riff

Self-contained parallel generator — invoke directly, do not decompose. Generates 3-10 app variations in parallel for comparing ideas. Use when user says "explore options", "give me variations", "riff on this", "brainstorm approaches", or wants to see multiple interpretations of a concept.

Safety Notice

This listing is imported from skills.sh public index metadata. Review upstream SKILL.md and repository scripts before running.

Copy this and send it to your AI assistant to learn

Install skill "riff" with this command: npx skills add popmechanic/vibes-cli/popmechanic-vibes-cli-riff

Plan mode: If you are planning work, this entire skill is ONE plan step: "Invoke /vibes:riff". Do not decompose the steps below into separate plan tasks.

Display this ASCII art immediately when starting:

░▒▓█▓▒░░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓███████▓▒░░▒▓████████▓▒░░▒▓███████▓▒░
░▒▓█▓▒░░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓█▓▒░░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓█▓▒░      ░▒▓█▓▒░
 ░▒▓█▓▒▒▓█▓▒░░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓█▓▒░░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓█▓▒░      ░▒▓█▓▒░
 ░▒▓█▓▒▒▓█▓▒░░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓███████▓▒░░▒▓██████▓▒░  ░▒▓██████▓▒░
  ░▒▓█▓▓█▓▒░ ░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓█▓▒░░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓█▓▒░             ░▒▓█▓▒░
  ░▒▓█▓▓█▓▒░ ░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓█▓▒░░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓█▓▒░             ░▒▓█▓▒░
   ░▒▓██▓▒░  ░▒▓█▓▒░▒▓███████▓▒░░▒▓████████▓▒░▒▓███████▓▒░

Vibes Riff Generator

Generate multiple app variations in parallel. Each riff is a different INTERPRETATION - different ideas, not just styling.

Terminal or Editor UI?

Detect whether you're running in a terminal (Claude Code CLI) or an editor (Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code with Copilot). Terminal agents use AskUserQuestion for all input. Editor agents present requirements as a checklist comment, wait for user edits, then proceed. See the vibes skill for the full detection and interaction pattern.

Workflow

Step 1: Gather ALL Requirements Upfront

Use AskUserQuestion to collect all config at once.

Question 1: "What kind of app do you want to explore? (broad/loose is fine)"
Header: "Theme"
Options: User enters via "Other"

Question 2: "Describe the visual style - colors, mood, aesthetic"
Header: "Visual"
Options: ["Warm sunset tones", "Clean minimal white", "Neon cyberpunk", "Other (describe)"]

Question 3: "How many variations should I generate?"
Header: "Count"
Options: ["3 (recommended)", "5", "7", "10"]

After receiving all answers, proceed immediately to Step 2 - no more questions.

Note: If the frontend-design skill is available, use it for enhanced visual design quality.

Step 2: Create Riff Directories

mkdir -p riff-1 riff-2 riff-3 ...

Step 3: Generate Riffs in Parallel

Use the bundled script to generate riffs in parallel. Each script instance calls claude -p (uses subscription tokens) and writes directly to disk.

Generate riffs in parallel based on user's count:

VIBES_ROOT="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-$(dirname "$(dirname "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}")")}"
# For each N from 1 to ${count}:
bun "$VIBES_ROOT/scripts/generate-riff.js" "${prompt}" N riff-N/app.jsx "${visual}" &

# Then wait for all
wait
echo "All ${count} riffs generated!"

Example for count=3:

VIBES_ROOT="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-$(dirname "$(dirname "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}")")}"
bun "$VIBES_ROOT/scripts/generate-riff.js" "productivity apps" 1 riff-1/app.jsx "warm sunset oranges and soft creams" &
bun "$VIBES_ROOT/scripts/generate-riff.js" "productivity apps" 2 riff-2/app.jsx "warm sunset oranges and soft creams" &
bun "$VIBES_ROOT/scripts/generate-riff.js" "productivity apps" 3 riff-3/app.jsx "warm sunset oranges and soft creams" &
wait

Why this works:

  • Each script calls claude -p "..." → uses subscription tokens
  • Script writes directly to disk → no tokens flow through main agent
  • Background processes (&) run in parallel → true concurrency
  • Main agent only sees "✓ riff-N/app.jsx" output → minimal tokens

Step 4: Assemble HTML

Convert each app.jsx to a complete index.html:

VIBES_ROOT="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-$(dirname "$(dirname "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}")")}"
bun "$VIBES_ROOT/scripts/assemble-all.js" riff-1 riff-2 riff-3 ...

Step 5: Evaluate & Rank

Read the pitch.md files (NOT the full code) for fast evaluation:

# Read pitch files - contains reasoning about theme, colors, functionality
cat riff-*/pitch.md

# Also read BUSINESS comments for app names (just first 10 lines of each)
head -10 riff-*/app.jsx

pitch.md contains the model's reasoning about theme, colors, and design choices. BUSINESS comment (top of app.jsx) contains: name, pitch, customer, revenue.

Then create RANKINGS.md using this format:

# Riff Rankings: [Theme]

## Summary

| Rank | App Name | Score | Best For |
|------|----------|-------|----------|
| 1 | [Name] | XX/50 | [one-liner] |
| 2 | [Name] | XX/50 | [one-liner] |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

## Detailed Scores

### #1: [App Name] (riff-N)
| Criterion | Score | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| Originality | X/10 | [Why unique or derivative] |
| Market Potential | X/10 | [Target audience size, demand] |
| Feasibility | X/10 | [Technical complexity, time to build] |
| Monetization | X/10 | [Revenue model viability] |
| Wow Factor | X/10 | [First impression, engagement] |
| **Total** | **XX/50** | |

[Repeat for each riff]

## Recommendations

- **Best for solo founder:** [riff-N] - [reason]
- **Fastest to ship:** [riff-N] - [reason]
- **Most innovative:** [riff-N] - [reason]
- **Best monetization:** [riff-N] - [reason]

Scoring Guidelines:

  • 1-3: Poor - significant issues
  • 4-5: Below average - notable weaknesses
  • 6-7: Average - meets expectations
  • 8-9: Good - stands out positively
  • 10: Excellent - exceptional in this criterion

Step 6: Generate Gallery

Create index.html gallery page with:

  • Dark theme (#0a0a0f background)
  • Glass-morphism cards with purple/cyan accents
  • Each card: rank badge, app name, pitch, score bar, "Launch →" link
  • Responsive grid layout
  • Self-contained with inline styles

Step 7: Present Results

Generated ${count} riffs for "${prompt}":
#1: riff-X - App Name (XX/50)
#2: riff-Y - App Name (XX/50)
...

Open index.html for gallery, or browse riff-1/, riff-2/, etc.

Plugin Directory

Scripts resolve the plugin root via VIBES_ROOT, which tries ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} first (set by Claude Code) and falls back to deriving the path from ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} (two directories up). Set it at the top of each bash block: VIBES_ROOT="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-$(dirname "$(dirname "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}")")}"


What's Next?

After presenting rankings, guide the user with AskUserQuestion:

Question: "You have ${count} variations ranked. What would you like to do?"
Header: "Next"
Options:
- Label: "Develop the #1 ranked app"
  Description: "Take the top-ranked variation and continue building it. I'll copy riff-1/app.jsx to your working directory so you can iterate with the full vibes feature set - add functionality, refine the design, make it yours."

- Label: "Let me pick a different one"
  Description: "The rankings are just my analysis - you might see something special in another variation. Tell me which riff number speaks to you and I'll set it up for development."

- Label: "Turn winner into SaaS (/sell)"
  Description: "Ready to monetize the best one? Sell adds authentication via Pocket ID with passkeys, subscription billing, and multi-tenant database isolation. Each customer gets their own subdomain with their own data."

- Label: "Deploy a riff as demo (/cloudflare)"
  Description: "Want to share one quickly? Deploy puts any variation live on Cloudflare Workers within minutes. Great for getting feedback before committing to further development."

- Label: "I'm done for now"
  Description: "Wrap up this session. All riffs are saved in riff-1/, riff-2/, etc. - browse them locally or come back later to continue."

After user responds:

  • "Develop #1" → Copy riff-1/app.jsx to ./app.jsx, confirm ready for vibes iteration
  • "Pick different" → Ask which riff number, then copy that one
  • "Turn into SaaS" → Copy riff-1/app.jsx, auto-invoke /vibes:sell skill
  • "Deploy demo" → Ask which riff, auto-invoke /vibes:cloudflare skill with that riff's index.html
  • "I'm done" → Confirm riffs saved, provide directory listing

Source Transparency

This detail page is rendered from real SKILL.md content. Trust labels are metadata-based hints, not a safety guarantee.

Related Skills

Related by shared tags or category signals.

Coding

vibes

No summary provided by upstream source.

Repository SourceNeeds Review
Coding

test

No summary provided by upstream source.

Repository SourceNeeds Review
Coding

launch

No summary provided by upstream source.

Repository SourceNeeds Review