skill
System Design
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.
About
# 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.
Install
Run this command
git clone https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins && cp -r knowledge-work-plugins/engineering/skills/system-design ~/.claude/skills/Works with
Manual steps
Clone the repository and copy the `engineering/skills/system-design` folder into your Claude skills directory. Compatible with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and any Agent Skills-compatible agent.
Frequently asked questions
What is the System Design skill?
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.
How do I install System Design?
Run this in your terminal:
git clone https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins && cp -r knowledge-work-plugins/engineering/skills/system-design ~/.claude/skills/Which AI tools does System Design work with?
It works with claude_app, claude_code, claude_api, cursor, codex, windsurf, cline, zed.
Who made System Design?
Anthropic, released under the Apache-2.0 license.
Is System Design free?
Yes, it is free to use under the Apache-2.0 license.
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