| name | vibe-anti-rationalization-check |
| description | Detects and prevents shortcut rationalization — when the agent is about to skip a step, simplify a requirement, or optimize away a constraint. Triggers proactively when rationalization patterns are noticed. |
| user-invocable | true |
vibe-anti-rationalization-check
LLMs systematically rationalize shortcuts. This skill catches it happening.
When to Use This Skill
- You catch yourself thinking "this is simple enough to skip testing"
- You're about to reduce scope without the user asking
- You notice you're explaining why something "doesn't really need" to be done
- A constraint feels "too strict" and you want to relax it
- You're about to say "in the interest of time..."
When NOT to Use This Skill
- The user explicitly asked to skip something
- You're genuinely unsure if something is needed (ask the user instead)
- The simplification is the user's explicit request
Known Rationalization Patterns
Watch for these thoughts — they're red flags:
| Rationalization | Reality |
|---|
| "This is too simple to need tests" | Simple code in complex systems causes the hardest bugs |
| "The user probably doesn't care about this edge case" | Production users will find every edge case |
| "We don't need error handling here" | Internal code fails too, especially during refactors |
| "I'll add that later" | "Later" never comes. Do it now or create a tracked task |
| "This is just boilerplate" | Boilerplate often contains critical correctness constraints |
| "The happy path is enough for now" | The sad path is where real users spend most of their time |
| "It works, so it must be correct" | "Works" and "correct" are different things |
| "This test is redundant" | Redundant tests catch redundant bugs |
| "Let me simplify this requirement" | Simplifying without asking = silently dropping scope |
| "This doesn't need documentation" | If you thought about it for >2 minutes, document why |
Steps
When you detect a rationalization:
- Name it — "I notice I'm rationalizing skipping [X]"
- State the constraint — "The requirement says [specific requirement]"
- Evaluate honestly — Is there a legitimate reason to skip this, or is it laziness?
- Choose:
- If legitimate: Ask the user "Should we skip X because Y?"
- If rationalization: Do the work. Don't mention the temptation.
- If you skipped something without asking: Go back and do it
Output
This skill doesn't produce output — it's a mental discipline check. When triggered, it modifies behavior, not output.
If invoked explicitly by the user, report:
- What rationalizations were detected in recent work
- What was skipped and why
- What should be revisited
