/principle-exhaust-the-design-space
Apply when facing a novel UI interaction or architectural decision with no precedent in the codebase. Build 2-3 competing prototypes and compare side by side before committing.
$ npx -y skills add cursor/plugins --skill principle-exhaust-the-design-space --agent claude-codeHow it fires
How this skill gets triggered: by you, by Claude, or both.
- Fires itselfAuto-invocation. Claude auto-loads it when your prompt matches the work.Auto-invocation is when the right skill fires by itself at the right moment, driven by a FLOW.md router and a hook, instead of you invoking it by name. It is the difference between a skill being installed and a skill actually getting used.Read the full definition →
- You can call itInvoke it directly when you want it.
- Slash command
/principle-exhaust-the-design-space
Context preview
The summary Claude sees to decide when to auto-load this skill.
Apply when facing a novel UI interaction or architectural decision with no precedent in the codebase. Build 2-3 competing prototypes and compare side by side before committing.
SKILL.md
principle-exhaust-the-design-space.SKILL.mdname: principle-exhaust-the-design-space description: "Apply when facing a novel UI interaction or architectural decision with no precedent in the codebase. Build 2-3 competing prototypes and compare side by side before committing." disable-model-invocation: true
Exhaust the Design Space
When a novel interaction or architectural decision has no established precedent, explore several concrete alternatives before implementation. Building the wrong thing costs more than exploring three options.
**The rule.** When the right answer is not obvious, build 2-3 competing prototypes or sketches. Compare them side by side. Only then commit. Design it twice is this rule by another name. A second flavor of the first shape does not count.
**When it applies:**
- Novel UI interactions (no prior art in the codebase)
- Architectural choices with multiple viable approaches
- Product design decisions where user experience depends on feel, not logic
**When it doesn't:**
- Mechanical implementation where the pattern is established
- Bug fixes or refactors with a clear target state
- Changes where constraints dictate a single viable approach
Official Cursor plugins for popular developer tools, frameworks, and SaaS products. Each plugin is a standalone directory at the repository root with its own .cursor-plugin/plugin.json manifest.
Repo: cursor/plugins
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