# Route any engineering situation to the right skill

When you cannot remember which skill to use, this router maps your situation to the correct flow. It describes the main path from idea to ship and the available on-ramps.

## Install

```bash
npx skillstore add mattpocock/ask-matt
```

## Metadata

- - Slug: mattpocock-ask-matt
- - Version: 1.0.0
- - Author: mattpocock
- - GitHub username: mattpocock
- - License: MIT
- - Repository: https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/tree/main/skills/engineering/ask-matt/
- - Ref: main
- - Supported tools: Claude, Codex, Claude Code
- - Risk level: safe
- - Quality score: 80
- - Quality tier: silver
- - Public page: https://skillstore.pages.dev/skills/mattpocock-ask-matt
- - Manifest: https://skillstore.pages.dev/api/skills/mattpocock-ask-matt/manifest

## Capabilities

- Describes the main engineering flow from idea to ship
- Identifies on-ramps for common starting situations like bug triage
- Explains context hygiene rules for keeping sessions productive
- Lists standalone skills for situations outside the main flow
- Explains how to cross between sessions using handoff

## Use Cases

- Starting a new project: Use this router when beginning a new build and unsure which skill to invoke first.
- Triaging incoming issues: Determine when to use triage versus other flows based on the source of the work.
- Crossing session boundaries: Learn when to handoff to a new session versus compact the current one.

## Prompt Templates

### Basic routing question

```
I have an idea for a new feature. Which skill should I start with?
```

### Triage decision

```
I have a backlog of bug reports. Should I use /triage or go directly to /implement?
```

### Context management

```
My session is getting long. Should I use /handoff or /compact at this point?
```

### Codebase improvement

```
I have spare time between features. What should I run to improve the codebase?
```

## Limitations

- Contains no executable code or automation
- Does not perform any actions itself - it is a documentation reference
- Requires familiarity with the broader skill repository to be useful

## Best Practices

- Keep the main flow steps in one unbroken context window until after /to-issues
- Use /handoff when you want a fresh session with preserved context
- Reach for /compact only at intentional breaks between phases

## Anti Patterns

- Do not compact mid-phase - the agent can lose its way
- Do not triage issues that /to-issues already produced
- Do not push through degraded reasoning near the smart zone limit

## Security Audit

- - Safe to publish: true
- - Audited at: 2026-06-24T09:19:00.359\+00:00
- - Summary: This skill is a pure documentation file with no executable code. All static findings were false positives: backtick-wrapped skill names in Markdown \(e.g., \`/grill-with-docs\`\) are formatting, not shell commands. The single URL is a legitimate documentation link. No security risk identified.

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- - Downloads: 9
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- - Popularity score: 0