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Agent skill

Dialectic

by EpicenterHQ in EpicenterHQ/epicenter

Work out an unsettled idea together through concrete attempts to articulate and express it.

Custom licenceAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Dialectic

skills CLI
$ npx skills add EpicenterHQ/epicenter --skill dialectic -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install EpicenterHQ/epicenter dialectic --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/EpicenterHQ/epicenter.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/dialectic .claude/skills/dialectic && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
dialectic
GitHub stars
4.8k
Token cost
~1.6k tokens
SKILL.md length
910 words
Files
2 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
65
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Custom licence

At a glance

Work out an unsettled idea together through concrete attempts to articulate and express it.

  • The user asks for a dialectic
  • SKILL.md covers Make the model and its…, Learn from the response and References
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
  • Wants to explore what a skill

What it does

Dialectic is an agent skill from EpicenterHQ/epicenter. Work out an unsettled idea together through concrete attempts to articulate and express it. Use when the user asks for a dialectic, wants to explore what a skill or workflow should do, is finding a direction for writing, wants to judge a proposed change, wants to think through an uncertain model or decision, or needs help articulating a thought they cannot quite express. Do not use for routine execution of a settled request, a standalone explanation of settled material, or a code review.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.6k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including reference files (for example `references/conversations.md`).

It sits in Development. The repository describes itself as: Open-source, local-first apps.

When your agent uses it

  • The user asks for a dialectic
  • Wants to explore what a skill
  • Workflow should do
  • Is finding a direction for writing

Example prompts

  • “/dialectic”

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 9cc65c3. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Dialectic loads about 1.6k tokens when it runs, and up to ~5.1k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 126 tokens; SKILL.md has 910 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~126
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.6k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~5.1k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

Its licence (Custom licence) doesn't allow us to republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 910 words (~1,645 tokens).

“Give the thought a useful shape so we can think with it together.”

— opening of SKILL.md by EpicenterHQ, Custom licence
name
dialectic

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in .agents/skills/dialectic of EpicenterHQ/epicenter.

  • SKILL.md
  • references/conversations.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 9cc65c3

Compare with similar skills

Dialectic next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Dialectic compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Dialectic this skillEpicenterHQ/epicenter4.8k—~1.6kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence
Vercel Composition Patternssupabase/supabase111k59 repos~726Automated safety check: PassMIT
Finishing a Development Branchobra/superpowers296k5 repos~1.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Typescript Advanced Typesrolling-scopes/rsschool-app10k25 repos~4.2kAutomated safety check: PassMPL-2.0
PR Babysitteropeninterpreter/openinterpreter69k3 repos~4.2kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Code Review ChecklistshareAI-lab/learn-claude-code78k5 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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  • Vercel Composition Patterns

    supabase/supabase

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    111k GitHub starsUsed in 59 repos~726 tokens
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  • Finishing a Development Branch

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    69k GitHub starsUsed in 3 repos~4.2k tokens
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More from EpicenterHQ/epicenter

All 65 skills in this repo

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  • Cohesion Over Testability

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  • Collapse Pass

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  • Error Handling

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Categories

Questions about Dialectic

What does Dialectic do?

Work out an unsettled idea together through concrete attempts to articulate and express it. Dialectic is an agent skill from EpicenterHQ/epicenter. Work out an unsettled idea together through concrete attempts to articulate and express it.

When should I use Dialectic?

Dialectic fits situations like: the user asks for a dialectic; wants to explore what a skill; workflow should do; is finding a direction for writing.

How do I install Dialectic in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add EpicenterHQ/epicenter --skill dialectic -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/dialectic in EpicenterHQ/epicenter) into .claude/skills/dialectic in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Dialectic in Codex?

Run `npx skills add EpicenterHQ/epicenter --skill dialectic -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/dialectic in EpicenterHQ/epicenter) into .agents/skills/dialectic in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Dialectic in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add EpicenterHQ/epicenter --skill dialectic -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/dialectic, .gemini/skills/dialectic, .github/skills/dialectic and .opencode/skills/dialectic in your project.

What does Dialectic need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Dialectic is instructions for the agent only.

Does Dialectic access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Dialectic safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Dialectic use?

Dialectic has a licence file (the repository's licence) that doesn't match a standard licence. Read it on GitHub before reusing the skill.

How many tokens does Dialectic use?

About 1.6k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.6k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 3.5k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Dialectic?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Dialectic: Vercel Composition Patterns (supabase/supabase, 111k stars), Finishing a Development Branch (obra/superpowers, 296k stars), Typescript Advanced Types (rolling-scopes/rsschool-app, 10k stars) and PR Babysitter (openinterpreter/openinterpreter, 69k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Dialectic?

EpicenterHQ (a GitHub organization) maintains it in EpicenterHQ/epicenter, which has 4,819 GitHub stars. The repository holds 65 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 8, 2026.

Source: EpicenterHQ/epicenter on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.