What is mattpocock/skills

mattpocock/skills is a command pack from TypeScript educator Matt Pocock that imposes structured workflows on AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, Copilot, etc.). After installing, you invoke any command in the terminal with /command-name.

It targets the core failure mode of vibe coding: agents that write too fast, too freely, explain too much, and occasionally run destructive commands — projects that fly in week one and rot by week six.

What is vibe coding

Vibe coding is the practice of handing natural-language requirements directly to an AI agent and letting it generate and run code on the fly. Fast to start, but it skips requirement decomposition, tests, and version-control safety. Code quality tracks the agent's mood.

What commands does mattpocock/skills include

Roughly 10 core commands, organized into four jobs:

1. Plan and design

/grill-with-docs (or /grill-me) — the agent interrogates you, drains ambiguity, and produces a project-specific vocabulary file
/to-prd — turns a conversation into a standard PRD
/to-issues — splits a PRD into atomic, ship-today tickets

2. Build flow

/tdd — strict test-driven development: failing test → minimum passing code → refactor
/prototype — quick disposable prototype in an isolated branch

3. Efficiency and handoff

/caveman — minimal-output mode. Tech terms only, no filler, lower token bill
/handoff — compresses current session state into a paste-sized note for the next agent

4. Diagnostics and guardrails

/diagnose — systematic bug reproduction, isolation, and repair
/git-guardrails-claude-code — blocks destructive commands like git push --force and git clean -f at the shell level

5. Legacy refactor

/improve-codebase-architecture — reads the codebase and surfaces bloat and refactor candidates

Which commands matter most for beginners

Four commands cover roughly 80% of daily use:

Before any new feature: /grill-with-docs drains requirements
During implementation: /tdd forces tests alongside code
When bugs hit: /diagnose for rigorous repro, not guesswork
When the agent rambles: /caveman shuts it up

Why is it the opposite of vibe coding

Vibe coding is "by feel"; mattpocock/skills is "by process."

Each command maps to an engineering discipline industrial teams have practiced for decades — plan before code, test before implementation, reproduce before fix, never mangle git history. The pack is a re-discovery of those habits for developers who started with AI agents.

Does it work with any AI coding tool

Yes. mattpocock/skills is decoupled from any specific agent. Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, GitHub Copilot, and other major AI coding tools can adopt the patterns. /git-guardrails-claude-code is the one Claude-Code-specific guardrail; equivalent shell-blocking mechanisms exist for other agents.

Repository

GitHub: github.com/mattpocock/skills