/quickviz

name: quickviz
license: MIT
compatibility: "Claude Code 2.1.220+."
description: "Render an answer as ASCII art plus semantic emojis inline, right now, with no setup questions. Use for a fast visual take on status, comparisons, trade-offs, architecture, or any ad-hoc 'show me X visually' ask. For a full multi-artifact plan playground, use visualize-plan instead."
tags: [ascii, diagrams, visualization, box-drawing, terminal, quick]
version: 2.0.0
author: OrchestKit
user-invocable: true
disable-model-invocation: false
context: inherit
allowed-tools: [Read, Grep, Glob]
argument-hint: "[topic-to-render]"
complexity: low
persuasion-type: reference
effort: low
metadata:
  category: document-asset-creation

Quickviz

Render the answer as ASCII art plus semantic emojis, inline, immediately. All output renders in a monospace terminal with no external tools.

**Core principle:** Encode information into structure, not decoration. Every diagram element should communicate something meaningful.

Execution (run this, do not ask first)

The whole point is speed, so there is no setup phase.

**With no argument, the topic is the current conversation.** Measured over a real 13-prompt session: zero asks supplied a self-contained topic, and the one direct invocation passed nothing at all. `/ork:quickviz` on its own means "render where we are right now" — the open work, the decision just reached, the state of the thing being discussed. Render that; do not ask what to draw.

Given a topic (or the conversation, when none is given):

1. **Render immediately.** Do NOT call `AskUserQuestion` to pick a format, do NOT call `TaskCreate`, do NOT spawn an `Agent`. Choose the form yourself from the topic shape and draw it. Asking first defeats the skill. 2. **Pick the form from the shape of the data**, using the pattern library below:

| Topic shape | Form | |---|---| | state / progress / health | status box + bar meters | | A vs B, options, trade-offs | comparison table or side-by-side boxes | | steps, pipeline, hand-offs | left-to-right flow with `──▶` | | containment, layers, layout | nested boxes / tree | | ranked list, scores, counts | table + bar meters | | over time | sparkline or milestone track |

3. **Emit inline in the reply.** Never write a file unless the user asked for one. This is a chat answer, not an artifact. 4. **Use the 12-emoji semantic set and box-drawing vocabulary** defined in `rules/visual-style.md` (shipped with this skill). Semantic, never decorative: an emoji must mean something (✅ pass, ❌ fail, ⚠️ risk, 🔴 blocked). 5. **Lead with the answer.** The visual comes first; prose after it only if it adds something the diagram cannot carry. 6. **Stay honest.** If a number is unknown, print `?` rather than inventing one. A confident-looking chart built on guesses is worse than prose.

**When NOT to use this skill:** if the deliverable is a multi-section HTML playground, a persisted plan artifact, or anything needing file output, use `visualize-plan` instead. Quickviz is the cheap inline path; visualize-plan is the full pipeline.

Box-Drawing Character Reference

This block intentionally shows multiple sets together as a key. Authors should use ONE set per real diagram; the `single-set` lint rule enforces this on production diagrams.

<!-- ascii-lint-disable: single-set,single-arrow-style,density-min -->

default:   ┌─┐ │ └─┘  ├─┤ ┬ ┴ ┼
emphasis:  ┏━┓ ┃ ┗━┛  ┣━┫ ┳ ┻ ╋
title:     ╔═╗ ║ ╚═╝  ╠═╣ ╦ ╩ ╬
soft:      ╭─╮ │ ╰─╯
portable:  +-+ | +-+  +-+ + + +
Arrows:    → ← ↑ ↓ ─> <─ ──> <──
Blocks:    █ ▓ ░ ▏▎▍▌▋▊▉
Status:    ● ○ ✓ ✗ ⚠ ◆ ◇ ▶ ▷  ↑↓→ ▓▒░  (closed-set vocab — see rules)

Set Conventions (D8: intent-driven naming)

Tokens live in `tokens.json`. Names describe USE not APPEARANCE.

| Set | Characters | Use For | |-----|-----------|---------| | `default` `─│` | Normal boxes and connectors | Most diagrams | | `emphasis` `━┃` | Headers, focus, draw the eye | Key components, outer frames | | `title` `═║` | Document titles | §0-style banners only | | `soft` `╭╮╰╯ ─│` | Status cards, ambient UI | Diff blocks | | `portable` `+-\|` | NO_COLOR / CI / bare TTY | Fallback |

Rename codemod (D8): old `light/heavy/double/rounded/ascii-fallback` → new names above. Old names accepted with warning for one minor release.

Status Glyph Vocabulary

Closed-set v1 of 11 semantic glyphs (`●○✓✗⚠◆◇▶▷ ↑↓→ ▓▒░`). Single source of truth — see `rules/status-glyph-vocabulary.md`. Add-a-glyph process in `CONTRIBUTING.md`.

Diagram Patterns

Architecture Diagrams

┌──────────────┐      ┌──────────────┐
│   Frontend   │─────>│   Backend    │
│   React 19   │      │   FastAPI    │
└──────────────┘      └───────┬──────┘
                              │
                              v
                      ┌──────────────┐
                      │  PostgreSQL  │
                      └──────────────┘

File Trees with Annotations

src/
├── api/
│   ├── routes.py          [M] +45 -12    !! high-traffic path
│   └── schemas.py         [M] +20 -5
├── services/
│   └── billing.py         [A] +180       ** new file
└── tests/
    └── test_billing.py    [A] +120       ** new file

Legend: [A]dd [M]odify [D]elete  !! Risk  ** New

Progress Bars

[████████░░] 80% Complete
+ Design    (2 days)
+ Backend   (5 days)
~ Frontend  (3 days)
- Testing   (pending)

Swimlane / Timeline Diagrams

Backend  ===[Schema]======[API]===========================[Deploy]====>
                |            |                                ^
                |            +------blocks------+             |
                |                               |             |
Frontend ------[Wait]--------[Components]=======[Integration]=+

=== Active work   --- Blocked/waiting   | Dependency

Blast Radius (Concentric Rings)

            Ring 3: Tests (8 files)
       +-------------------------------+
       |    Ring 2: Transitive (5)      |
       |   +------