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Matt Pocock's skills
Small skills that make the agent interview you before it builds, then test as it goes.
- By
- Matt Pocock
- License
- MIT
- Skills
- 38
- Works with
- Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI
- Last changed
- October 27, 2026
- Source
- mattpocock/skills
Matt Pocock's skills are built around one habit: settle what you're building before any code exists. The best known, grill-me, has the agent question you one question at a time until every part of a plan is decided. It's useful even for plans that have nothing to do with code.
The rest cover the work after that: building in small pieces with a test for each, a step-by-step way to chase down bugs, and a regular look at where the code could be simpler. If you're new to skills, this is the pack to start with.
Before you install
- After installing, run /setup-matt-pocock-skills once in each project. If you use the last box, pick setup-matt-pocock-skills when the installer asks which skills to take.
- The last install box needs Node.js, a free program many coding tools already install.
- Skills are grouped in folders by topic. The in-progress folder holds unfinished ones.
Install it
The commands below are for AI coding tools like Claude Code, which work with files on your computer. They won't do anything typed into a ChatGPT or Claude chat in your browser. Don't have a coding tool yet? Install Claude Code first.
Use the box for the tool you have, and copy its commands. Lines that start with / go in the tool's chat box. Other lines go in Terminal, the app where you type commands to your computer. A plugin is a bundle of skills made for one tool, and a marketplace is the list the tool installs it from.
Copied from the pack's own install instructions.
claude plugin install mattpocock-skills@codex plugin marketplace add mattpocock/npx skills@Skills to start with
- grill-meThe agent interviews you, one question at a time, until every branch of a plan is settled. Use it before you build anything, or for a decision that isn't about code.
- grill-with-docsThe same interview, but it writes down a glossary of your project's words and the decisions you made, so later sessions use the same words. Use it on a real project.
- tddBuilds a feature or fix in thin slices. Before each piece of code it writes a small automatic check that fails, then makes it pass. Use it when you want every change checked.
- diagnosing-bugsA step-by-step routine for a bug: make it happen on purpose, narrow it down, test a guess, fix it, and add a check so it stays fixed.
All 38 skills are listed in the pack's source. Checked by hand; see how we pick packs.