Introduction

The plugin mechanism in DeepSeek Harness allows extended behavior, but without predefined workflows, models can easily drift from the intended goal. Matt Pocock’s skill set provides standardized development processes, including grilling, spec/ticket workflows, TDD, and code review.

What Is This

Matt Pocock Skills for DSH is a maintained port of Matt Pocock’s skill set. It packages Matt Pocock’s skills into an installable bundle and a standalone Agent preset, aiming to provide DSH with structured engineering practices: from requirements interviews and specification definition to TDD implementation and code review.

This skill set supports coexistence with other presets such as Superpowers. The plugin is registered globally as a host plugin, with the default skill root disabled (includeDefaultRoots: false).

Core Features

The plugin includes 25 skills, divided into two categories: user-invoked skills triggered by slash commands, and model-invoked skills automatically called by the model based on context.

User-Invoked Skills

These skills are started by typing /skill-name:
* Workflow Control: /ask-matt (routing suggestions), /setup-matt-pocock-skills (repository initialization, must be run once per repository), /grill-with-docs (thorough requirements probing), /to-spec (organize specifications), /to-tickets (break down into tickets).
* Execution and Maintenance: /implement (implement according to specifications, internally follows TDD and review), /triage (handle issues and PRs), /wayfinder (large-scale decision mapping), /improve-codebase-architecture (architecture scanning).
* Support Tools: /grill-me (offline interview), /handoff (handoff documentation), /teach (teaching), /to-questionnaire (generate a questionnaire), /wait-what (restate the current state).

Model-Invoked Skills

These skills are automatically loaded when the model needs them:
* Engineering Practices: tdd (red-green cycle), code-review (two-axis review: guidelines + specifications), diagnosing-bugs (advanced diagnosis), resolving-merge-conflicts (hunk-by-hunk conflict resolution).
* Design and Research: research (lookup materials), prototype (build prototypes), domain-modeling (refine domain models), codebase-design (design vocabulary), writing-for-agents (write agent documentation).

Installation and Enablement

1. Install Bundle

Register the skills in the global skill layer:

npx @deepseek-ai/dsh plugin --profile web add github:Meteor-system/mattpocock-skills-for-dsh

You can also install from a local path:

npx @deepseek-ai/dsh plugin --profile web add C:\path\to\mattpocock-skills-for-dsh

2. Install Preset Template

Run the installation script in the plugin repository root:

node scripts/install-preset.mjs

The preset files will be installed to %USERPROFILE%\.dsh\.agent-presets\mattpocock-skills. If a preset with the same name already exists, use --force to overwrite it (the script automatically backs up the old version).

3. Enable and Configure

After installing the bundle, DSH must be restarted for the skills to be mounted. After refreshing the page, create a new session and select the Matt Pocock Skills preset.

After entering a new repository, you must run /setup-matt-pocock-skills once. This command configures the current repository’s issue tracker, triage labels, and CONTEXT.md layout. Subsequent engineering skills depend on this configuration; if it is missing, the model will prompt for manual setup.

Typical Usage

This skill set supports the full workflow from requirements to production. The specific path is as follows:

  1. Requirements Clarification: In the repository, use /grill-with-docs. The model probes requirements step by step through an interview, consolidates terminology into CONTEXT.md, and records key decisions as ADRs (Architecture Decision Records).
  2. Design Validation: For design issues that are difficult to discuss through text, use /handoff to package the context, then run /prototype in a new session to build and validate a prototype. After confirmation, hand off back.
  3. Task Implementation: For work that can be completed in a single session, run /implement directly. This skill automatically executes the TDD workflow and automatically runs code-review at the end, committing only after it passes.
  4. Task Breakdown: For large features, first use /to-spec to organize a specification document, then use /to-tickets to split it into dependency-aware tickets. Then open a new session for each ticket and run /implement.
  5. Issue Handling: For issues/PRs in the tracker, use /triage to walk through the state machine; for difficult bugs, describe the symptoms directly, and the model will load the diagnosing-bugs skill to diagnose them.

Use Cases and Notes

  • Use Cases: Teams that must strictly follow TDD processes and rely on guidelines; engineering projects that need to consolidate domain models and terminology into documentation; scenarios that require complex issue workflows and architecture scanning.
  • Notes:
    • The plugin is registered globally as a host plugin. It can coexist with other presets such as Superpowers, but only one preset is mounted per session.
    • Presets in existing sessions cannot be used for acceptance validation; you must restart DSH and open a new session.
    • For each new repository, you must manually run /setup-matt-pocock-skills on first use.

Brief Conclusion

Matt Pocock Skills for DSH turns mature engineering practices into executable skills in DSH. Through /ask-matt routing and the standardized /implement workflow, it helps developers build reusable workflows in DeepSeek Harness. For more details, see the GitHub repository.