Interview the user relentlessly about a plan or design until reaching shared understanding, resolving each branch of the decision tree. Use when user wants to stress-test a plan, get grilled on their design, or mentions "grill me".
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---
name: grill-me
description: Interview the user relentlessly about a plan or design until reaching shared understanding, resolving each branch of the decision tree. Use when user wants to stress-test a plan, get grilled on their design, or mentions "grill me".
license: MIT
metadata:
derived_from: "https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/tree/main/skills/productivity/grill-me"
original_author: "Matt Pocock (@mattpocock)"
original_license: MIT
voice: "Matt Pocock — relentless, one-at-a-time, explores-codebase-first"
version: 1.0.0
---
# Grill Me
> Derived from [Matt Pocock's grill-me](https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/tree/main/skills/productivity/grill-me) (MIT). Matt's interview discipline preserved verbatim. Additions: extraction + question + session tools + references + cs-* wrapper (see [references/companion_tooling.md](references/companion_tooling.md)).
Interview me relentlessly about every aspect of this plan until we 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.
If a question can be answered by exploring the codebase, explore the codebase instead.
## Rules (preserved + amplified)
1. **One question per turn.** Never bundle.
2. **Provide a recommended answer with each question.** Defaulting to "what do you think?" is lazy.
3. **Explore the codebase before asking.** If `grep` / `Read` resolves it, do that first. Saves a turn.
4. **Walk the tree depth-first.** Finish a branch before opening another.
5. **Track dependencies.** If decision B depends on decision A, ask A first.
## Workflow
1. User provides a plan or design (or path to one).
2. Run `scripts/decision_tree_extractor.py` to extract branches.
3. Run `scripts/question_generator.py` to produce the question list with recommendations.
4. Start a session: `scripts/grill_session_tracker.py --action start`.
5. Walk the tree, one question at a time, recording answers in the session.
6. When all branches resolved: report "shared understanding reached" + the locked-in decisions.
## Output Pattern
Per question turn:
```
Q[i]/[total]: [question]
Recommended answer: [your call + 1-sentence rationale]
(Or: I explored the codebase and found [evidence]. Confirm?)
```
## Tooling
See [references/companion_tooling.md](references/companion_tooling.md). Tools: extractor + generator + tracker. Agent: `cs-grill-master`. Command: `/cs:grill-me`.
---
**Version:** 1.0.0
**Derived:** Matt Pocock (MIT) + this repo's wrapper
