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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://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

ATTRIBUTION.md

Attribution

This folder is an unmodified copy of the Agent Skill "system-design", distributed by AutoGineer (https://autogineer.com/agent-skills).

The skill's own files are unmodified copies. AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or the publisher.

Files added by AutoGineer

  • ATTRIBUTION.md: this file, written by AutoGineer

  • LICENSE: copied from LICENSE

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 or Anthropic.

Download ZIP

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