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Agent Skill

Domain Modeling

domain-modeling

Build and sharpen a project's domain model. Use when the user wants to pin down domain terminology or a ubiquitous language, record an architectural decision, or when another skill needs to maintain the domain model.

MattpocockBackendShell

395K installs

mattpocock/skills

by Mattpocock

Score

9.3

/ 10

Installs

395K

Repo Stars

215.5K

Last Updated

5d ago

Fresh

Quality Ratio

95%

Description

Verified

Language

Shell

First Published

Jun 2026

Summary

The Domain Modeling agent skill guides developers in constructing rich domain models, teaching how to avoid primitive obsession, apply parse-don't-validate principles, and make invalid states unrepresentable through semantic type design. This agent skill is essential for developers, particularly in backend or TDD contexts, who prioritize type safety and robust domain integrity in their code reviews and design tasks. This is a skill with 20K installs, indicating its broad adoption for improving domain-driven development practices. It guides the agent to avoid primitive obsession by advocating for semantic types and newtype wrappers for identifiers, ensuring domain concepts are explicitly typed rather than represented by raw strings or integers. The skill also enforces "parse, don't validate" by requiring validation at system boundaries, and it directs the agent to make invalid states unrepresentable by designing types that inherently prevent illegal combinations. It explicitly states it is not intended for general code review, debugging, or database schema design, focusing solely on domain type modeling.

Skill Definition

Actively build and sharpen the project's domain model as you design. This is the active discipline — challenging terms, inventing edge-case scenarios, and writing the glossary and decisions down the moment they crystallise. (Merely reading CONTEXT.md for vocabulary is not this skill — that's a one-line habit any skill can do. This skill is for when you're changing the model, not just consuming it.)

File structure

Most repos have a single context:

/
├── CONTEXT.md
├── docs/
│   └── adr/
│       ├── 0001-event-sourced-orders.md
│       └── 0002-postgres-for-write-model.md
└── src/

If a CONTEXT-MAP.md exists at the root, the repo has multiple contexts. The map points to where each one lives:

/
├── CONTEXT-MAP.md
├── docs/
│   └── adr/                          ← system-wide decisions
├── src/
│   ├── ordering/
│   │   ├── CONTEXT.md
│   │   └── docs/adr/                 ← context-specific decisions
│   └── billing/
│       ├── CONTEXT.md
│       └── docs/adr/

Create files lazily — only when you have something to write. If no CONTEXT.md exists, create one when the first term is resolved. If no docs/adr/ exists, create it when the first ADR is needed.

During the session

Challenge against the glossary

When the user uses a term that conflicts with the existing language in CONTEXT.md, call it out immediately. "Your glossary defines 'cancellation' as X, but you seem to mean Y — which is it?"

Sharpen fuzzy language

When the user uses vague or overloaded terms, propose a precise canonical term. "You're saying 'account' — do you mean the Customer or the User? Those are different things."

Discuss concrete scenarios

When domain relationships are being discussed, stress-test them with specific scenarios. Invent scenarios that probe edge cases and force the user to be precise about the boundaries between concepts.

Cross-reference with code

When the user states how something works, check whether the code agrees. If you find a contradiction, surface it: "Your code cancels entire Orders, but you just said partial cancellation is possible — which is right?"

Update CONTEXT.md inline

When a term is resolved, update CONTEXT.md right there. Don't batch these up — capture them as they happen. Use the format in CONTEXT-FORMAT.md.

CONTEXT.md should be totally devoid of implementation details. Do not treat CONTEXT.md as a spec, a scratch pad, or a repository for implementation decisions. It is a glossary and nothing else.

Offer ADRs sparingly

Only offer to create an ADR when all three are true:

  1. Hard to reverse — the cost of changing your mind later is meaningful
  2. Surprising without context — a future reader will wonder "why did they do it this way?"
  3. The result of a real trade-off — there were genuine alternatives and you picked one for specific reasons

If any of the three is missing, skip the ADR. Use the format in ADR-FORMAT.md.

How to Use

Use in O-mega

Claude Code

npx skills add mattpocock/skills domain-modeling