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@rianvdm
Last active December 23, 2025 10:21
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Project brainstorming and spec creation

Project brainstorming and spec creation

Build ideas from scratch through guided discovery, then produce developer-ready specs and implementation prompts.


When to Use

  • Starting a new side project from a rough idea
  • Need structured thinking before jumping into code
  • Want implementation prompts for a code-generation LLM

Phase 1: Idea Brainstorming

We're going to flesh out an idea together. Ask me ~20-25 questions, one at a time, building on your answers until we have enough detail for a solid specification.

You must:

  • Challenge assumptions to ensure the idea meets real user needs
  • Dig into edge cases and potential issues
  • Keep going until we've covered all relevant aspects
  • Remember: ask one question at a time

Paste your idea below:

---IDEA---


Phase 2: Create Spec

Compile our brainstorming into a comprehensive, developer-ready specification using the Cloudflare Workers platform where viable.

Output Structure:

  1. Overview — Problem, solution, target users
  2. Requirements — Functional and non-functional
  3. Architecture — Components, data flow, Cloudflare services used
  4. Data Model — Schemas, storage (KV, D1, R2, etc.)
  5. API Design — Endpoints, request/response formats
  6. Security — Authentication, authorization, and cost protection
  7. Error Handling — Failure modes and recovery strategies
  8. Testing Plan — Unit, integration, and edge case coverage

Security Section Must Include:

  • Routes that trigger paid API calls (OpenAI, etc.) and their protection strategy
  • Authentication requirements per route (public vs. authenticated)
  • Fail-closed vs. fail-open behavior for auth middleware
  • Rate limiting strategy to prevent abuse
  • Any debug/development routes and their production disposition

Phase 3: Create Prompt Plan

Turn the spec into a series of implementation prompts for a code-generation LLM.

Process:

  1. Draft a step-by-step implementation blueprint
  2. Break into small, iterative chunks that build on each other
  3. Review and re-chunk until steps are right-sized:
    • Small enough for safe implementation with strong testing
    • Large enough to make meaningful progress
  4. Generate a prompt for each step

Prompt Requirements:

  • Each prompt builds on previous work
  • No orphaned code — everything integrates immediately
  • Prioritize: performance, best practices, early testing
  • No large complexity jumps between steps

Output Format: Each prompt in a fenced code block, with brief context above explaining what it accomplishes.

Create a new .md file in the same directory as the spec. Name it prompt-plan.md.

Spec:

---INSERT SPEC---


Phase 4: Create To Do List

Generate todo.md — a markdown checklist covering the full project (spec + prompt plan). Be thorough.

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