PlugWiki

grill-me Skill for Claude: What It Does and How to Install It

Makes Claude interview you about a plan or idea, round by round, until every decision is settled. Works in Claude Code, Codex and more.

Installs
1.5M
on skills.sh
Stars
309.2K
on GitHub
Files
1
besides SKILL.md
Updated
Nov 2026
last repo commit

grill-me makes Claude interview you about a plan until every decision is pinned down. You type /grill-me (or /mattpocock-skills:grill-me after a plugin install) and describe your idea, and it asks numbered rounds of questions, each with a suggested answer you can accept by saying yes. It only works if the separate grilling skill is installed too, so install the whole set and not grill-me alone. It never starts by itself, and it writes no files.

Good for

  • Anyone with a half-formed plan who wants it tested before building
  • Developers who want a feature thought through before the agent writes code
  • People deciding something with no code involved, like a business call or a piece of writing
  • Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode users who already run skills

Install grill-me

Claude Code

  1. 1

    Copy this prompt.

    Install the grill-me 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.

Pick one route, not both, or you get every skill twice. The plugin installs all 21 skills and updates itself. The skills CLI route must name grilling too: an open issue (#1319) shows grill-me installed alone cannot find grilling and falls back to an improvised interview. Claude Code names plugin skills /plugin-name:skill-name, so after the plugin install the full name is /mattpocock-skills:grill-me; the listing says /grill-me, which is not confirmed for plugin installs. The README also asks you to run /setup-matt-pocock-skills once per repo.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

A relentless interview to sharpen a plan or design.

Key facts

Author
Matt Pocock
License
MIT
Installs on skills.sh
1,475,928 (Nov 1, 2026)
GitHub stars
309,120 (Nov 1, 2026)
What installs
One text file that calls the grilling skill, plus Codex display metadata
Needs
The grilling skill from the same repo; no scripts, keys or network
Starts
Only when you type /grill-me
Last commit
Nov 1, 2026
Works in
Claude Code, Codex, Copilot CLI, VS Code, Gemini CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, Windsurf

What it includes

  • Starts a relentless interview about your plan or idea until every decision is settled

    You type /grill-me and describe an idea. The skill hands off to the grilling interview. It never starts on its own; you have to call it.

    Try: “/grill-me my idea here”

    Read · /grill-me

  • Breaks your plan into decisions and the decisions that depend on them

    The agent models your idea as a tree: each decision branches into the decisions that hang off it. That tree decides which questions it can ask now and which must wait.

    Map the design tree

  • Asks every question that is ready now in one numbered round, then waits for you

    Each round holds only questions whose prerequisites are already answered, numbered Q1, Q2 and so on. You answer the whole round by number, then it works out the next round from your answers.

    Ask in rounds

  • Gives its own suggested answer under each question so you can reply "yes"

    Every question comes with the agent's recommendation on its own line, worded so "yes" accepts it. Push back when you disagree; the author warns that nodding along to every question defeats the point.

    Recommended answers

  • Sends a helper agent to check files or tools instead of asking you

    If a question needs a fact the environment can answer, the agent dispatches a sub-agent with a fresh context to find it. Only questions that depend on that fact wait; the rest of the round goes ahead.

    Files · Look up facts itself

  • Stops when nothing is left open and waits for you to confirm before acting

    The session is done when every branch has been visited. The agent then must not act until you confirm you share the same understanding. Some users report a bare "yes" is taken as go-ahead to code.

    Confirmation gate

  • Codex display name and a switch that stops Codex starting it by itself

    A small metadata file for Codex and the ChatGPT desktop app: shows the skill as "Grill Me" with a short description, and sets allow_implicit_invocation to false so it only runs when you call it.

    agents/openai.yaml

  • Interview engine grill-me calls; Claude can start it when you ask to be grilled

    Related skill from the same set. The interview engine grill-me calls; it can also be started by Claude when you ask to be grilled.

    Read · grilling

  • Same interview inside a repo; records terms and decisions in docs files

    Related skill from the same set. Same interview inside a repo; records terms in GLOSSARY.md and decisions as ADRs.

    Write · grill-with-docs

  • For work too big for one session; maps decisions and grills inside each

    Related skill from the same set. For work too big for one session: maps decision tickets and grills inside each one.

    wayfinder

  • The reverse: turns a decision only someone else can make into a questionnaire

    Related skill from the same set. The reverse: turns a decision only someone else can make into a questionnaire for them.

    to-questionnaire

From the official docs

What people say

People say it changes how they plan with coding agents, and complain about the second-skill setup and the multi-question rounds.

What people like

  • Some users call it the one skill in the set that changed how they work with coding agents.
  • Less experienced programmers say it helps them refine ideas before building.
  • It works outside coding too, from business calls to writing.

Common complaints

  • Several questions per round feels unusable to some, who switch back to one at a time.
  • A lone install of grill-me silently falls back to an improvised interview.
  • It can treat a bare "yes" on the summary as permission to start coding.

In their words

GitHub issueOct 2026
“I tried many of these skills and only one really changed how I use coding agents, `grill-me`.”
jamestjspHacker NewsOct 2026
“Similarly I like the /grill-me skill by Matt Pocock. As a mediocre programmer, they help me get my ideas refined, documented and implemented.”
michelbGitHub issueOct 2026
“CC says the skill grilling does not exist and that it will default to CC running the grilling session.”
SirmisaGitHub issueOct 2026
“tried removing it and it is completely unusable in this multi question mode.”
Yamahari
1 more quote
GitHub issueOct 2026
“I replied `lgtm` to the summary, and the agent started editing code. I had not asked for implementation.”
cazador481

Examples

  • Stress-test a feature idea before any code is written

    /grill-me I want to add a --branch option to our CLI submit command

    Source

  • Start from a vague idea and make it concrete

    /grill-me my idea here

    Source

  • The original non-coding prompt the skill grew from

    Interview me relentlessly about every aspect of this until we reach a shared understanding.

    Source

  • Decide something with no repo, like a business call

    /grill-me I am deciding whether to take on a second client or keep my schedule free

Questions

How do I install grill-me?

In Claude Code, the README's route is claude plugin install mattpocock-skills@claude-plugins-official, which installs the whole set. With the skills CLI, name both skills: npx skills add mattpocock/skills --skill grill-me --skill grilling, because grill-me only hands off to grilling. Pick one route per agent or you get every skill twice.

How do I use grill-me?

Open a fresh conversation, turn plan mode off, and type /grill-me followed by your idea. Claude never starts it on its own. After a plugin install, Claude Code names plugin skills /plugin-name:skill-name, so use /mattpocock-skills:grill-me if /grill-me is not found. Answer each numbered round by number, and push back when you disagree with a suggested answer.

Why does Claude say the grilling skill does not exist?

grill-me is one line that calls a second skill named grilling. If only grill-me is installed, Claude cannot find it and improvises its own interview. Install grilling as well, or install the whole set.

Does grill-me work in Claude.ai or the Claude app?

The author does not document it. Claude lets you upload custom skills as a ZIP, but grill-me only calls grilling, so you would need to upload grilling too.

Does grill-me work in Codex?

Yes, the README documents a Codex install, and the skill ships a small file that stops Codex from starting it on its own. An open issue says Codex cannot load grilling as grill-me is written. Telling Codex to read the grilling SKILL.md and follow it works around that.

Does grill-me work in Cursor, OpenCode or Copilot?

The README documents installs for Cursor, OpenCode, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot (CLI and VS Code) and Gemini CLI. Cursor, OpenCode and Windsurf go through the skills CLI with the agent name after -a.

Is grill-me safe?

Yes, it is plain text instructions. It has no scripts, no network calls and no keys, and it writes no files. All three skills.sh audits pass: Gen Agent Trust Hub, Socket and Snyk. To answer factual questions it can send a helper agent to read your files, within your client's normal permissions. One open issue reports Claude starting to code after a bare "yes" or "lgtm" on the final summary, so reply with an explicit instruction.

grill-me vs grill-with-docs?

Use grill-me for any plan, with or without a repo. It writes nothing. grill-with-docs runs the same interview inside a codebase and records agreed terms in GLOSSARY.md and hard decisions as ADRs. It needs grilling and domain-modeling installed.

Can I make it ask one question at a time?

Yes. Add the line "When grilling, ask one question at a time." to your global CLAUDE.md. The default asks every question that is ready in one numbered round.

How long does a grill-me session take?

The author says to count rounds, not questions: about 46 questions over four rounds is ordinary. If it asks hundreds, the scope is too big, so split it and grill each piece.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository
mattpocock/skills
Folder
skills/productivity/grill-me

The /grill-me Skill (AI Hero)mattpocock/skillsskills.sh

Sources

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

Show all 23
  1. github.com · github.com
  2. github.com · github.com
  3. github.com · github.com
  4. Matt Pocock's Skills (Claude plugin marketplace) · claude.com
  5. Claude Code skills · code.claude.com
  6. github.com · github.com
  7. github.com · github.com
  8. github.com · github.com
  9. github.com · github.com
  10. grill-me on skills.sh · skills.sh
  11. MIT license · github.com
  12. github.com · github.com
  13. github.com · github.com
  14. AI Hero · aihero.dev
  15. mattpocock/skills · github.com
  16. github.com · github.com
  17. github.com · github.com
  18. support.claude.com · support.claude.com
  19. github.com · github.com
  20. github.com · github.com
  21. news.ycombinator.com · news.ycombinator.com
  22. github.com · github.com
  23. www.aihero.dev · aihero.dev

Updated Nov 2, 2026.