Principle Exhaust The Design Space

---
name: principle-exhaust-the-design-space
description: "Exhaust the design space. Apply when a new interaction or an architectural choice has no precedent in the code."
license: MIT
metadata:
  source: "pstack principle-exhaust-the-design-space, MIT, Copyright (c) 2026 Lauren Tan, github.com/cursor/plugins, adapted; checked against pstack 0.15.36 at commit 0bb6f37"
---

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# Exhaust the design space

When the right answer is not obvious, do not build the first idea. Build two or three competing prototypes and compare them side by side before you commit. Building the wrong thing costs more than exploring three options. A second flavour of the first shape does not count as an alternative.

**When it applies.**
- A new interaction with no prior art in the code.
- An architectural choice with more than one viable approach.
- A product decision that depends on feel, not logic.

**When it does not.**
- Mechanical work with an established way of doing it.
- A bug fix or a refactor with a clear target state.
- A change where the constraints leave one viable approach.

**Stop** exploring once the options are concrete enough to compare and one is clearly better. Record the options you rejected and why, in a few lines, so the reviewer sees the choice.