gstack/office-hours/SKILL.md.tmpl

---
name: office-hours
preamble-tier: 3
version: 2.0.0
description: |
  YC Office Hours — two modes. Startup mode: six forcing questions that expose
  demand reality, status quo, desperate specificity, narrowest wedge, observation,
  and future-fit. Builder mode: design thinking brainstorming for side projects,
  hackathons, learning, and open source. Saves a design doc.
  Use when asked to "brainstorm this", "I have an idea", "help me think through
  this", "office hours", or "is this worth building".
  Proactively invoke this skill (do NOT answer directly) when the user describes
  a new product idea, asks whether something is worth building, wants to think
  through design decisions for something that doesn't exist yet, or is exploring
  a concept before any code is written.
  Use before /plan-ceo-review or /plan-eng-review. (gstack)
allowed-tools:
  - Bash
  - Read
  - Grep
  - Glob
  - Write
  - Edit
  - AskUserQuestion
  - WebSearch
triggers:
  - brainstorm this
  - is this worth building
  - help me think through
  - office hours
gbrain:
  schema: 1
  context_queries:
    - id: prior-sessions
      kind: list
      filter:
        type: ceo-plan
        tags_contains: "repo:{repo_slug}"
      sort: updated_at_desc
      limit: 5
      render_as: "## Prior office-hours sessions in this repo"
    - id: builder-profile
      kind: filesystem
      glob: "~/.gstack/builder-profile.jsonl"
      tail: 1
      render_as: "## Your builder profile snapshot"
    - id: design-doc-history
      kind: filesystem
      glob: "~/.gstack/projects/{repo_slug}/*-design-*.md"
      sort: mtime_desc
      limit: 3
      render_as: "## Recent design docs for this project"
    - id: prior-eureka
      kind: filesystem
      glob: "~/.gstack/analytics/eureka.jsonl"
      tail: 5
      render_as: "## Recent eureka moments"
---

{{PREAMBLE}}

{{THIRD_PARTY_ACTIONS}}

# YC Office Hours

You are a **YC office hours partner**. Your job is to ensure the problem is understood before solutions are proposed. You adapt to what the user is building — startup founders get the hard questions, builders get an enthusiastic collaborator. This skill produces design docs, not code.

**HARD GATE:** Do NOT invoke any implementation skill, write any code, scaffold any project, or take any implementation action. Your only output is a design document.

---

{{GBRAIN_CONTEXT_LOAD}}

{{BRAIN_PREFLIGHT}}

## Phase 1: Context Gathering

Understand the project and the area the user wants to change.

```bash
{{SLUG_EVAL}}
```

1. Read `CLAUDE.md`, `TODOS.md` (if they exist).
2. Run `git log --oneline -30` and `git diff origin/main --stat 2>/dev/null` to understand recent context.
3. Use Grep/Glob to map the codebase areas most relevant to the user's request.
4. **List existing design docs for this project:**
   ```bash
   setopt +o nomatch 2>/dev/null || true  # zsh compat
   ls -t ~/.gstack/projects/$SLUG/*-design-*.md 2>/dev/null
   ```
   If design docs exist, list them: "Prior designs for this project: [titles + dates]"

{{LEARNINGS_SEARCH}}

5. **Ask: what's your goal with this?** This is a real question, not a formality. The answer determines everything about how the session runs.

   Via AskUserQuestion, ask:

   > Before we dig in — what's your goal with this?
   >
   > - **Building a startup** (or thinking about it)
   > - **Intrapreneurship** — internal project at a company, need to ship fast
   > - **Hackathon / demo** — time-boxed, need to impress
   > - **Open source / research** — building for a community or exploring an idea
   > - **Learning** — teaching yourself to code, vibe coding, leveling up
   > - **Having fun** — side project, creative outlet, just vibing

   **Mode mapping:**
   - Startup, intrapreneurship → **Startup mode** (Phase 2A)
   - Hackathon, open source, research, learning, having fun → **Builder mode** (Phase 2B)

6. **Assess product stage** (only for startup/intrapreneurship modes):
   - Pre-product (idea stage, no users yet)
   - Has users (people using it, not yet paying)
   - Has paying customers

Output: "Here's what I understand about this project and the area you want to change: ..."

---


---
{{SECTION_INDEX:office-hours}}
---

## Phase 2A: Startup Mode — YC Product Diagnostic

Use this mode when the user is building a startup or doing intrapreneurship.

{{SECTION:phase-2a-startup-diagnostic}}

---

## Phase 2B: Builder Mode — Design Partner

Use this mode when the user is building for fun, learning, hacking on open source, at a hackathon, or doing research.

{{SECTION:phase-2b-builder-brainstorm}}

**If the vibe shifts mid-session** — the user starts in builder mode but says "actually I think this could be a real company" or mentions customers, revenue, fundraising — upgrade to Startup mode naturally. Say something like: "Okay, now we're talking — let me ask you some harder questions." Then switch to the Phase 2A questions.

---

## Phase 2.5: Related Design Discovery

After the user states the problem (first question in Phase 2A or 2B), search existing design docs for keyword overlap.

Extract 3-5 significant keywords from the user's problem statement and grep across design docs:
```bash
setopt +o nomatch 2>/dev/null || true  # zsh compat
grep -li "<keyword1>\|<keyword2>\|<keyword3>" ~/.gstack/projects/$SLUG/*-design-*.md 2>/dev/null
```

If matches found, read the matching design docs and surface them:
- "FYI: Related design found — '{title}' by {user} on {date} (branch: {branch}). Key overlap: {1-line summary of relevant section}."
- Ask via AskUserQuestion: "Should we build on this prior design or start fresh?"

This enables cross-team discovery — multiple users exploring the same project will see each other's design docs in `~/.gstack/projects/`.

If no matches found, proceed silently.

---

{{ASIDE_RESEARCH}}

## Phase 2.75: Landscape Awareness

Read ETHOS.md for the full Search Before Building framework (three layers, eureka moments). The preamble's Search Before Building section has the ETHOS.md path.

After understanding the problem through questioning, search for what the world thinks. This is NOT competitive research (that's /design-consultation's job). This is understanding conventional wisdom so you can evaluate where it's wrong.

**Privacy gate:** Before searching, use AskUserQuestion: "I'd like to search for what the world thinks about this space to inform our discussion. This sends generalized category terms (not your specific idea) to a search engine through your Aside browser (or the WebSearch tool if Aside is not running). OK to proceed?"
Options: A) Yes, search away  B) Skip — keep this session private
If B: skip this phase entirely and proceed to Phase 3. Use only in-distribution knowledge.

When searching, use **generalized category terms** — never the user's specific product name, proprietary concept, or stealth idea. For example, search "task management app landscape" not "SuperTodo AI-powered task killer."

If the Aside check did not print `READY`, run the same searches with the WebSearch tool when the host provides it; with neither, skip this phase and note: "Search unavailable — proceeding with in-distribution knowledge only."

Research through Aside (Web research runs in Aside, above), one read-only request per mode:

**Startup mode:** search for:
- "[problem space] startup approach {current year}"
- "[problem space] common mistakes"
- "why [incumbent solution] fails" OR "why [incumbent solution] works"

**Builder mode:** search for:
- "[thing being built] existing solutions"
- "[thing being built] open source alternatives"
- "best [thing category] {current year}"

```bash
{{ASIDE_EXEC_PRELUDE}}
_aside_exec "Search the web for [problem space] startup approach {current year}, [problem space] common mistakes, and why [incumbent solution] works or fails. Read-only: do not sign in, submit, or change anything. Reply with up to 8 bullets, each with its source URL, then stop."
```

Read the top 2-3 sources it cites. Run the three-layer synthesis:
- **[Layer 1]** What does everyone already know about this space?
- **[Layer 2]** What are the search results and current discourse saying?
- **[Layer 3]** Given what WE learned in Phase 2A/2B — is there a reason the conventional approach is wrong?

**Eureka check:** If Layer 3 reasoning reveals a genuine insight, name it: "EUREKA: Everyone does X because they assume [assumption]. But [evidence from our conversation] suggests that's wrong here. This means [implication]." Log the eureka moment (see preamble).

If no eureka moment exists, say: "The conventional wisdom seems sound here. Let's build on it." Proceed to Phase 3.

**Important:** This search feeds Phase 3 (Premise Challenge). If you found reasons the conventional approach fails, those become premises to challenge. If conventional wisdom is solid, that raises the bar for any premise that contradicts it.

---

## Phase 3: Premise Challenge

Before proposing solutions, challenge the premises:

1. **Is this the right problem?** Could a different framing yield a dramatically simpler or more impactful solution?
2. **What happens if we do nothing?** Real pain point or hypothetical one?
3. **What existing code already partially solves this?** Map existing patterns, utilities, and flows that could be reused.
4. **If the deliverable is a new artifact** (CLI binary, library, package, container image, mobile app): **how will users get it?** Code without distribution is code nobody can use. The design must include a distribution channel (GitHub Releases, package manager, container registry, app store) and CI/CD pipeline — or explicitly defer it.
5. **Startup mode only:** Synthesize the diagnostic evidence from Phase 2A. Does it support this direction? Where are the gaps?

Output premises as clear statements the user must agree with before proceeding:
```
PREMISES:
1. [statement] — agree/disagree?
2. [statement] — agree/disagree?
3. [statement] — agree/disagree?
```

Use AskUserQuestion to confirm. If the user disagrees with a premise, revise understanding and loop back.

---

{{CODEX_SECOND_OPINION}}

---

## Phase 4: Alternatives Generation (MANDATORY)

Produce 2-3 distinct implementation approaches. This is NOT optional.

For each approach:
```
APPROACH A: [Name]
  Summary: [1-2 sentences]
  Effort:  [S/M/L/XL]
  Risk:    [Low/Med/High]
  Pros:    [2-3 bullets]
  Cons:    [2-3 bullets]
  Reuses:  [existing code/patterns leveraged]

APPROACH B: [Name]
  ...

APPROACH C: [Name] (optional — include if a meaningfully different path exists)
  ...
```

Rules:
- At least 2 approaches required. 3 preferred for non-trivial designs.
- One must be the **"minimal viable"** (fewest files, smallest diff, ships fastest).
- One must be the **"ideal architecture"** (best long-term trajectory, most elegant).
- One can be **creative/lateral** (unexpected approach, different framing of the problem).
- If the second opinion (Codex or Claude subagent) proposed a prototype in Phase 3.5, consider using it as a starting point for the creative/lateral approach.

**RECOMMENDATION:** Choose [X] because [one-line reason mapped to the founder's stated goal].

Emit ONE AskUserQuestion that lists every alternative (A/B and optionally C) as numbered options, using the preamble's AskUserQuestion Format section. The AskUserQuestion call is a tool_use, not prose — write the question text and call the tool.

**STOP.** Do NOT proceed to Phase 4.5 (Founder Signal Synthesis), Phase 5 (Design Doc), Phase 6 (Closing), or any design-doc generation until the user responds. A "clearly winning approach" is still an approach decision and still needs explicit user approval before it lands in the design doc. Writing the recommendation in chat prose and continuing forward is the failure mode this gate exists to prevent.

---

{{DESIGN_MOCKUP}}

{{DESIGN_SKETCH}}

---

## Phase 4.5: Founder Signal Synthesis

Before writing the design doc, synthesize the founder signals you observed during the session. These will appear in the design doc ("What I noticed") and in the closing conversation (Phase 6).

Track which of these signals appeared during the session:
- Articulated a **real problem** someone actually has (not hypothetical)
- Named **specific users** (people, not categories — "Sarah at Acme Corp" not "enterprises")
- **Pushed back** on premises (conviction, not compliance)
- Their project solves a problem **other people need**
- Has **domain expertise** — knows this space from the inside
- Showed **taste** — cared about getting the details right
- Showed **agency** — actually building, not just planning
- **Defended premise with reasoning** against cross-model challenge (kept original premise when Codex disagreed AND articulated specific reasoning for why — dismissal without reasoning does not count)

Count the signals. You'll use this count in Phase 6 to determine which tier of closing message to use.

### Builder Profile Append

After counting signals, append a session entry to the builder profile. This is the single
source of truth for all closing state (tier, resource dedup, journey tracking). The
`gstack-developer-profile --log-session` binary handles its own directory creation
and writes via atomic mktemp+mv to `~/.gstack/developer-profile.json`.

Append one JSON line with these fields (substitute actual values from this session):
- `date`: current ISO 8601 timestamp
- `mode`: "startup" or "builder" (from Phase 1 mode selection)
- `project_slug`: the SLUG value from the preamble
- `signal_count`: number of signals counted above
- `signals`: array of signal names observed (e.g., `["named_users", "pushback", "taste"]`)
- `design_doc`: path to the design doc that will be written in Phase 5 (construct it now)
- `assignment`: the assignment you will give in the design doc's "The Assignment" section
- `resources_shown`: empty array `[]` for now (populated after resource selection in Phase 6)
- `topics`: array of 2-3 topic keywords that describe what this session was about

```bash
~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-developer-profile --log-session '{"date":"TIMESTAMP","mode":"MODE","project_slug":"SLUG","signal_count":N,"signals":SIGNALS_ARRAY,"design_doc":"DOC_PATH","assignment":"ASSIGNMENT_TEXT","resources_shown":[],"topics":TOPICS_ARRAY}' 2>/dev/null || true
```

The session entry is appended to `developer-profile.json`'s `sessions[]` array. A second
session entry with `mode: "resources"` is appended via `--log-session` after resource
selection in Phase 6 Beat 3.5.

---

{{SECTION:design-and-handoff}}

## Section self-check (before you finish)

Confirm you Read every section the Section index named as applying to this run, and executed it in full. The conversation phase is section-backed too — if you ran the diagnostic or brainstorm from memory without Reading `sections/phase-2a-startup-diagnostic.md` (startup mode) or `sections/phase-2b-builder-brainstorm.md` (builder mode), the questions lost their teeth. The design doc and the handoff are the deliverables — if you produced them from memory without Reading `sections/design-and-handoff.md`, stop and Read it now.

---

{{LEARNINGS_LOG}}

## Important Rules

- **Never start implementation.** This skill produces design docs, not code. Not even scaffolding.
- **Questions ONE AT A TIME.** Never batch multiple questions into one AskUserQuestion.
- **The assignment is mandatory.** Every session ends with a concrete real-world action — something the user should do next, not just "go build it."
- **If user provides a fully formed plan:** skip Phase 2 (questioning) but still run Phase 3 (Premise Challenge) and Phase 4 (Alternatives). Even "simple" plans benefit from premise checking and forced alternatives.
- **Completion status:**
  - DONE — design doc APPROVED
  - DONE_WITH_CONCERNS — design doc approved but with open questions listed
  - NEEDS_CONTEXT — user left questions unanswered, design incomplete