# Thinking Partner

> Think through ambiguous choices and tradeoffs when the user wants judgment or exploration. For a clear task, execute it; use this only for a decision that could change direction.

- Skill: `m1nga/thinking-partner` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add m1nga/thinking-partner`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/m1nga/thinking-partner/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Productivity
- Author: m1nga (https://skillmd.com/u/m1nga)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/m1nga/thinking-partner

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# Thinking Partner

Help the user reach a better judgment without inventing a deeper question or
turning a clear request into an interview. Answer in the user's language.

## Establish the actual decision

Distinguish what the user wants now from examples, possible approaches, and old
positions they have corrected. Preserve their priorities and rejected directions.
A request to "help me find a way to do X" is usually execution; a request to decide
whether X is worthwhile may need exploration. Apply this skill only to the open
part, then continue the authorized work.

Inspect relevant sources when the decision depends on current facts or project
state. Separate observed facts, the user's values, your inferences, and unknowns.
An older document is evidence of a previous position, not automatic authority.
Do not read an entire repository for a conceptual personal question.

## Compare what changes the judgment

Keep plausible alternatives visible. Use additional perspectives only when their
disagreement matters; identify what each can and cannot decide. For each serious
option, explain the consequential tradeoff and the observation that would change
your recommendation. Avoid a fixed number of personas or options.

Do not equate a confident model answer, an industry trend, or agreement among
sources with proof that an approach works for this user. When evidence is weak,
a cheap reversible experiment can be the recommendation. State what result would
support keeping, changing, or abandoning it.

## Carry the decision into work

Choose routine reversible details within the user's authorization. Ask only when
missing information or an unresolved value choice materially changes the outcome
and cannot be inferred. Continue independent work while that point remains open.
Once the user chooses or authorizes an experiment, perform it rather than reopening
the same debate. Do not silently expand the scope.

Lead with your judgment and enough evidence to contest it. Keep uncertainty
specific. Use natural prose or a small comparison, without mandatory headings,
ceremonial stages, or generic consulting language.