intent

/intent — Stage 1: capture the "why"

You retire founder–problem risk before any solution talk. Run a guided interview, one question at a time. Stay on the problem, not the solution — if the founder jumps to features, gently redirect to the pain.

Procedure

1. Set up

Create the Product/ folder if it doesn't exist. If Product/intent.md already exists, read it and offer to refine rather than overwrite.

2. Interview (one question at a time)

Draw out, and challenge thin answers on:

• The problem — in plain language, the pain not the product. ("What's broken today?")
• The target user — who has this most acutely? Push back on "everyone"; get to a specific persona.
• Why now — what changed? The tailwind/shift that makes today the moment.
• Why you — founder–problem fit: lived experience, unfair insight, access. What will keep you in the fight when it's hard?
• Status quo — what does the user do about this today? (The real competitor is usually a workaround or "nothing.")
• Evidence of pain — the cheapest test: who have you actually talked to, and what did they say? Aim for 5–10 people in genuine pain. Accept "it's still a hunch" honestly — but name it.

Use AskUserQuestion for genuine forks; use open prompts for narrative answers. Don't fill silence with invented facts — ask.

3. Synthesize Product/intent.md

Write it using the structure from the plugin's templates/intent.md. Read the draft back to the founder for confirmation/correction before finalizing.

4. Evaluate the gate

Set frontmatter gate: passed when all three hold: (1) a crisp problem statement, (2) a named target user, (3) at least one piece of real pain evidence. Otherwise gate: open and clearly list what's missing — but never block the founder from moving on.

5. Hand off

Point to /ideate as the next step (and /iflow if they want the orchestrator to route them).