Turn vague ideas into documented, buildable software projects

Not-a-Vibe-Coder is a skill that turns a vague project idea into eight structured, living planning documents that act as the project's persistent memory across a long context window - PRD.md, TechSpec.md, AppFlow.md, Design.md, Schema.md, ImplementationPlan.md, Tracker.md, and Rules.md.

Use this only for brand-new projects with no existing code - it explicitly aborts if the project already has code files. It's triggered by a one-line idea like "build me a restaurant ordering app" or a fully detailed spec, and it treats the user's live instructions as always overriding the files: if a user's statement contradicts a document, the user wins and the relevant file gets updated to match, never the reverse.

Follows a five-phase workflow: Phase 0 detects intent and aborts on existing codebases; Phase 1 builds PRD.md first through clarifying questions on audience, core features, platform, and must-haves versus nice-to-haves, or a skeleton with placeholders if the user wants to fill it in themselves, confirmed before moving on; Phase 2 drafts the remaining files one at a time in order - TechSpec.md, AppFlow.md, Schema.md, ImplementationPlan.md, Rules.md, Tracker.md - each proposed, shown, and confirmed before the next; Phase 2.5 handles Design.md as always-interactive, asking for style direction and a color palette, or offering 2-3 options, before writing anything, never filled from the assistant's own taste; Phase 3 is a final review of all eight files, explicitly asking what to change before building starts; Phase 4 builds step by step against ImplementationPlan.md, checking items off in the append-only Tracker.md, and never deviating from the plan, rules, tech spec, or schema without explicit instruction. A mid-project pivot, like switching from Firebase to Postgres, updates every affected file proactively and gets summarized to the user rather than requiring a file-by-file request.

Core rules govern every phase: no silent additions of features, tech, or rules the user didn't approve; one file at a time unless the user asks for all at once; and, when a user explicitly says "you decide" or "brainstorm it," the skill makes a reasoned, PRD-consistent choice rather than a random default, still surfacing it for review. It reads all eight files at the start of a session if they already exist, since they are its persistent memory, and can use ask_user_input_v0 for quick multiple-choice clarifications during PRD and Design.md gathering.

Builders starting a brand-new app from a vague idea who want a structured, confirmable planning process instead of jumping straight into code, with documentation that stays in sync as the project's direction shifts mid-build.