System & Component Design Skill Skill

System & Component Design Skill

Architecture planning and interface design with industry best practices.

Quick Start

# Architecture design
/sc:design [target] --type architecture

# API specification
/sc:design payment-api --type api --format spec

# Database schema
/sc:design e-commerce --type database --format diagram

Behavioral Flow

Analyze - Examine requirements and existing system context
Plan - Define design approach based on type and format
Design - Create specifications with best practices
Validate - Ensure maintainability and scalability
Document - Generate diagrams and specifications

Flags

| Flag | Type | Default | Description | |------|------|---------|-------------| | --type | string | architecture | architecture, api, component, database | | --format | string | spec | diagram, spec, code |

Evidence Requirements

This skill does NOT require hard evidence. Deliverables are:

Design specifications and diagrams
Interface definitions
Schema documentation

Design Types

Architecture (`--type architecture`)

System structure and component relationships
Scalability and reliability patterns
Service boundaries and communication

API (`--type api`)

RESTful/GraphQL endpoint design
Request/response schemas
Authentication and versioning

Component (`--type component`)

Interface contracts and dependencies
State management patterns
Integration points

Database (`--type database`)

Entity relationships and constraints
Normalization and indexing
Performance considerations

Output Formats

Diagram (`--format diagram`)

ASCII or Mermaid diagrams
Component relationship visualization
Data flow representation

Specification (`--format spec`)

OpenAPI/Swagger for APIs
Detailed interface documentation
Technical requirements

Code (`--format code`)

Interface definitions
Type declarations
Skeleton implementations

Examples

System Architecture

/sc:design user-management --type architecture --format diagram
# Component relationships, data flow, scalability patterns

API Design

/sc:design payment-api --type api --format spec
# OpenAPI spec with endpoints, schemas, auth patterns

Component Interface

/sc:design notification-service --type component --format code
# TypeScript/Python interfaces with clear contracts

Database Schema

/sc:design inventory-db --type database --format diagram
# ER diagrams with relationships and constraints

MCP Integration

PAL MCP (Design Validation)

| Tool | When to Use | Purpose | |------|-------------|---------| | mcp__pal__planner | Architecture planning | Sequential planning with branching for design decisions | | mcp__pal__consensus | Design decisions | Multi-model validation of architectural choices | | mcp__pal__thinkdeep | Complex systems | Deep analysis of system requirements | | mcp__pal__chat | Brainstorming | Collaborative design exploration | | mcp__pal__apilookup | API standards | Get current API design best practices |

PAL Usage Patterns

# Architecture planning
mcp__pal__planner(
    step="Designing microservices architecture for e-commerce platform",
    step_number=1,
    total_steps=4,
    more_steps_needed=True
)

# Validate design with consensus
mcp__pal__consensus(
    models=[
        {"model": "gpt-5.2", "stance": "for"},
        {"model": "gemini-3-pro", "stance": "against"},
        {"model": "deepseek", "stance": "neutral"}
    ],
    step="Evaluate: Should we use event sourcing for the order management system?"
)

# Deep system analysis
mcp__pal__thinkdeep(
    step="Analyzing scalability requirements for real-time notification system",
    hypothesis="WebSocket with Redis pub/sub will handle 100k concurrent users",
    confidence="medium",
    focus_areas=["scalability", "reliability", "performance"]
)

Rube MCP (Documentation & Collaboration)

| Tool | When to Use | Purpose | |------|-------------|---------| | mcp__rube__RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS | External tools | Find diagramming, documentation tools | | mcp__rube__RUBE_MULTI_EXECUTE_TOOL | Share designs | Post to Notion, Confluence, Slack | | mcp__rube__RUBE_CREATE_UPDATE_RECIPE | Design workflows | Save reusable design processes |

Rube Usage Patterns

# Create design document in Notion
mcp__rube__RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS(queries=[
    {"use_case": "create notion page", "known_fields": "database:Architecture"}
])

mcp__rube__RUBE_MULTI_EXECUTE_TOOL(tools=[
    {"tool_slug": "NOTION_CREATE_PAGE", "arguments": {
        "title": "Payment API Design v2",
        "content": "## Overview\n..."
    }}
])

# Share design for review
mcp__rube__RUBE_MULTI_EXECUTE_TOOL(tools=[
    {"tool_slug": "SLACK_SEND_MESSAGE", "arguments": {
        "channel": "#architecture",
        "text": "New design ready for review: Payment API v2"
    }},
    {"tool_slug": "JIRA_CREATE_ISSUE", "arguments": {
        "project": "ARCH",
        "summary": "Review: Payment API Design",
        "issue_type": "Task"
    }}
])

Flags (Extended)

| Flag | Type | Default | Description | |------|------|---------|-------------| | --pal-plan | bool | false | Use PAL planner for systematic design | | --consensus | bool | false | Validate design with multi-model consensus | | --share | string | - | Share via Rube (notion, confluence, slack) | | --create-ticket | bool | false | Create review ticket via Rube |

Tool Coordination

Read - Requirements analysis
Grep/Glob - Pattern analysis
Write - Design documentation
Bash - External tool integration
PAL MCP - Design planning, consensus validation, deep analysis
Rube MCP - Documentation sharing, collaboration, review workflows

Agent Skills: System & Component Design Skill

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