System Design
- 6k installs
- 23.1k repo stars
- Updated July 28, 2026
- anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins
Structured, documented system design covering functional/non-functional requirements, component diagrams, data models, API contracts, scaling strategy, and trade-off analysis.
About
System Design guides architects and backend engineers through structured system design workflows covering requirements gathering, high-level component design, deep dives into data models and API contracts, scale/reliability patterns, and explicit trade-off analysis. Developers use it when designing new services, evaluating architectural decisions, or tackling API design and data modeling questions. Key workflows include building component diagrams, defining storage and caching strategies, estimating load, planning failover mechanisms, and documenting assumptions for growing systems. --- name: system-design description: 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. --- # System Design Help design systems and evaluate architectural decisions. Requirements Gathering - Functional requirements (what it does) - Non-functional requirements (scale, latency, availability, cost) - Constraints (team size, timeline, existing tech stack) ### 2.
- Five-phase framework: requirements, high-level design, deep dive, scale/reliability, trade-off analysis
- Covers data modeling, REST/GraphQL/gRPC API design, caching, queues, and error handling
- Load estimation, horizontal/vertical scaling, failover, and monitoring guidance
- Produces structured design documents with ASCII diagrams and explicit assumptions
- Identifies revisit points as system complexity grows
System Design by the numbers
- 5,959 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- +233 installs in the week ending Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
- Ranked #129 of 4,386 Backend & APIs skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
- Security screen: MEDIUM risk (skills.sh audit)
- Data as of Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
system-design capabilities & compatibility
- Capabilities
- requirements gathering for system design · component and data flow diagram generation · api contract and endpoint design · caching and queue strategy definition · load estimation and scaling analysis · trade off analysis and assumption documentation
- Use cases
- api development · database · devops
What system-design says it does
Produce clear, structured design documents with diagrams (ASCII or described), explicit assumptions, and trade-off analysis.
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| Installs | 6k |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 23.1k |
| Security audit | 3 / 3 scanners passed |
| Last updated | July 28, 2026 |
| Repository | anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins ↗ |
What it does
Design scalable system architectures, APIs, and data models with trade-off analysis for team constraints.
Who is it for?
Backend engineers, architects, and fullstack developers designing new services or evaluating architectural changes.
Skip if: UI/frontend design, CSS frameworks, terminal interfaces.
When should I use this skill?
User asks 'design a system for', 'how should we architect', 'system design for', 'what's the right architecture for', or needs help with API design, data modeling, or service boundaries.
What you get
Produce design documents with explicit assumptions, component diagrams, and trade-off analysis that teams can execute and revisit.
- architecture outline
- API contracts
- data model plan
By the numbers
- Five-phase framework guides design process
- Covers REST, GraphQL, and gRPC API styles
- Includes load estimation, failover, and monitoring patterns
Files
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.
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Use system-design for greenfield architecture; switch to framework-specific skills once stack and boundaries are chosen.
FAQ
What should I cover in a system design document?
Requirements (functional and non-functional), high-level component diagram, data model, API contracts, caching/queue design, load estimates, scaling approach, failover strategy, and explicit trade-offs with revisit points.
How do I decide between REST, GraphQL, and gRPC?
REST is simple and standard; GraphQL reduces over-fetching for client flexibility; gRPC excels at performance and type safety. Trade-off analysis considers team familiarity, client diversity, and latency requirements.
What makes a design scalable?
Load estimation, horizontal scaling strategy, caching layers, async queues, and redundancy. Always identify constraints (team size, timeline, budget) and revisit points as the system grows.
Is System Design safe to install?
skills.sh reports 3 of 3 security scanners passed. Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.