encapsulating Complexity	Hide implementation details behind interfaces - work at domain level (what), not implementation level (how)
Installing Skills System	Fork, clone to ~/.clank, run installer, edit CLAUDE.md
Keeping Routines Focused	Each routine does one thing and does it well - extract when routines have multiple responsibilities
Localizing Variables	Declare variables in smallest possible scope, initialize close to first use, minimize span and live time
Maintaining Consistent Abstractions	Class interfaces present one cohesive abstraction - don't mix domain logic with serialization, persistence, or unrelated concerns
Naming Variables	Choose names that fully and accurately describe what the variable represents