| name | thinking |
| description | Activate when facing complex problems, multi-step decisions, high-risk changes, complex debugging, or architectural decisions. Activate when careful analysis is needed before taking action. Provides explicit step-by-step validation. |
Thinking Skill
Structured problem-solving through explicit step-by-step analysis.
When to Use
- Decisions are complex or multi-step
- Changes are high-risk or irreversible
- Debugging requires systematic exploration
- Architectural decisions with tradeoffs
- Planning before significant implementation
Core Guidance
- Break problems into explicit steps - Don't jump to conclusions
- Validate assumptions before acting - Question what you think you know
- Prefer planning before execution - Map the approach first
- Document reasoning - Make the thought process visible
Decision Matrix
Work Triggers (require planning)
- Action verbs: implement, fix, create, deploy
- @Role work: "@Developer implement X"
- Continuation: testing after implementation
Information Patterns (direct response)
- Questions: what, how, why, status
- @Role consultation: "@PM what story next?"
Context Evaluation
- Simple: Single question, surface-level → direct response
- Complex: Multi-component, system-wide impact → use thinking
Thinking Process
- Identify the problem - What exactly needs to be solved?
- Gather context - What information is relevant?
- List options - What approaches are possible?
- Evaluate tradeoffs - What are pros/cons of each?
- Select approach - Which option best fits constraints?
- Plan execution - What are the steps to implement?
- Identify risks - What could go wrong?
- Define validation - How will success be measured?
Memory Integration (AUTOMATIC)
Before Analysis
node ~/.claude/skills/memory/cli.js search "relevant problem keywords"
IF similar analysis found:
- Review the approach
- Adapt or reuse patterns
- Note differences in context
After Significant Analysis
node ~/.claude/skills/memory/cli.js write \
--title "Analysis: <problem type>" \
--summary "<approach that worked, key tradeoffs>" \
--tags "analysis,<domain>" \
--category "patterns" \
--importance "medium"
This is SILENT - builds knowledge for future analysis without user notification.
Sequential Thinking MCP Tool
For complex analysis, use the mcp__sequential-thinking__sequentialthinking tool:
- Break into numbered thoughts
- Allow revision of previous thoughts
- Support branching for alternative approaches
- Track hypothesis generation and verification
