ccc-suggest

name	ccc-suggest
description	AI-powered 'what should I do next' advisor. Always running in the background (via UserPromptSubmit hook) — observes project state, user intent, and session history,…
allowed-tools	["Read","Bash","Glob","Grep","Agent","AskUserQuestion"]
argument-hint	[loop | loop status | loop stop | describe current situation in plain English]

/ccc-suggest — The Intelligence Layer

This is CC Commander's headline feature. The user never has to guess which tool to use. An Opus-class reasoning pass runs over the current project state + user signals + recent session activity, then surfaces ONE concrete recommendation: the next /ccc-* workflow, CCC skill, or third-party plugin to invoke — with named reasoning.

No more info paralysis. No more "what's the right plugin for this?" No more browsing 500+ skills. You get a ⭐ Recommended next step with specific tool names.

Response shape

Exactly four sections:

1. Brand header + context

**CC Commander Suggest** · Opus-class routing · Reading your project state…

Then a context card showing what was detected.

2. Project scan (parallel reads, <2s)

Run all of these in a SINGLE Bash invocation (parallelized with & + wait):

• git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD — current branch
• git log --oneline -5 — recent activity
• git diff --stat origin/main..HEAD 2>/dev/null | tail -1 — branch ahead?
• ls CLAUDE.md package.json pyproject.toml Cargo.toml .env 2>/dev/null | wc -l — project signals
• cat package.json 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.dependencies // empty | keys[]?' 2>/dev/null | head -20 — JS stack
• ls tasks/todo.md tasks/plan-*.md 2>/dev/null — open tasks
• ls -t ~/.claude/sessions/*.tmp 2>/dev/null | head -1 — last session
• ls ~/.claude/plugins/cache/*/*/1*/.claude-plugin/plugin.json 2>/dev/null | wc -l — installed plugins
• claude mcp list 2>/dev/null | grep -c '^ ' — connected MCPs

3. The recommendation

Use Opus-class reasoning (this skill runs on Opus when available; Sonnet fallback). Output EXACTLY this structure:

## ⭐ Recommended next step

**`/ccc-<workflow>`** — <one-line purpose>

**Why this, now:** <3-5 sentences of concrete reasoning. Reference specific signals from the project scan. Name the alternative options you considered and rejected.>

**Specific tools you'll use:**
- 🛠️ **<primary skill/agent>** — <why it fits>
- 🧩 **<secondary skill/agent/MCP>** — <why it complements>
- 🌐 **<optional third-party plugin>** — <when it becomes relevant>

**Estimated time:** <X minutes>
**Cost:** <rough $ estimate if multi-agent or hosted MCP>
**Confidence:** <HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW, with reasoning>

4. Runner-up picks (via AskUserQuestion)

If the user wants alternatives, offer them:

question: "Prefer something else?"
header: "Alternatives"
multiSelect: false
options:
  - label: "⭐ Go with recommended: /ccc-<workflow>"
    description: "<reasoning abstract>"
  - label: "Runner-up: /ccc-<alt-1>"
    description: "<when this would be better>"
  - label: "Deeper option: /ccc-<alt-2>"
    description: "<more investment, potentially more value>"
  - label: "Show all 12 /ccc-* options"
    description: "Open /ccc-browse for the full picker."

Default to the starred first option unless user actively picks an alternative.

The reasoning heuristics (Opus prompt)

When running the reasoning step, the internal Opus call uses these heuristics, ranked by signal strength:

Tier 0 — The three PM lenses (frame every pass)

Before ranking tier-1/2/3 signals, evaluate the project through all three PM lenses below. Every pass — explicit invocation AND ambient tick — runs all three and picks the strongest. The loop is a PM, not a cheerleader: it must be willing to say "stop building, scope this first." SCOPE outranks IMPROVE when both fire.

1. IMPROVE — "What skill or workflow could be implemented right now to make things better?" Missing tests → /ccc-review + TDD emphasis. Generic UI → ccc-design sub-skills. Slow feedback cycle → propose a new /loop recipe. Repeated manual step (same fix/check happening twice) → recommend encoding it as a skill or hook so future iterations don't repeat it — that is the PM's job, not the user's.
2. SCOPE — "Is the current work properly defined?" No plan file, vague acceptance criteria, or the task ballooning past its original ask → /ccc-plan or spec-interviewer. Scope creep detected in the diff vs. the stated goal → flag it explicitly, don't silently let it ride.
3. AUDIT — "What is currently unverified?" Branch ahead with no review → /ccc-review. Deps unaudited → security scan. Docs drifted from code → doc-sync. Tests green but coverage dropped → qa pass.

Tier 1 — Strong signals (drive the recommendation)

• Substantive task (multi-file / research / audit / migration / repo-wide) → recommend running it workflow-first (the Workflow tool or /ccc-fleet / /ccc-ultracode); agents return conclusions, not file dumps. See commander/cowork-plugin/rules/workflow-first.md.
• Isolated / parallel work described (a background job, a separate unrelated task, "handle this independently", "while I'm away") → offer to spin it into its own session instead of derailing the current thread: a spawn_task chip in Cowork Desktop, or /spawn quick <task> in the CLI. Detected automatically every turn by the suggest ticker (hooks/suggest-ticker.js → detectIsolationSignal), deduped so it never nags. Never spawn without the user's go-ahead.
• Branch is ahead of main + tests present → /ccc-review diff (audit before PR)
• Branch is ahead of main + no tests → /ccc-build with TDD emphasis OR /ccc-plan if spec unclear
• No CLAUDE.md + empty repo or only README → /ccc-start (onboard + plan file)
• CLAUDE.md exists + active tasks/todo.md → continue the work; if last task is "plan", route to /ccc-plan resume; if "build", /ccc-build
• Recent session crashed or interrupted → resume via /ccc-start → "Import existing project"
• Tests green + branch ahead + CHANGELOG staged → /ccc-ship preflight (ready to release)
• CI red / lint failing → /ccc-review with perf+security focus first; fix before adding features
• Dep audit flagged vulnerabilities → /ccc-review security (critical before shipping)

Tier 2 — Stack signals (modify the recommendation)

• Next.js / React / Vite in package.json → recommend ccc-design + Figma MCP in the tool list
• Postgres / Supabase config → recommend ccc-saas + Supabase MCP
• GitHub Actions workflow → recommend ccc-devops + GitHub MCP
• Python ML imports → recommend ccc-research + anthropic-skills via vendor
• Multi-repo / monorepo → recommend ccc-fleet (parallel agents)

Tier 3 — User intent (overrides with explicit ask)

• User says "what's next" / "help me decide" / "which tool" → this skill activates directly
• User describes a task → pattern-match to workflow + skill, e.g. "audit security" → /ccc-review security
• User asks about a specific domain → route to ccc-<domain> domain router + name sub-skills

Named third-party plugins for context (the "amazing OSS" callouts)

When relevant to the current task, NAME SPECIFIC 3RD-PARTY PLUGINS from the vendor ecosystem. Users should know these exist — discovery is our job, not theirs. The top-20 plugins by star count + active maintenance:

For design:

• impeccable — the design-language-hardening skill. Use when UI output feels generic.
• frontend-design (Anthropic) — anti-slop aesthetic engine.
• ui-ux-pro-max-skill — 67K star production design intelligence.

For memory / context:

• claude-mem — session memory + context injection. ✅ Already in core plugin as MCP.
• hindsight — agent memory that learns from past work.
• beads — memory upgrade for coding agents.

For research / browsing:

• last30days-skill — multi-source research (Reddit/X/YT/HN/web).
• context7 — up-to-date library docs. ✅ Already in core.
• dev-browser — real browser for agents.

For planning:

• planning-with-files — Manus-style persistent markdown planning. Complements /ccc-plan.
• bmad-method — Breakthrough Method for Agile AI Development.

For agent orchestration:

• wshobson/agents — 100+ specialized subagents. Complementary to our 17 personas.
• superpowers — agentic skills framework.
• caveman — 65% token reduction mode. ✅ Already in vendor.

For code quality:

• everything-claude-code — 159K star full harness optimization.
• claude-task-master — task management drop-in.
• promptfoo — test prompts + red-teaming.

For specialized domains:

• marketingskills — CRO, copywriting, growth. ✅ Concept already in ccc-marketing.
• pm-skills — 100+ PM skills.
• andrej-karpathy-skills — Karpathy's LLM coding observations baked in.

For live visibility:

• claude-hud — status bar + tool tracking. ✅ Already in vendor.
• visual-explainer — rich HTML/slide diagrams. Pairs perfectly with /ccc-cheatsheet.

When recommending one, include: name, purpose, install path (install via /ccc-connect OR vendor submodule OR npm). Make it one-click from the recommendation to install.

Always-on mode — ambient intelligence with 4 involvement levels

/ccc-suggest is auto-triggered on every user turn via the suggest-ticker.js UserPromptSubmit hook. It runs a lightweight reasoning pass (Sonnet, not full Opus) and surfaces recommendations based on the current involvement level.

The level auto-adjusts based on real-time project analysis. Users can also override via CCC_SUGGEST_LEVEL=<1|2|3|4> env var.

Level 1 — Passive (silent analytics)

• Reasoning runs but never displays
• Logs to ~/.claude/commander/suggest-log.jsonl for telemetry + session learning
• Default when: project is green (tests pass, branch clean, no todos, recent session completed successfully)
• Use case: power users who know what they're doing; data collection for future improvements

Level 2 — Gentle nudge (default)

• Shows a one-line suggestion at the BOTTOM of the response ONLY when confidence ≥ HIGH
• Format: 💡 **Suggested next:** /ccc-ship preflight — tests green, branch ahead, CHANGELOG staged. Ready to release?
• Dismissible by user (any response that doesn't use the suggestion is fine — no nag)
• Default when: project has signals but no blockers (e.g. branch ahead of main, recent plan file)
• Use case: most users; low intrusion, high value

Level 3 — Assertive (inline recommendation)

• Shows a boxed recommendation card at the TOP of the response
• Always includes confidence + reasoning + runner-up picks
• Format:

  ┌─ 🎯 CC Commander Suggests ─────────────────────┐
  │ ⭐ /ccc-review diff (HIGH confidence)          │
  │ Why: 18 files changed, 0 test files touched,   │
  │ and you're ahead of main by 3 commits.         │
  │ Alternatives: /ccc-ship preflight · /ccc-plan  │
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  

• Default when: project has BLOCKERS (failed CI, security alerts, lint errors, stale CLAUDE.md drift)
• Use case: beginners or pressure situations; the AI is actively guiding

Level 4 — Autopilot (execute unless objected)

• Skips AskUserQuestion for the top recommendation and just runs it after a 5-second countdown (user can say "stop" / "wait" / "no" to cancel)
• Level 4 only kicks in automatically when:
  1. Confidence is HIGH
  2. The recommendation is a READ-ONLY action (analysis, review, preview) — NEVER an action that writes to disk or network
  3. User has explicitly set CCC_SUGGEST_LEVEL=4 (never auto-activates; opt-in only)
• Use case: heavy solo dev, night mode, autonomous overnight runs

Auto-adjustment rules (the "brain" decides the level)

The ambient ticker re-evaluates the level at the start of every turn using these signals:

Signal	Level shift
CI failing OR security alert OR open PR with red checks	→ Level 3 (assertive)
Branch clean + tests green + no todos + recent success	→ Level 1 (passive)
User said "what next" / "help" / "stuck"	→ Level 3 one-turn override
User said "autopilot" / "yolo" / "go"	→ Level 4 one-turn override
CCC_SUGGEST_LEVEL env var set	→ hard-override to that level for whole session
CCC_SUGGEST_DISABLE=1	→ disables ambient mode entirely (Level 0)
Night mode / overnight autonomous session detected	→ Level 4 (with the read-only safety constraint)

PM Loop mode — the always-on thinking PM

/ccc-suggest loop arms a recurring loop: start /loop /ccc-suggest (self-paced) or /loop 30m /ccc-suggest if the user gives an interval. Per the /ccc-loop taxonomy this is a time-based loop locally, and graduates to /schedule /ccc-suggest for teams who want it to survive laptop-close. See /ccc-loop for the full 4-type taxonomy this borrows from.

Each tick runs the existing project scan + the three PM lenses above, then surfaces at most ONE recommendation through the existing involvement-level system. A tick with nothing new to say stays silent at Level 1 — logging only, no nag.

State file — dogfoods the /ccc-loop convention: .claude/loop-state/ccc-suggest.json:

{
  "iteration": 4,
  "lastRun": "2026-07-06T14:32:00Z",
  "attempted": ["/ccc-review diff", "/ccc-plan"],
  "dismissed": ["/ccc-ship preflight"],
  "history": []
}

Hard rule: a suggestion in dismissed is never re-surfaced unless its underlying signal materially changed (e.g. CI went from green to red). This is the anti-nag mechanism AND what makes the loop "learn" instead of repeating itself.

Should-you-loop gate, applied to itself: recurs constantly (every turn) ✓ · verifier = deterministic project-state signals (git/CI/todos), not self-judged ✓ · budget = cheap Sonnet-tier pass per tick, capped ✓ · real tools = git/gh/fs already wired via the ticker ✓. Passes all 4 — this is why /ccc-suggest is the one skill CCC recommends running as a standing loop rather than one-shot.

/ccc-suggest loop status reads the state file and prints iteration count + last recommendation + dismissed list. /ccc-suggest loop stop stops the loop — same mechanisms as /ccc-loop (Cowork Desktop stop button, Ctrl+C, or cancel the /schedule routine).

Real-time project analysis signals (refreshed at most every ~30s of turn activity)

The ticker maintains a cached project state in ~/.claude/commander/project-state.json. Fields (exactly what hooks/suggest-ticker.js computeState() writes):

{
  "timestamp": "2026-07-10T01:15:00Z",
  "branch": "feature/xyz",
  "defaultBranch": "origin/main",
  "aheadMain": 3,
  "behindMain": 0,
  "hasClaudeMd": true,
  "claudeMdAgeDays": 12,
  "openTodos": 1,
  "lastSession": "/Users/you/.claude/sessions/2026-07-09-abc.tmp",
  "stack": ["nextjs", "tailwind", "supabase"],
  "testsStatus": "passing",
  "ciStatus": "passing",
  "lintStatus": "unknown",
  "securityAlerts": 0,
  "lintErrors": 0,
  "recommendedLevel": 2,
  "pmLenses": { "audit": true, "scope": false, "improve": false },
  "lastRecommendation": null
}

Signal sources: ciStatus from a ≤10-min cached gh run list --limit 1 --json conclusion (stale cache refreshes in a detached background process — the hook never blocks); testsStatus / lintStatus / securityAlerts from the PostToolUse cache at ~/.claude/commander/last-test-result.json (30-min TTL); defaultBranch via git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD (fallback origin/main). Status values are passing | failing | unknown. hasClaudeMd + claudeMdAgeDays feed the CLAUDE.md drift recommendations (/ccc-claudemd at age > 30d, /ccc-adopt when missing). lastRecommendation is populated by explicit /ccc-suggest runs, not by the ticker.

Marketing positioning (the headline feature)

"An Opus-class AI watches your project in real time and always tells you the next best move. You never have to know which of 502+ tools to use — the plugin knows for you."

This is the headline differentiator. Other plugins ship tools. CC Commander ships the decision about which tool to use.

User overrides

• CCC_SUGGEST_LEVEL=1..4 — hard-lock the level
• CCC_SUGGEST_DISABLE=1 — disable ambient mode entirely
• /ccc-suggest --level=3 --force — one-turn override
• /ccc-suggest --history — show last 10 recommendations + what user actually picked
• /ccc-suggest --tune — enter a quick AUQ flow to calibrate what level of involvement the user wants

Fable escalation rule

When session intent is strongly deep-reasoning (≥2 of: architecture / redesign / migration / threat model / system design / refactor entire / plan the / roadmap; OR prompt >800 chars with planning verbs), surface once per session (never nag):

🧠 Deep-reasoning session detected — consider /model claude-fable-5[1m] (Fable deep mode, 1M ctx, adaptive thinking always-on). CCC routes subagents cost-efficiently either way.

• Fire at most ONCE per day (marker file ~/.claude/commander/fable-nudge-<date>).
• Never trigger on casual or short prompts.
• Never block or delay the response — append as a lightweight suggestion only.
• The intent-classifier.js UserPromptSubmit hook handles automatic detection; this skill surfaces it in explicit /ccc-suggest runs.

Anti-patterns

• ❌ Generic "you could try X" recommendations — always cite specific signals
• ❌ More than ONE starred recommendation — we eliminate decision fatigue, so one ⭐ only
• ❌ Recommending without reading project state — the scan is non-negotiable
• ❌ Vague time estimates — say "~15 min" or "~1 hour", not "a while"
• ❌ Recommending third-party plugins without install path — always name the install step
• ❌ Running the full Opus pass on every single message — the background ticker uses Sonnet; Opus only when user explicitly invokes /ccc-suggest

Confidence calibration

• HIGH — multiple tier-1 signals agree + stack signals confirm (e.g. "branch ahead + tests green + CHANGELOG staged" → /ccc-ship with HIGH confidence)
• MEDIUM — one tier-1 signal + user intent compatible (e.g. "empty repo + user said 'build a SaaS'" → /ccc-build with MEDIUM)
• LOW — no tier-1 signals + user intent ambiguous → show 3 alternatives via AUQ

Voice

Speak in the PM Consultant voice with the semantic emoji palette from rules/common/response-style.md (🎯 focus · 💡 idea · 🟢 approve · 🟡 caution · 🔴 block · ⏭️ next) — every recommendation ends with a decisive 🟢 my call + one-line rationale, never a hedge.

Brand positioning (the value prop)

This skill IS the value prop of CC Commander for beginners:

• No info paralysis — one recommended next step, always
• Opus-class reasoning — not a dumb routing table; full project context
• Named tools + plugins — "use claude-mem for this" not "use a memory tool"
• Reasoning shown — never a black box, always "because X / Y / Z"

The CLI version of the same capability: ccc --suggest (headless, JSON output for CI).

Tips for execution

1. Run the project scan FIRST, in parallel, in ONE Bash call. Don't sequential-read files.
2. The Opus pass is expensive — only on explicit /ccc-suggest invocation. The background hook uses Sonnet.
3. If scan reveals no actionable signals: say so, recommend /ccc-start for onboarding.
4. Every recommendation has a "what not to do" implicit — by picking ONE, you're hiding 11 others. That's intentional. Commit to the call.

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⚙️ Fable contract: plan before build · verifier ≠ worker · prove before alarm · loops need gates · leave durable state — rules/fable-method.md