Gochal

What Gochal is

Gochal is an open-source Claude Code plugin for engineering decisions where several approaches are valid. It helps engineers learn the trade-offs, test options against concrete scenarios, and make the final decision themselves.

What I built

I built Gochal around a gate and a five-phase protocol: intent, concrete simulation, landscape exploration, value anchoring, and convergence. It applies each approach to real scenarios before the user decides, and it treats hybrid approaches as valid outcomes rather than forcing a binary choice.

Why it mattered

Most assistants present several options and immediately recommend one. The recommendation can be reasonable while still short-circuiting the design conversation: users accept the answer before they understand which trade-offs matter to them.

The outcome

The final artifact is not only a decision. It is a reusable mental model and a decision record that explains what was considered, what was traded away, and why the chosen direction fits the situation.