SecondBrain/matt-pocock-skills-v1-1-changes.md

---
type: reference
title: Matt Pocock skills repo — v1.1 changes
summary: What changed in mattpocock/skills v1.1 — skill renames (to-prd→to-spec, to-issues→to-tickets), new lifecycle skills (implement, wayfinder, research, prototype), refactor-smell additions to code-review, and TDD simplified to red-green only.
tags:
  - type/reference
  - tool/mattpocock-skills
  - domain/agent-skills
  - domain/sdlc-workflow
scope: global
last_updated: 2026-07-14
date: 2026-07-14
source: cc-os
---

Source: transcript of Matt Pocock's YouTube video announcing v1.1 of the `mattpocock/skills`
repo (merged live during the video). Captured while cc-os was evaluating whether/how to pull
v1.1 changes into its own marketplace skills.

## Renames

- **`to-prd` → `to-spec`** — what the skill produced was never a true PRD; "specification" is
  the broader, more accurate term (can be technical, non-technical, or a blend).
- **`to-issues` → `to-tickets`** — "issues" felt biased toward GitHub/Linear terminology.
  New mental model: a **spec** defines the destination; **tickets** are the journey to enact it.
- Migration note: old installs won't auto-update on rename. Run
  `npx skills@latest add mattpocock/skills` and manually re-check the skills folder for
  leftover old-named skills — the installer won't detect that `to-prd` became `to-spec`.

## Grilling skill fixes

Shared reference "grilling" skill (used by `grill-me` and `grill-with-docs`) got three fixes:
1. Sharpened "asking multiple questions at once is bewildering" — models were still
   occasionally asking multiple questions despite prior one-at-a-time direction.
2. Added an explicit confirmation gate: "do not enact the plan until I confirm we've reached
   a shared understanding" — some models were skipping straight to implementation after
   grilling ended.
3. Fixed the model "grilling itself" (answering its own questions by exploring the codebase
   instead of asking the user), notably with Fable — fixed by distinguishing **facts**
   (agent finds by exploring code) from **decisions** (must come from the user) in the wording.

## New end-to-end lifecycle flow

Previously the skill set was "primarily a planning process" with no implementation hand-holding.
v1.1 adds a full flow:

1. **Grill** (via `grill-with-docs` or the new `wayfinder`) → produces a glossary + ADRs.
2. **`to-spec`** — turns grilled material into a spec (the destination).
3. **`to-tickets`** — splits the spec into individually-workable tickets.
4. **`implement`** (new, deliberately minimal) — "Implement the work described by the user in
   the spec or tickets. Use TDD where possible at pre-agreed seams. Run type checking
   regularly. Single test files regularly. Full test sweep once at the end. Once done, use
   code review to review the work and then commit your work to the current branch."
5. `implement` calls **`code-review`** automatically, then commits.

## code-review: refactor-smell axis

`code-review` runs two axes as **parallel sub-agents**:
1. **Standards axis** — checks code against a repo's own `coding-standards.md`-type file
   (Matt's opinion: coding standards belong in a separate file, not folded into
   `AGENTS.md`/`CLAUDE.md`, precisely because code review is where they're most useful).
2. **Spec axis** — does the code faithfully implement the originating issue/PRD/spec?

New in v1.1: incorporates Martin Fowler's *Refactoring* smell taxonomy (mysterious name,
duplicated code, feature envy, data clumps, primitive obsession, repeated switches, divergent
change, speculative generality, message chains, middleman, etc.) — just *naming* the smells in
the prompt is enough to reliably surface them, since they're deep in the model's training
prior. Matt reports this was "outrageously useful" after a couple weeks of use, for ~10 lines
of added prompt.

## New skill: wayfinder

For plans too big for one agent session (would blow past context/"smart zone"). Positioned as
a **replacement for `grill-with-docs`** in those cases — Matt's explicit default recommendation
is to reach for wayfinder over `grill-with-docs` whenever the plan is large.

- Charts the plan as a shared map on the repo's **issue tracker** (GitHub issues), with
  sub-issues tracking individual decisions and blocking relationships between them, each
  sized to one agent session.
- Ticket types: **research** (AFK — agent researches, returns with findings), **grilling**
  (needs a grilling session), **prototype** (build a cheap concrete artifact — UI or logic —
  when "how should it look/behave" is a key question; recommended for anything touching
  front-end code), **tasks** (config/provisioning/data-moving — mechanical, not AI-automatable).
- Once all tickets close, the accumulated map feeds into `to-spec` as normal.
- Advantage claimed over `grill-with-docs`: removes the anxiety of manually managing
  session/context limits — "I just get to close a session, open up the next wayfinder ticket."
  Saved in GitHub so it's collaborative/shareable across a team.

## New supporting skills

- **`research`** — spins up a background agent to investigate a question against primary
  sources, writes findings to a markdown file matching the repo's existing note convention.
  Usable standalone or as a wayfinder ticket type.
- **`prototype`** — now **model-invoked** (so wayfinder can call it directly). Offers a choice
  between a **logic** prototype and a **UI/state** prototype.

## TDD skill simplified

- Previously prescribed specific procedural steps (e.g. confirm which tests to write, walk
  through them) — this didn't fit the expectation that an AFK agent should be able to run TDD
  unattended.
- Now **reference material only**: red before green, one slice at a time — no other
  prescribed steps.
- **Refactoring removed from the TDD loop entirely** — it's "red green," not "red green
  refactor." Matt's rationale: refactoring belongs in `code-review` instead, so the
  implementation step doesn't get overloaded.

## Migration guidance (from Matt)

If nervous about missing updates: clear out all skills and run `npx skills update` to grab the
new set. If you've customized your own forked skills, point your coding agent at the
`mattpocock/skills` repo release notes and ask it to pull down the relevant new material.

## Related

- Evaluated for adoption into cc-os's own marketplace skills (2026-07-14) — see cc-os repo
  history/backlog for the adoption decision, not duplicated here.