Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Grill With Docs agent skill (grill-with-docs)
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
Grill With Docs is an agent skill, a packaged set of instructions that an AI coding agent can load when it is relevant. When you ask the agent to stress-test a plan or design, this skill makes it question you until the idea is sharper, then records the decisions as architecture decision records (ADRs) and a glossary of domain terms. This guide explains what it does, how to install it, how to trigger it and where it falls short, so you can decide whether it fits your work.
Grill With Docsmattpocock/skills · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the grill-with-docs ZIP from our page.
- 2Unzip the folder. Extract it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. Go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the skill.
- 4Describe your plan. Give the agent the plan or design you want challenged.
- 5Ask for the grill. Request a stress test and ask that decisions be recorded as ADRs and a glossary.
- 6Answer the questions. Respond to each follow-up until the design is sharper.
- 7Review the docs. Check the ADRs and glossary entries the agent wrote into your project.
What is the Grill With Docs skill and what does it make the agent do?
The skill's description calls it a relentless interview to sharpen a plan or design. Instead of accepting your first description and starting to build, the agent asks follow-up questions until the idea is clearer.
As decisions come out of that interview, the skill also creates project documentation. The source names two outputs: architecture decision records, which are short notes explaining why a choice was made, and a glossary of domain terms.
- Questions your plan or design before any building starts
- Records decisions as architecture decision records (ADRs)
- Builds a glossary of domain terms as part of the same process
What you need before installing
The listing says the skill requires nothing beyond itself. It does not run scripts and does not use the network. It is a set of instructions, so you need an agent environment that supports skills, such as the Claude apps or Claude Code.
- No extra tools or dependencies are listed
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
Install the skill from the ZIP download
Download the ZIP for grill-with-docs from our page and unzip it. The package contains two files: agents/openai.yaml and SKILL.md.
For a personal install, unzip the folder into ~/.claude/skills/. To limit the skill to one project, unzip it into that project's .claude/skills/ folder.
In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
- Single project install: the project's .claude/skills/ folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload
Trigger the skill with a natural request
The skill is set to disable-model-invocation, so the source does not show the agent picking it up on its own. Ask for it directly in plain language, naming the kind of work you want challenged.
Good requests say what you want stress-tested and that you want the decisions recorded. Give the agent your plan or design in the same message or immediately after.
- "Use grill-with-docs to stress-test this plan for a billing service before I start building."
- "Grill me on this API design and record the decisions as ADRs."
- "Run the grill-with-docs skill on my checkout flow and keep a glossary of the terms we agree on."
Understand what happens when it runs
The SKILL.md file is short. Its only instruction is to call the Skill tool twice, once for "grilling" and once for "domain-modeling". The detailed behaviour therefore lives in those two referenced skills.
Those referenced skills are not included in the files on this page, so their exact behaviour cannot be checked here. Read them yourself before relying on the output format or the questioning style.
- grill-with-docs calls the "grilling" skill for the interview
- It calls the "domain-modeling" skill for the documentation side
Safety notes and limits
The source states that this skill runs no scripts and uses no network. Its own files contain only instructions, so the risk is mainly in what the agent writes to your project docs.
Because the skill is built to create ADRs and a glossary, it is a poor fit for projects that do not keep docs. For quick questions or small tasks, the interview will slow you down.
- No scripts run and no network access, per the listing
- Writes documentation into your project, so review new ADRs and glossary entries
- Not suitable for quick questions or small tasks
What people use it for
- Challenging a service or feature design before any code is written
- Recording why an architecture choice was made as an ADR
- Agreeing on domain terms and capturing them in a glossary during planning
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the grill-with-docs skill?
Download the ZIP from our page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Is grill-with-docs free to use?
The source lists the skill as MIT licensed. The listing does not mention prices, so check the license file in the original repository for the terms.
What does grill-with-docs require?
The listing says it requires nothing beyond the skill files. It runs no scripts and uses no network. You need an agent environment that supports skills.
Does grill-with-docs run scripts or access the internet?
No. The listing states it runs no scripts and uses no network. Its SKILL.md only tells the agent to call two other skills.
What are the referenced grilling and domain-modeling skills?
They are the two skills SKILL.md tells the agent to call. They are not included in these files, so their behaviour cannot be verified here.
When should I pick a different approach instead?
Choose something else for quick questions, small tasks, or projects that do not keep docs, since the skill is built to create ADRs and a glossary.
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Our verdict
Use grill-with-docs if you want a plan challenged before building and want design decisions and domain terms written down as you go. Skip it for quick questions, small tasks, or projects that do not maintain documentation. Because the detailed behaviour sits in two referenced skills that are not included here, read those before you rely on it.
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