sanity-check

name	sanity-check
description	Step back, reflect on current work, validate direction and alignment. Use when complexity is increasing, feeling uncertain, before major decisions, or something feels off.
model	claude-opus-4-5-20251101
allowed-tools	Read, Glob, Grep

/sanity-check

Mid-work validation using reflection to catch drift early. Permission to pause and think.

Usage

/sanity-check                        # Reflect on current work
/sanity-check --project coordinatr   # Focus on specific project

When to Use

• Complexity is increasing
• Feeling uncertain about direction
• Before major decisions
• Something feels off
• After 30+ minutes of planning work

Not for: Session start (use /refresh), after completion (just continue)

Execution Steps

1. Reflect Using Sequential Thinking

Process these questions:

• What are we trying to accomplish?
• What have we done so far?
• What's the current approach?
• Does this align with the project vision?
• Are we solving the right problem?
• What concerns exist?

Categorize findings:

• Green: On track, continue
• Yellow: Minor issues, easy fixes
• Red: Major drift, course correction needed

2. Read Context Files

# Project context (if specified)
Read: ideas/{project}/README.md
Read: ideas/{project}/project-brief.md
Read: ideas/{project}/critique.md

# General context
Read: CLAUDE.md
Read: about-me.md

# Recent work
Bash: git log -5 --format="%h - %s"

Skip missing files gracefully.

3. Analyze Alignment

Check against:

• Vision: Does current work support project goals?
• Brief: Are we addressing the stated problem?
• Critique: Are we avoiding known pitfalls?
• Patterns: Are we following repo conventions?

4. Provide Assessment

## Sanity Check

### Current State
[What we're working on, current approach]

### Alignment Check
- **Vision**: [status] [brief assessment]
- **Problem Fit**: [status] [brief assessment]
- **Approach**: [status] [brief assessment]

### Concerns

**What's Working**
- [Positive observation]

**Minor Issues**
- [Yellow flag + suggested fix]

**Critical Issues**
- [Red flag + required action]

### Recommendation
[Continue as-is | Minor adjustment | Course correction | Pause and discuss]

### Next Steps
1. [Specific action]
2. [Specific action]

Philosophy

• Permission to pause: Makes stepping back a legitimate workflow step
• Catch drift early: Course correction cheap now, expensive later
• Trust your gut: If something feels off, run this command