ideate
Transform ideas into validated, dependency-mapped Linear stories. Activates when user wants to develop a new feature idea, create Linear stories from a concept, brainstorm and plan implementation, or mentions "new feature", "I want to build", "break into stories", "create issues for". Commands: /ideate, /ideate:brainstorm, /ideate:pressure-test, /ideate:plan, /ideate:stories, /ideate:upload, /ideate:setup.
When & Why to Use This Skill
The Ideate skill is a comprehensive Claude agent tool designed to bridge the gap between initial product concepts and technical execution. It automates the end-to-end workflow of feature development by transforming raw ideas into validated, dependency-mapped Linear stories. By integrating brainstorming, rigorous pressure-testing, and implementation planning, this skill ensures that project requirements are structured, risks are mitigated, and tasks are seamlessly synced to Linear for immediate engineering action.
Use Cases
- Product Roadmapping: Convert high-level feature ideas into structured implementation plans and granular tasks with defined acceptance criteria.
- Technical Validation: Conduct 'Pressure Tests' on new concepts to identify scope drift, hidden assumptions, and edge cases before development begins.
- Linear Workflow Automation: Automatically generate and upload parent issues and sub-issues to Linear, including complex 'blocked by' relationships and technical documentation.
- Project Documentation: Maintain a standardized audit trail of the design process by auto-generating design.md, plan.md, and stories.md artifacts for every new feature.
| name | ideate |
|---|---|
| description | Transform ideas into validated, dependency-mapped Linear stories. Activates when user wants to develop a new feature idea, create Linear stories from a concept, brainstorm and plan implementation, or mentions "new feature", "I want to build", "break into stories", "create issues for". Commands: /ideate, /ideate:brainstorm, /ideate:pressure-test, /ideate:plan, /ideate:stories, /ideate:upload, /ideate:setup. |
Ideate Skill
Transforms raw ideas into structured, validated, implementation-ready Linear stories.
Workflow
/ideate "your feature idea"
↓
Phase 1: Brainstorm (superpowers:brainstorming)
↓
Phase 2: Pressure Test (mandatory validation)
↓
Phase 3: Plan (superpowers:writing-plans)
↓
Phase 4: Stories (decompose with dependencies)
↓
Phase 5: Upload (Linear parent + sub-issues)
Commands
/ideate "idea"
Full workflow from idea to Linear stories.
/ideate:brainstorm "idea"
Flesh out idea using superpowers:brainstorming. Creates design.md.
/ideate:pressure-test
Mandatory validation: scope drift, assumptions, risks, YAGNI, edge cases. Requires user sign-off. Creates pressure-test.md.
/ideate:plan
Create implementation plan using superpowers:writing-plans. Creates plan.md.
/ideate:stories
Decompose plan into stories with dependencies and labels. Creates stories.md.
/ideate:upload
Upload to Linear as parent issue + sub-issues with blocking relations.
/ideate:setup
Configure Linear team, project, and default labels.
Artifacts
All phases save to docs/features/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>/:
design.md- Brainstorm outputpressure-test.md- Validation with sign-offplan.md- Implementation planstories.md- Stories with dependenciesui/- Frontend designer output (if applicable)
Story Format
Each story includes:
- Summary (one line)
- Acceptance Criteria (checkboxes)
- Technical Notes
- Test Approach
- Dependencies (blocked by / blocks)
- Labels (auto-suggested)
Linear Integration
- Parent issue: "Feature: [name]"
- Sub-issues: Individual stories
- Blocking relations: Native Linear "blocked by" fields
- Descriptions: Human-readable dependency section
Dependencies
superpowersplugin (brainstorming, writing-plans skills)frontend-designerplugin (if UI features)- Linear MCP server
Configuration
Per-project config in .claude/ideate.local.md:
---
linear_team: "Engineering"
linear_project: "Product Development"
default_labels:
- "from-ideate"
---