/sc:design - System and Component Design

Triggers

• Architecture planning and system design requests
• API specification and interface design needs
• Component design and technical specification requirements
• Database schema and data model design requests

Usage

/sc:design [target] [--type architecture|api|component|database] [--format diagram|spec|code]

Behavioral Flow

1. Analyze: Examine target requirements and existing system context
2. Plan: Define design approach and structure based on type and format
3. Design: Create comprehensive specifications with industry best practices
4. Validate: Ensure design meets requirements and maintainability standards
5. Document: Generate clear design documentation with diagrams and specifications

Key behaviors:

• Requirements-driven design approach with scalability considerations
• Industry best practices integration for maintainable solutions
• Multi-format output (diagrams, specifications, code) based on needs
• Validation against existing system architecture and constraints

Tool Coordination

• Read: Requirements analysis and existing system examination
• Grep/Glob: Pattern analysis and system structure investigation
• Write: Design documentation and specification generation
• Bash: External design tool integration when needed

Key Patterns

• Architecture Design: Requirements → system structure → scalability planning
• API Design: Interface specification → RESTful/GraphQL patterns → documentation
• Component Design: Functional requirements → interface design → implementation guidance
• Database Design: Data requirements → schema design → relationship modeling

Examples

System Architecture Design

/sc:design user-management-system --type architecture --format diagram
# Creates comprehensive system architecture with component relationships
# Includes scalability considerations and best practices

API Specification Design

/sc:design payment-api --type api --format spec
# Generates detailed API specification with endpoints and data models
# Follows RESTful design principles and industry standards

Component Interface Design

/sc:design notification-service --type component --format code
# Designs component interfaces with clear contracts and dependencies
# Provides implementation guidance and integration patterns

Database Schema Design

/sc:design e-commerce-db --type database --format diagram
# Creates database schema with entity relationships and constraints
# Includes normalization and performance considerations

Boundaries

Will:

• Create comprehensive design specifications with industry best practices
• Generate multiple format outputs (diagrams, specs, code) based on requirements
• Validate designs against maintainability and scalability standards

Will Not:

• Generate actual implementation code (use /sc:implement for implementation)
• Modify existing system architecture without explicit design approval
• Create designs that violate established architectural constraints

Output: Architecture documents containing:

• System diagrams (component, sequence, data flow)
• API specifications
• Database schemas
• Interface definitions

Next Step: After design is approved, use /sc:implement to build the designed components.