Tools
Claude Code, grill-me skill
Price
Free (MIT licence)
Time
5 min to install
Level
Beginner

You type "build me a tool that chases my unsigned quotes", Claude Code gets going, and an hour later you find out it also chases rejected quotes, by text message, in the wrong tone. The problem was not the code: nobody asked the questions. grill-me flips the order. The AI starts by grilling you, and only builds afterwards.

Where this skill comes from, and what it does

grill-me is part of the mattpocock/skills repository, published under the MIT licence by Matt Pocock. The repository is active (last updated on 13/10/2026 at the time of writing) and is listed in Anthropic's official plugin catalogue. Its README starts from one observation: the most common failure with a coding agent is misalignment, and the fix is a questioning session before you start.

In practice, the grill-me skill calls a second skill, grilling, which does the work:

  • it maps your project as a decision tree, where each choice leads to others;
  • it asks, in rounds, every question it can already ask, numbered, each with its recommended answer: a "yes" is enough to accept it;
  • it looks up facts itself (files, tools already in place) instead of asking you, and leaves the decisions to you;
  • it stops when every branch is settled, and does not act until you confirm.

The skill never triggers on its own: you type /grill-me. The README recommends it mainly for plans and ideas; for code in an existing project, the author offers a variant, grill-with-docs, which also keeps a glossary and a decision log.

Install grill-me in Claude Code

Two methods. Pick only one: the README warns that installing both gives you every skill twice.

  1. Method 1: the full pack, from the official catalogueThe plugin installs all of the author's skills (38 in the repository as of 17/10/2026) and updates itself. In the Terminal:
    Terminal
    claude plugin install mattpocock-skills@claude-plugins-official
  2. Method 2: grill-me onlyWith the skills.sh tool, take grill-me and grilling together: the first one only calls the second.
    Terminal
    npx skills add mattpocock/skills --skill grill-me --skill grilling -g -a claude-code
  3. CheckOpen Claude Code and type /grill: the command should appear in the list. With the plugin, it may show as /mattpocock-skills:grill-me.

The README also asks you to run /setup-matt-pocock-skills once per repository: that configures the engineering skills (issue tracker, labels). To question an idea, you can skip it.

Example: scope an automation before building it

A small agency wants to automate quote follow-ups. Before letting Claude Code write anything, it runs:

Claude Code
/grill-me I want a tool that automatically follows up on unsigned quotes.
Context: our quotes live in a Google Sheet (columns Client, Email, Date sent, Amount, Status) and are sent from Gmail.
Ask at most 5 questions per round.
Do not suggest any code until I write "plan approved".
At the end, sum up the plan in 10 lines or fewer.

Expect questions such as: after how many days to follow up, how many reminders at most, who signs the email, what to do with a rejected quote, whether you want a copy. The recommended answers make it quick: "1 yes, 2 yes, 3: make it 10 days". The final summary becomes your spec, to paste into the build request.

Useful settings

  • Set the language: the skill is written in English. If you work in another language, add "Ask your questions in French" (or your language) to the request, or once and for all in your CLAUDE.md file.
  • Cap the number of questions: the skill asks every possible question at once. On a big project, a cap per round keeps the exchange manageable.
  • Keep a record: at the end, ask it to write the plan to a file (plan.md) so you can review it with your client.

Limits and cost

  • The skill is free. The session, however, uses your Claude plan, like any conversation.
  • The README itself calls it a "relentless" interview: it is meant for projects that matter. For a small task, it is too much.
  • The AI settles technical questions with you, not business questions with your client. If an answer depends on them, note it down and ask them.
  • No Claude Code? Our prompt that makes AI ask questions first gives a simple version of the idea, in Claude on the web.

Read before installing. A skill can contain instructions and code that run on your computer. grill-me itself is a few lines of text, easy to review on GitHub. The full plugin, however, adds dozens of skills, some of which Claude can trigger on its own: if you only want grill-me, prefer method 2. Install from github.com/mattpocock/skills or the official catalogue, not from a copy.

Sources

Once the plan is approved, the tool still has to be built and run unattended. That is the kind of automation I set up for small businesses.