spikelisted

# Spike Use this skill when the user wants to **feel out an idea** before committing to a real build — validating feasibility, comparing approaches, or surfacing unknowns that no amount of research will answer. Spikes are disposable by design. Throw them away once they've paid their debt. Load this when the user says things like "let me try this", "I want to see if X works", "spike this out", "before I commit to Y", "quick prototype of Z", "is this even possible?", or "compare A vs B". ## When NOT to use this - The answer is knowable from docs or reading code — just do research, don't build - The work is production path — use [plan](../plan/SKILL.md) instead - The idea is already validated — jump straight to implementation - The question is "is this the right problem?" not "is this technically possible?" — use [problem-framing-audit](../problem-framing-audit/SKILL.md) ## Core method Regardless of scale, every spike follows this loop: ```text decompose → research → build → verdict ↑__________________________________________↓ iterate on findings ``` ### 1. Decompose Break the user's idea into **2-5 independent feasibility questions**. Each question is one spike. Present them as a table with Given/When/Then framing: | # | Spike | Validates (Given/When/Then) | Risk | |---|---|---|---| | 001 | websocket-streaming | Given a WS connection, when LLM streams tokens, then client receives chunks < 100ms | High | | 002a | pdf-parse-pdfjs | Given a mul