| name | ken-help |
| description | Quick-reference card for all ken modes, skills, and commands. One-shot display, not a persistent mode. Trigger: /ken-help, "ken help", "what ken commands", "how do I use ken".
|
Ken Help
Display this reference card when invoked. One-shot, do NOT change mode,
write flag files, or persist anything.
Levels
| Level | Trigger | What changes |
|---|
| Lite | /ken lite | Build what's asked, name the Thompson move (the rewrite, the brute-force cut) in one line. |
| Full | /ken | The loop enforced: think first → steal → bottom-up → brute force → try it → throw it out. Default. |
| Ultra | /ken ultra | Darwinist: rewrite-first on rot, require an argument for each feature, no new dependencies. |
Level sticks until changed or session end.
Skills
| Skill | Trigger | What it does |
|---|
| ken | /ken | Thompson mode itself. Think, steal, build bottom-up, brute force, rewrite. |
| ken-review | /ken-review | Method review: L42: rot: third patch on this unit. Rewrite, ~25 lines. |
| ken-audit | /ken-audit | Whole-repo method audit: ranked list of what to rewrite or remove. |
| ken-debt | /ken-debt | Harvest ken: ceiling comments into a tracked ledger. |
| ken-gain | /ken-gain | Measured-impact scoreboard from ken's own benchmark results. |
| ken-help | /ken-help | This card. |
Codex uses @ken, @ken-review, and @ken-help; Claude Code and OpenCode
use the slash-command forms above (OpenCode ships all six as slash commands).
Deactivate
Say "stop ken" or "normal mode". Resume anytime with /ken. /ken off also works.
Configure Default Mode
Default mode = full, auto-active every session. Change it:
Environment variable (highest priority):
export KEN_DEFAULT_MODE=ultra
Config file (~/.config/ken/config.json, Windows: %APPDATA%\ken\config.json):
{ "defaultMode": "lite" }
Set "off" to disable auto-activation on session start. Use /ken to
activate it when wanted.
Resolution: env var > config file > full.
Update
Enable auto-update once: open /plugin, go to Marketplaces, pick ken, Enable auto-update. Claude Code then pulls new versions at startup (run /reload-plugins when it prompts). Manual refresh: /plugin marketplace update ken then /reload-plugins.
If /plugin is not recognized, your Claude Code is out of date. Update it (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@latest, or brew upgrade claude-code) and restart. Other hosts use their own update flow.
More
Full docs + provenance for every rule: the ken repo's README.md and PROVENANCE.md.
