Skills

207 structured reasoning skills for Claude Code. Each guides you through a specific type of thinking, classified by universality.

Usage: type /skillname your question in a Claude Code session. For example: /araw should I change careers

Experimental ARAW, UAUA, GOSM

These use a different approach. They treat every claim as an unverified guess and test it by exploring what follows if it's right and what follows if it's wrong.

araw
Assume Right / Assume Wrong — tests both branches of any claim recursively
 uaua
Universalize → ARAW → Universalize → ARAW — alternates exploration and testing
 gosm
Goal-Oriented State Machine — routes input through the appropriate analysis chain

Tier 1 Start here

The most generally useful skills. They work on almost any problem and consistently produce non-obvious results.

space_enumeration
Systematically lists all options in a problem space so nothing gets missed
 assumption_extraction
Surfaces the hidden assumptions in any claim, plan, or argument
 comparison
Structured comparison of options with explicit criteria and trade-offs
 hypothesis_testing
Tests claims by examining what would be true if right vs. wrong
 decision_procedure
Builds a step-by-step flowchart anyone can follow for a recurring decision
 decomposition
Breaks complex problems into smaller, solvable parts
 root_cause_analysis
Finds the actual cause of a problem, not just symptoms
 dimension_discovery
Identifies all the dimensions along which something can vary
 mece_validation
Checks that a breakdown is mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive
 insight_synthesis
Combines findings from multiple analyses into coherent conclusions
 cost_benefit_analysis
Structured evaluation of costs vs. benefits with explicit trade-offs
 goal_understanding
Clarifies what someone actually wants vs. what they said they want

Tier 2 Deep reasoning

Go deeper on specific types of thinking. Use when you need thoroughness on a particular kind of problem.

procedure_validation
Checks whether a procedure works by testing each step
 assumption_inversion
Flips assumptions to discover what happens if the opposite is true
 topological_ordering
Finds the correct order when tasks depend on each other
 cross_domain_analogy
Applies solutions from one field to problems in another
 morphological_analysis
Generates combinations by varying parameters across dimensions
 systems_analysis
Maps how parts of a system interact and where leverage points are
 backward_reasoning
Works backward from the goal to figure out what steps are needed
 pre_mortem
Imagines the project failed and asks why, before it starts
 failure_anticipation
Identifies likely failure modes before they happen
 possibility_analysis
Explores what is possible, not just what is likely
 inference_space_search
Searches the space of valid inferences from given premises
 recursive_causal_interrogation
Keeps asking "why" until you reach the actual root
 limitation_analysis
Identifies real constraints and which ones can be changed
 verification_before_output
Checks every claim for evidence before presenting it
 convergent_validation
Uses multiple independent checks to validate a conclusion

Tier 3 Specialized tools

These solve specific types of problems well. Less general but very effective in their domain.

Research & Analysis

literature_review qualitative_research data_collection statistical_analysis experimental_design field_analysis competitive_analysis market_research source_credibility source_prioritization economic_research policy_research

Writing & Communication

high_quality_writing persuasive_writing storytelling public_speaking presentation_design content_strategy outreach_communication feedback_delivery active_listening

Planning & Projects

project_initiation project_scoping project_closure dependency_extraction progress_tracking risk_assessment deployment retrospective stakeholder_management

Business

customer_discovery marketing_funnel positioning negotiation client_retention financial_modeling budget_management investment_strategy roi_analysis

Software

code_review debugging refactoring architecture_design architecture_patterns api_design testing_strategy security_practices

Career & Learning

career_path_planning interview_preparation resume_optimization salary_negotiation skill_acquisition deliberate_practice spaced_repetition active_recall learning_system

Decision Making

decision_trees selection criteria_weighting pairwise_comparison expected_value multi_criteria_decision reversibility_analysis better_option_check

Tier 4 Everything else

The remaining skills cover specific use cases: goal decomposition, procedure extraction, search methods, strategy discovery, self-auditing, and more. Browse claude-code-plugin/skills/ for the complete list.