/project-idea-validator-skill

name: project-idea-validator
description: Researches any project idea against live data from GitHub and Dev.to to surface what already exists, how mature the space is, and where the real opportunity lives. Use when a developer describes something they want to build and wants to know if it's been done before. Triggers on phrases like "validate my idea", "has this been built", "is this already a thing", "what exists for X", "should I build this", "is this idea original", "check if my project exists", "what are the alternatives to what I want to build", "is the market saturated for X", or any request to research the competitive landscape before starting a project.

Project Idea Validator — Discover What Already Exists Before You Build

You have access to the TinyFish CLI (`tinyfish`), a tool that runs browser automations from the terminal using natural language goals. This skill uses it to search GitHub and Dev.to in parallel, then synthesizes results into a gap analysis report.

Pre-flight Check (REQUIRED)

Before making any TinyFish call, always run BOTH checks:

**1. CLI installed?**

PowerShell:

Get-Command tinyfish; tinyfish --version

bash/zsh:

which tinyfish && tinyfish --version || echo "TINYFISH_CLI_NOT_INSTALLED"

If not installed, stop and tell the user: > Install the TinyFish CLI: `npm install -g @tiny-fish/cli`

**2. Authenticated?**

tinyfish auth status

If not authenticated, stop and tell the user:

> You need a TinyFish API key. Get one at: https://agent.tinyfish.ai/api-keys > > Then authenticate: > > **Option 1 — CLI login (interactive):** > ``` > tinyfish auth login > ``` > > **Option 2 — PowerShell (current session only):** > ```powershell > $env:TINYFISH_API_KEY="your_api_key_here" > ``` > > **Option 3 — PowerShell (persist across sessions):** > ```powershell > [System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("TINYFISH_API_KEY", "your_api_key_here", "User") > ``` > Then close and reopen PowerShell for it to take effect. > > **Option 4 — bash/zsh (Mac/Linux):** > ```bash > export TINYFISH_API_KEY="your_api_key_here" > ``` > > **Option 5 — Claude Code settings:** Add to `~/.claude/settings.local.json`: > ```json > { > "env": { > "TINYFISH_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here" > } > } > ```

Do NOT proceed until both checks pass.

---

What This Skill Does

Given a project idea (e.g. *"a CLI tool that converts Figma designs to Tailwind components"*), this skill:

1. Searches **GitHub** for existing repos with similar purpose, tech stack, or keywords 2. Searches **Dev.to** for articles, tutorials, or project showcases covering the same problem

It then synthesizes findings into a structured gap analysis: what exists, how mature it is, and where the opportunity still lives.

---

Core Command

tinyfish agent run --url <url> "<goal>"

Flags

| Flag | Purpose | |------|---------| | `--url <url>` | Target website URL | | `--sync` | Wait for full result (no streaming) | | `--async` | Submit and return immediately | | `--pretty` | Human-readable formatted output |

---

Step-by-Step Workflow

Step 1 — Search GitHub

Search for existing repositories matching the idea. Run with `--sync` since you need the full list before synthesizing.

tinyfish agent run --sync --url "https://github.com/search?q=<keywords>&type=repositories&s=stars&o=desc" \
  "Extract the top 10 search results as JSON: [{\"name\": str, \"owner\": str, \"description\": str, \"stars\": str, \"url\": str, \"last_updated\": str}]"

**Example for a Figma-to-Tailwind CLI idea:**

tinyfish agent run --sync \
  --url "https://github.com/search?q=figma+tailwind+cli&type=repositories&s=stars&o=desc" \
  "Extract the top 10 repositories as JSON: [{\"name\": str, \"owner\": str, \"description\": str, \"stars\": str, \"url\": str, \"last_updated\": str}]"

---

Step 2 — Search Dev.to

Search for articles and project posts covering the same problem space. Run in parallel with Step 1 results processing.

tinyfish agent run --sync --url "https://dev.to/search?q=<keywords>" \
  "Extract the top 10 articles as JSON: [{\"title\": str, \"author\": str, \"tags\": [str], \"published_at\": str, \"url\": str, \"reactions\": str}]"

**Example:**

tinyfish agent run --sync \
  --url "https://dev.to/search?q=figma+tailwind+component+generator" \
  "Extract the top 10 articles as JSON: [{\"title\": str, \"author\": str, \"tags\": [str], \"published_at\": str, \"url\": str, \"reactions\": str}]"

---

Parallel Execution

Steps 1 and 2 are independent — run them at the same time. Do NOT wait for GitHub before starting Dev.to.

**Good — Parallel calls:**

# Fire both simultaneously
tinyfish agent run --sync --url "https://github.com/search?q=<keywords>&type=repositories&s=stars&o=desc" \
  "Extract top 10 repositories as JSON: [{\"name\": str, \"owner\": str, \"description\": str, \"stars\": str, \"url\": str, \"last_updated\": str}]" &

tinyfish agent run --sync --url "https://dev.to/search?q=<keywords>" \
  "Extract top 10 articles as JSON: [{\"title\": str, \"author\": str, \"url\": str, \"reactions\": str}]" &

wait

**Bad — Sequential calls:**

# Don't do this — wastes time and gives the same results
tinyfish agent run --url "https://github.com/..." "...also search Dev.to..."

Each source is its own call. Always.

---

Step 3 — Synthesize Into a Gap Analysis

Once both sources return results, synthesize findings into this structure:

## Project Idea Validation: <idea title>

### What Already Exists
- <project/article> — <what it does, stars/reactions, last active>
- ...

### Maturity Assessment
- GitHub: <active / abandoned / fragmented>
- Dev.to coverage: <heavy / moderate / sparse>

### Gaps & Opportunities
- <specific gap #1>
- <specific gap #2>
- ...

### Verdict
<1–2 sentences: is the space crowded, open, or ripe for a better take?>

Use the raw JSON from both sourc