think-tool

Think Tool

Overview

Before making complex or irreversible decisions, stop and think. The Think Tool is a structured reasoning step that happens before you act — not after. It's the difference between guessing and understanding.

Core principle: If you're not sure, think first. If you're sure, think again.

When to Use

Use Think Tool whenever:

• Multiple approaches exist — "I could do X or Y" → Stop, think, decide
• Irreversible changes — Deleting files, modifying database, pushing to main branch
• Complex multi-step operations — More than 3 tool calls in sequence
• Error recovery — Something failed and you're about to try a fix
• Before using potentially destructive tools — rm -rf, git reset --hard, DROP TABLE
• You catch yourself rushing — "Just try this and see" is a red flag
• Ambiguous requirements — Not sure what the user actually wants

Do NOT use for: Simple, obvious operations (single file edit, reading a file, running tests)

How to Think

When you call Think Tool, work through these steps in order:

Step 1: State the Situation

In one sentence, what's happening?

"I need to refactor the ChantingHall feature from 4 files to 2 files."

Step 2: List the Options

What are the possible approaches?

Option A: Merge Manager + UI into one file, keep Types separate Option B: Merge everything into one file Option C: Keep current 4-file structure, just add new features

Step 3: Evaluate Each Option

For each option, answer:

• Pros — What's good about this?
• Cons — What's the risk?
• Effort — How much work?
• Alignment — Does it match the project's existing patterns?

Step 4: Make a Decision

State clearly what you're going to do and why. Then proceed.

"I'll go with Option A because it reduces complexity while keeping type definitions clean and reusable."

Output Format

When using Think Tool, output your reasoning in this format:

🧠 Think Tool
─────────────
Situation: [one sentence]

Options:
1. [Option A] — [brief description]
   → Pros: [...]
   → Cons: [...]
   → Effort: [small/medium/large]

2. [Option B] — [brief description]
   → Pros: [...]
   → Cons: [...]
   → Effort: [small/medium/large]

Decision: [Option X]
Reason: [why this one wins]