Updated 3mo ago
by tjboudreaux
cc-thinking-skills
28 eval-informed mental models and critical-thinking skills for Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Codex, Cursor, and other Agent Skills-compatible tools
1.7k GitHub stars (1,703)
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- 28 skills (28 skills found in its SKILL.md files)
- 189 forks (189 forks)
- 3mo ago last update (Last updated 3mo ago)
Install
Skills CLI
npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills
Asks which skills and agents to install. Just one: npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-bounded-rationality — add -g for every project.
Claude Code
git clone https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skillscp -r "cc-thinking-skills/skills/thinking-bounded-rationality" ~/.claude/skills/
Copies the thinking-bounded-rationality skill into ~/.claude/skills/ for every project (use .claude/skills/ for one project). Repeat for the other skills listed below.
Plugin
/plugin marketplace add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills
Run inside Claude Code if the repository ships a plugin marketplace, then pick plugins from /plugin.
Skills can run code on your machine — read the SKILL.md first.
What it does
In the author's own words, from each skill's SKILL.md.
-
thinking-bounded-rationality
Use when search or investigation could run forever. Set an explicit good-enough threshold first, then stop at the first option that clears it.
skills/thinking-bounded-rationality/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-circle-of-competence
Use when a specific claim may lack grounding. Check evidence boundary, size wrongness cost, then answer, fetch, or abstain — never confabulate.
skills/thinking-circle-of-competence/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-cynefin
When the right response mode is unclear, classify the cause-effect domain first; decompose disorder.
skills/thinking-cynefin/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-effectuation
Under genuine uncertainty with no reliable forecast, inventory means, cap downside at affordable loss, act for commitments, and let goals emerge from controllable moves.
skills/thinking-effectuation/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-first-principles
When a constraint is treated as fixed, separate physics from convention, keep only independently supported primitives, and rebuild the simplest solution that satisfies real constraints.
skills/thinking-first-principles/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-five-whys-plus
When a fault is localized and the proximate cause is known but the systemic root is not, chain evidence-linked whys with a counterfactual stop and a countermeasure.
skills/thinking-five-whys-plus/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-jobs-to-be-done
Deciding what to build or why adoption fails. Recover the progress users hire a solution for under a circumstance, then rank by outcome and competing workarounds.
skills/thinking-jobs-to-be-done/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-kepner-tregoe
Use when a selective defect needs IS/IS-NOT difference analysis or a consequential option choice needs must/want weighting and adverse-consequence comparison.
skills/thinking-kepner-tregoe/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-lindy-effect
Use when longevity of a non-perishable option matters. Treat survival duration as a remaining-life prior, then check domain drift before favoring the proven.
skills/thinking-lindy-effect/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-map-territory
When a claim, doc, test, metric, or assumption conflicts with observed behavior, stop theorizing from the map and verify the live code or data; let territory overrule.
skills/thinking-map-territory/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-margin-of-safety
When provisioning, setting a limit, or committing an estimate under uncertainty, size a buffer to residual error and the cost of breach—not to the optimistic edge.
skills/thinking-margin-of-safety/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-model-combination
When one mental model leaves a material blind spot on a multi-domain or high-stakes problem, sequence complementary models with named roles and a conflict rule.
skills/thinking-model-combination/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-model-router
When unsure which thinking skill fits, map domain and problem type, then return NONE or one primary skill by default (at most three complementary).
skills/thinking-model-router/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-ooda
Use under time pressure when the situation is still changing and you must act before certainty — cycle Observe→Orient→Decide→Act on ~70% confidence, then re-observe.
skills/thinking-ooda/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-opportunity-cost
Before committing scarce time, people, or money, name the best forgone use of those resources and the value delta of the chosen path versus that alternative.
skills/thinking-opportunity-cost/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-pre-mortem
Before committing to a plan or launch, assume it already failed and reason backward through concrete causes — convert failure paths into mitigations, gates, and stop checks.
skills/thinking-pre-mortem/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-probabilistic
Use when forecasting, estimating, or sizing risk — anchor on base rates, give ranges, update prior→likelihood→posterior on evidence, and factor unmeasured quantities into order-of-magnitude bounds.
skills/thinking-probabilistic/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-red-team
For authorized security review of code, auth, or APIs you control, model the attacker, map the attack surface, and report only findings with a reproducible exploit path and verified mitigation.
skills/thinking-red-team/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-reversibility
Before heavy deliberation, classify the decision as cheap or costly to undo; decide two-way doors fast and stage one-way doors to preserve options.
skills/thinking-reversibility/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-scientific-method
When a symptom has several plausible causes, rank falsifiable hypotheses and run the cheapest discriminating observation first; prefer least-assumptive survivors only after evidence fit.
skills/thinking-scientific-method/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-second-order
When a change has effects past the immediate fix—incentives, scale, feedback—trace consequence chains with timing and probability before committing.
skills/thinking-second-order/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-socratic
When a request is vague, assumption-laden, or "obvious," ask the few load-bearing questions that expose hidden requirements before building or committing.
skills/thinking-socratic/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-steel-manning
Before rejecting a proposal or reflexively agreeing, build the strongest faithful opposing case, state agreement conditions, then update or reaffirm.
skills/thinking-steel-manning/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-systems
When behavior is emergent across components—fixes elsewhere break, loops/delays dominate—map boundary, stocks/flows, feedback, archetypes, then rank leverage.
skills/thinking-systems/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-theory-of-constraints
When throughput or latency is pipeline-limited, identify the single binding constraint and exploit, subordinate, elevate, then recheck—ignore non-constraints.
skills/thinking-theory-of-constraints/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-thought-experiment
When a real test is too rare, large, or irreversible, run a controlled counterfactual: isolate one variable, fix conditions, trace the mechanistic chain, and bound what the result implies.
skills/thinking-thought-experiment/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-triz
When two design requirements seem mutually exclusive, name the contradiction, separate conflicting states, then invent a concrete no-compromise resolution.
skills/thinking-triz/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md -
thinking-via-negativa
Use when the reflex is to add a feature, layer, or process. Prefer removing harmful or nonessential elements first, with an irreversibility guard before deletion.
skills/thinking-via-negativa/ on GitHub (opens in a new tab)SKILL.md
No skill matches that filter.
Review before you install
A skill is a set of instructions and scripts your agent will follow, and it can run code on your machine. Read the SKILL.md and any scripts first — this listing is not a security review.