CC-Atelier

A Claude Code workspace for designing software before you build it. You run structured design sessions with Claude acting as a devil's advocate. What comes out is an approved, self-contained spec that you take to the repo where the code lives.

How it works

Exploration → Requirements → Options → Decision → Detail → Validation → /finalize-design
     ADRs at Decision · /challenge at any phase (fresh-context critic)
                                      ↓
            approved spec  →  your code repo plans and builds from it

• Constructive opposition by default. Claude pokes at assumptions, names trade-offs and steelmans the options you dismissed. Say "ease up" or "just help me build this" to dial it down.
• Phase discipline. No solutions during exploration, no recommendations during options.
• Decisions are recorded. Significant choices get an ADR, so the reasoning survives the session.
• Critique in fresh context. /challenge sends the design doc to an agent that never saw the conversation, so it can't anchor on how you got there.
• UX sessions run an inverted loop (Claude proposes, you steer) with Nielsen/WCAG and persona critics.
• The spec is the deliverable, not a plan (ADR-005). File paths, task order and code structure are decided in the code repo, by a session that can see the code.

Quick start

git clone https://github.com/liteman/cc-atelier my-design-workspace
cd my-design-workspace
rm -rf .git && git init   # optional: version your own design work

Open the directory in Claude Code and run:

/start-design-session

Commands

Command	Use
/start-design-session	Start a design session
/start-ux-session [project]	Start a UX session
/resume-design [project]	Pick up where you left off
/load-design-phase <phase>	Jump to a phase
/challenge [phase]	Fresh-context assumption challenge of the design doc
/checkpoint [project]	Update the project's registry mid-session
/finalize-design	Readiness checks, ADRs, registry, and the spec handed to your code repo
/define-agent <name>	Create a new subagent

Taking the spec to your code repo

/finalize-design ends with the spec path and one line to paste into a session in your code repo:

Spec: <path>. Design is complete through spec review; start at implementation planning.

Section 9 of the spec ("Handoff to implementation planning") carries the constraints, review focus and fixed interfaces the plan must keep.

Recommended companion: superpowers

CC-Atelier works on its own. It pairs well with the superpowers skills for Claude Code:

• writing-plans turns the approved spec into an implementation plan in your code repo. It reads Section 9 of the spec directly.
• test-driven-development and requesting-code-review carry the build from there.

Without superpowers, plan from the spec with whatever planning approach you already use.

Local integrations

Want /finalize-design to file tickets, or /resume-design to pull requests from a tracker? Put your own instructions in .claude/local/:

• handoff.md: /finalize-design follows it in place of the default handoff.
• requests.md: /resume-design uses it to list and claim incoming design requests.
• README.md: read at session start for anything else.

The directory is optional, and nothing in the core workflow requires it.

Layout

.claude/commands/      slash commands
.claude/design/        phase workflows, templates, conventions, challenge prompts
.claude/agents/        challenger, ux-critic, user-advocate
docs/                  CC-Atelier's own ADRs
projects/{slug}/       your design output (git-ignored by default)

License

MIT