How do I install the Sanity Check skill?

Run npx skillmds add majiayu000/sanity-check in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Sanity Check safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: docs only. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Sanity Check?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Sanity Check free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Sanity Check?

majiayu000 (@majiayu000) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Sanity Check by majiayu000 — Agent Skill

Name: Sanity Check
Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Author: majiayu000

File contents

/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

---name: sanity-checkdescription: Step back, reflect on current work, validate direction and alignment. Use when complexity is increasing, feeling uncertain, before major decisions, or something feels off.--- # /sanity-check Mid-work validation using reflection to catch drift early. Permission to pause and think. ## Usage ```bash /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 ```bash # 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 ```markdown ## 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

Frequently asked questions