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System Design

AnthropicOfficialPublished by Anthropic

  • Skill
  • Content generator
  • Software development
  • Apache-2.0
  • No issues found
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From the author

Design systems, services, and architectures. Trigger with "design a system for", "how should we architect", "system design for", "what's the right architecture for", or when the user needs help with API design, data modeling, or service boundaries.
— the description by Anthropic

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The system-design skill acts as an architectural advisor to help users structure software systems. It follows a systematic framework covering requirements gathering, high-level component design, deep-dive technical specifications, and scalability considerations. The skill emphasizes explicit trade-off analysis to ensure that architectural decisions are well-reasoned and documented, providing clear outputs that include diagrams, API contracts, and data models.

What it does

  • Facilitates requirements gathering for functional and non-functional needs.
  • Assists in creating high-level component diagrams and data flow designs.
  • Provides guidance on API contract design and storage selection.
  • Conducts deep dives into data modeling, caching strategies, and event design.
  • Evaluates architectural trade-offs regarding complexity, cost, and maintainability.
  • Identifies areas for future iteration as systems evolve.

When to use it

  • When you need to architect a new service or system from scratch.
  • When you are defining API endpoints or service boundaries.
  • When you need to evaluate the trade-offs of different architectural decisions.
  • When you need to document system requirements and design assumptions.

Advantages

  • Provides a structured approach to complex design problems.
  • Ensures non-functional requirements and constraints are considered.
  • Promotes explicit documentation of trade-offs and assumptions.
  • Helps clarify component interactions and data flows.

Usage examples

“Design a system for a task management application.”
The agent will outline functional requirements, propose a high-level component architecture, define API contracts, and discuss storage and scaling trade-offs.
“How should we architect the service boundaries for a microservices migration?”
The agent will help analyze current constraints and provide a structured approach to defining service boundaries and data flow.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/anthropics/system-design/download

  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip system-design.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Anthropic

System Design

Help design systems and evaluate architectural decisions.

Framework

1. Requirements Gathering

  • Functional requirements (what it does)

  • Non-functional requirements (scale, latency, availability, cost)

  • Constraints (team size, timeline, existing tech stack)

2. High-Level Design

  • Component diagram

  • Data flow

  • API contracts

  • Storage choices

3. Deep Dive

  • Data model design

  • API endpoint design (REST, GraphQL, gRPC)

  • Caching strategy

  • Queue/event design

  • Error handling and retry logic

4. Scale and Reliability

  • Load estimation

  • Horizontal vs. vertical scaling

  • Failover and redundancy

  • Monitoring and alerting

5. Trade-off Analysis

  • Every decision has trade-offs. Make them explicit.

  • Consider: complexity, cost, team familiarity, time to market, maintainability

Output

Produce clear, structured design documents with diagrams (ASCII or described), explicit assumptions, and trade-off analysis. Always identify what you'd revisit as the system grows.

Files

SKILL.md

System Design

Help design systems and evaluate architectural decisions.

Framework

1. Requirements Gathering

  • Functional requirements (what it does)

  • Non-functional requirements (scale, latency, availability, cost)

  • Constraints (team size, timeline, existing tech stack)

2. High-Level Design

  • Component diagram

  • Data flow

  • API contracts

  • Storage choices

3. Deep Dive

  • Data model design

  • API endpoint design (REST, GraphQL, gRPC)

  • Caching strategy

  • Queue/event design

  • Error handling and retry logic

4. Scale and Reliability

  • Load estimation

  • Horizontal vs. vertical scaling

  • Failover and redundancy

  • Monitoring and alerting

5. Trade-off Analysis

  • Every decision has trade-offs. Make them explicit.

  • Consider: complexity, cost, team familiarity, time to market, maintainability

Output

Produce clear, structured design documents with diagrams (ASCII or described), explicit assumptions, and trade-off analysis. Always identify what you'd revisit as the system grows.

Requirements and compatibility

Written for: Claude Code, Claude apps

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Security

No issues found by our static scan· No issues found

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Published by
Anthropic
Publisher
Anthropic (Official)
Source
anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins · engineering/skills/system-design · commit e050c2e
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download system-design.zip