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