PM Toolkit - Excalidraw - "Messy Thoughts" to "Visual Spec" in 30 seconds.

Visualizes Product Manager thoughts (Why, What, How, User Journey) into an editable Excalidraw diagram. Use when the user asks to "visualize specs", "create a PM diagram", or "map out product thoughts".

Security Scan

The skill's code, instructions, and requirements are consistent with turning PM notes into a local Excalidraw file; it performs local file I/O and layout but does not request credentials or network access.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description (convert PM thoughts to Excalidraw) matches the included script and instructions. The Python script reads a JSON spec and writes an .excalidraw file; nothing in the manifest or code indicates unrelated capabilities (no cloud APIs, no extra binaries).

Instruction Scope

Instructions ask the agent/user to create a temporary JSON, run the local Python script, create an output directory, and delete the temp file. This stays within the stated purpose (local generation of diagrams). One minor incoherence: SKILL.md runs python3 skills/pm-visualizer/scripts/layout_diagram.py but the package manifest lists scripts/layout_diagram.py — path differences may cause a runtime path error if the agent's working directory differs. Also note the script writes files to user-specified paths (e.g., ~/Downloads/Documents/PM_Visuals).

Install Mechanism

No install spec or remote downloads included. The skill is instruction-only with a bundled Python script; nothing is fetched from external URLs.

Credentials

The skill requests no environment variables, credentials, or config paths. The code reads only the provided input JSON and writes a local .excalidraw file — credential access is not required or requested.

Persistence & Privilege

always:false and user-invocable:true (defaults) — the skill does not demand permanent inclusion or elevated privileges. It performs local file operations only and does not modify other skills or global agent configuration.

Assessment

This skill appears to do what it says: it takes a JSON spec and produces an .excalidraw file locally. Before installing/using it: (1) verify you have Python 3 available (the script runs locally); (2) inspect scripts/layout_diagram.py (it is included) if you want to be certain it contains only expected local file operations — there are no network calls or secret accesses; (3) check the SKILL.md command path (skills/pm-visualizer/scripts/... vs scripts/...) and adjust the invocation to match where the script actually lives; (4) run the script in a directory where writing files is acceptable (it will create output files and you are asked to create output directories); and (5) if you allow autonomous agent invocation, be aware the agent could run the script and write files on your behalf — this is normal but make sure you trust the skill source. Overall the package is coherent and proportional to its stated purpose.

PM Visualizer Skill

This skill converts unstructured Product Manager thoughts into a structured Excalidraw visualization.

Features

• Smart Layout: Automatically columns "Why, What, How" and creates a horizontal flow for "User Journey".
• Color Coding: Visual distinction between problem (Why - Yellow), solution (What - Green), implementation (How - Blue), and flow (Journey - Red/Pink).
• Grouped Elements: Text is properly bound to containers so they move together.

Workflow

1. Analyze Request: Extract the following sections from the user's prompt or context:

   • Title: The feature or product name.
   • Why: The problem statement, business goals, or "Why are we building this?".
   • What: The solution requirements, features, or "What is it?".
   • How: Technical implementation details, API strategy, or "How will we build it?".
   • Journey: A sequential list of steps for the user journey or process flow.

2. Prepare Data: Create a JSON file (e.g., temp_visual_data.json) with this structure:

   {
     "title": "Feature Name",
     "why": ["Reason 1", "Reason 2"],
     "what": ["Feature 1", "Feature 2"],
     "how": ["Tech 1", "Tech 2"],
     "journey": ["Step 1", "Step 2", "Step 3"]
   }
   

3. Generate Diagram: Run the python script to generate the .excalidraw file.

   python3 skills/pm-visualizer/scripts/layout_diagram.py temp_visual_data.json ~/Downloads/Documents/PM_Visuals/Output_Name.excalidraw
   

   Ensure the output directory exists first.

4. Cleanup: Delete the temporary JSON input file.

5. Report: Inform the user the file is ready at the output path.

Example

User: "Visualize a new 'Login with Google' feature. Why? Reduce friction. What? Google button on login page. How? OAuth2. Journey: User clicks button -> Google Popup -> Redirect to Dashboard."

Codex Action:

1. Create login_spec.json:

   {
     "title": "Login with Google",
     "why": ["Reduce friction", "Increase conversion"],
     "what": ["Google Sign-in Button", "Profile Sync"],
     "how": ["OAuth 2.0 Flow", "Google Identity SDK"],
     "journey": ["User clicks 'Sign in with Google'", "Google permissions popup appears", "User approves access", "System verifies token", "User redirected to Dashboard"]
   }
   

2. mkdir -p ~/Downloads/Documents/PM_Visuals
3. python3 skills/pm-visualizer/scripts/layout_diagram.py login_spec.json ~/Downloads/Documents/PM_Visuals/Login_Spec.excalidraw