PlugWiki

ask-matt Skill for Claude Code: A Router for Matt Pocock's Skills

Answers "which skill should I use now?" for the Matt Pocock skills set, and lays out the path from idea to shipped code.

Installs
802.2K
on skills.sh
Stars
309.2K
on GitHub
Files
2
besides SKILL.md
Updated
Nov 2026
last repo commit

ask-matt is a router. You type /ask-matt and describe where you are, and it points you to the skill or flow that fits. The SKILL.md maps one main path, idea to ship, with on-ramps for incoming issues, hard bugs and large foggy efforts, plus a set of standalone skills.

It tells the agent to read a skill's own SKILL.md before it describes the skill or says to skip a step, since its own summaries are only for orientation. It bundles one extra file on phase boundaries and no scripts. It only helps if the skills it names are installed.

Good for

  • People who installed the whole Matt Pocock set and forget what each skill does
  • Developers who want a suggested order for idea, spec, tickets, build and review
  • Teams adopting the set who need a map of it

Install ask-matt

Claude Code

  1. 1

    Copy this prompt.

    Install the ask-matt skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

claude plugin install mattpocock-skills@claude-plugins-official

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.
  2. 2

    Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Install the whole set with the plugin route. ask-matt points you to other skills from the same repo, and the README asks you to run /setup-matt-pocock-skills once per repo so they know your issue tracker. Pick one route per agent, or you get every skill twice. Claude Code names plugin skills /plugin-name:skill-name, so the full name is /mattpocock-skills:ask-matt if /ask-matt is not found.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Ask which skill or flow fits your situation. A router over the skills in this repo.

Sections in SKILL.md

  1. The main flow: idea → ship
  2. Context hygiene
  3. On-ramps
  4. Codebase health
  5. Vocabulary underneath
  6. Phase boundaries
  7. Standalone
  8. Precondition

Key facts

Author
Matt Pocock
Repo
mattpocock/skills
Installs on skills.sh
802,198 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars
309,237 (Nov 2, 2026)
License
MIT
Last repo commit
Nov 1, 2026
Files next to SKILL.md
2 files
skills.sh audits
Gen Agent Trust Hub pass, Socket pass, Snyk pass
Bundled file
PHASE-BOUNDARIES.md

What it includes

  • grill-with-docs, optional prototype, to-spec, to-tickets, build, then retro

    Main flow: idea to ship

  • Triage, diagnosing-bugs and wayfinder start work that merges onto the main flow

    On-ramps

  • /improve-codebase-architecture, for finding deepening work

    Codebase health

  • /domain-modeling and /codebase-design supply shared terms

    Vocabulary underneath

  • /clear, /handoff and /compact, and when each fits between phases

    Read · Phase boundaries

  • grill-me, grilling, prototype, research, wizard, teach and others

    Standalone skills

  • Run /setup-matt-pocock-skills once to set the issue tracker, labels and doc layout

    Precondition

From the official docs

Questions

What does ask-matt do?

It tells you which skill in the Matt Pocock set to use next and in what order. It is a guide, and it does not do the work of the other skills.

How do I install ask-matt?

Use the install box at the top and install the whole set. It names more than a dozen other skills, and its advice is only useful if they are installed.

Will it start by itself?

No. The frontmatter sets disable-model-invocation, so you type /ask-matt.

Does it need setup?

Its Precondition section says to run /setup-matt-pocock-skills before your first engineering flow, so the other skills know your issue tracker and labels.

Does it run scripts or call the network?

It bundles no scripts. It is a router, and the SKILL.md describes no commands of its own.

Is it safe?

It is guidance text with no bundled scripts. The skills it sends you to can edit files and publish issues, so check each one's own page. Skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub pass, Socket pass, Snyk pass.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository
mattpocock/skills
Folder
skills/engineering/ask-matt

mattpocock/skillsskills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 3
  1. mattpocock/skills README · github.com
  2. ask-matt SKILL.md · github.com
  3. ask-matt on skills.sh · skills.sh

Updated Nov 2, 2026.