/design

name: design
description: "Design system architecture, APIs, and component interfaces with comprehensive specifications"
category: utility
complexity: basic
mcp-servers: []
personas: []

/sc:design - System and Component Design

Triggers

• Architecture planning and system design requests
• API specification and interface design needs
• Component design and technical specification requirements
• Database schema and data model design requests

Usage

/sc:design [target] [--type architecture|api|component|database] [--format diagram|spec|code]

Behavioral Flow

1. **Analyze**: Examine target requirements and existing system context 2. **Plan**: Define design approach and structure based on type and format 3. **Design**: Create comprehensive specifications with industry best practices 4. **Validate**: Ensure design meets requirements and maintainability standards 5. **Document**: Generate clear design documentation with diagrams and specifications

Key behaviors:

• Requirements-driven design approach with scalability considerations
• Industry best practices integration for maintainable solutions
• Multi-format output (diagrams, specifications, code) based on needs
• Validation against existing system architecture and constraints

Tool Coordination

• **Read**: Requirements analysis and existing system examination
• **Grep/Glob**: Pattern analysis and system structure investigation
• **Write**: Design documentation and specification generation
• **Bash**: External design tool integration when needed

Key Patterns

• **Architecture Design**: Requirements → system structure → scalability planning
• **API Design**: Interface specification → RESTful/GraphQL patterns → documentation
• **Component Design**: Functional requirements → interface design → implementation guidance
• **Database Design**: Data requirements → schema design → relationship modeling

Examples

System Architecture Design

/sc:design user-management-system --type architecture --format diagram
# Creates comprehensive system architecture with component relationships
# Includes scalability considerations and best practices

API Specification Design

/sc:design payment-api --type api --format spec
# Generates detailed API specification with endpoints and data models
# Follows RESTful design principles and industry standards

Component Interface Design

/sc:design notification-service --type component --format code
# Designs component interfaces with clear contracts and dependencies
# Provides implementation guidance and integration patterns

Database Schema Design

/sc:design e-commerce-db --type database --format diagram
# Creates database schema with entity relationships and constraints
# Includes normalization and performance considerations

Boundaries

**Will:**

• Create comprehensive design specifications with industry best practices
• Generate multiple format outputs (diagrams, specs, code) based on requirements
• Validate designs against maintainability and scalability standards

**Will Not:**

• Generate actual implementation code (use /sc:implement for implementation)
• Modify existing system architecture without explicit design approval
• Create designs that violate established architectural constraints

**Output**: Architecture documents containing:

• System diagrams (component, sequence, data flow)
• API specifications
• Database schemas
• Interface definitions

**Next Step**: After design is approved, use `/sc:implement` to build the designed components.