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Agent skill

Constraint Psychological

by hashgraph-online in hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins

A skill your agent uses when designing constraints that work through perception, expectation, and learned convention — symbols, conventions, mappings.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passed

Install Constraint Psychological

skills CLI
$ npx skills add hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins --skill constraint-psychological -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins constraint-psychological --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/hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/HDeibler/universal-design-principles/plugins/interaction-and-control-principles/skills/constraint-psychological .claude/skills/constraint-psychological && 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
constraint-psychological
GitHub stars
1.3k
Token cost
~1.4k tokens
SKILL.md length
681 words
Files
2 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
716
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

A skill your agent uses when designing constraints that work through perception, expectation, and learned convention — symbols, conventions, mappings.

  • Works in 3 steps: The convention audit. For each… → The "what does this symbol mean?" check.… → The mapping check. For each control, do…
  • Designing constraints that work through perception
  • SKILL.md covers The three subtypes (from the…, Symbols in software UI, Conventions in software UI and Mappings in software UI, plus 4 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Constraint Psychological is an agent skill from hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins. Use this skill when designing constraints that work through perception, expectation, and learned convention — symbols, conventions, mappings. Trigger when designing iconography, picking control conventions, or designing for behavioral predictability. Sub-aspect of constraint; read that first.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.4k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including reference files (for example `references/conventions-and-symbols.md`).

The repository describes itself as: A curated list of awesome OpenAI Codex / ChatGPT plugins, skills, and resources. The 1 Codex Marketplace. See live plugins at: https://hol.org/plugins/best-codex-plugins. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Designing constraints that work through perception
  • Learned convention — symbols
  • Designing iconography
  • Picking control conventions

Example prompts

  • “/constraint-psychological”

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. The convention audit. For each interactive element, name the convention you're following or breaking. Breaking should be deliberate.
  2. The "what does this symbol mean?" check. Show your icons to users unfamiliar with your product. If they can't tell, the symbol isn't…
  3. The mapping check. For each control, do its position and direction match the effect? If not, mapping is failing.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 3e1456a. 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 (its code samples are html).

    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

Constraint Psychological loads about 1.4k tokens when it runs, and up to ~2.1k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 80 tokens; SKILL.md has 681 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~80
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.4k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~2.1k

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

The full file from hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins at commit 3e1456a, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© hashgraph-online). 681 words, ~1,425 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/constraint-psychological/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
constraint-psychological
description
Use this skill when designing constraints that work through perception, expectation, and learned convention — symbols, conventions, mappings. Trigger when designing iconography, picking control conventions, or designing for behavioral predictability. Sub-aspect of `constraint`; read that first.

Psychological constraints

Psychological constraints don't physically prevent action; they make wrong actions feel obviously wrong by leveraging perception, learned convention, or perceived control-effect relationships. Weaker than physical constraints, but available where physical constraints aren't.

The three subtypes (from the book)

Symbols

Communicate meaning through language and imagery. Examples:

  • A skull-and-crossbones on a poison bottle.
  • A "WET FLOOR" sign.
  • A red traffic light.
  • A trash icon on a delete button.

In software UI: any icon or label that signals what an element does or what state it's in. The user reads the symbol and adjusts behavior accordingly.

Conventions

Learned practices that the user expects systems to honor. Examples:

  • "Red means stop, green means go."
  • "Click the X to close."
  • "Cmd-S saves; Cmd-Z undoes."
  • "The hamburger icon opens a menu."

Conventions are powerful because they're transferable — a user who learned cmd-K opens the command palette in one app expects it in others. Honor conventions; deviate only with strong reason.

Mappings

Perceived relationships between controls and their effects. Examples:

  • Stovetop knobs arranged to match burner positions.
  • Volume dial that turns clockwise to increase.
  • Light switches near the lights they control.

In software UI: a row of action buttons whose layout matches the order of objects they affect; a slider whose direction matches the direction of value change.

html
<!-- Mapping: + on the right increases, - on the left decreases -->
<div class="counter">
  <button>−</button>
  <span>5</span>
  <button>+</button>
</div>

Good mapping makes the right action feel obvious; the wrong action feels wrong.

Symbols in software UI

Iconography

Icons that follow established conventions:

  • Trash → delete.
  • Pencil → edit.
  • Magnifier → search.
  • Gear → settings.
  • Bell → notifications.

Reusing conventional icons is psychological constraint via convention. Inventing new icons forces users to learn new symbols; only do so when no convention fits.

Status badges

A red "ERROR" badge psychologically constrains the user from treating the item as normal. The symbol pre-empts the wrong action.

Warning labels

Inline warnings ("This action cannot be undone") constrain the user from proceeding without consideration.

Conventions in software UI

Keyboard conventions
  • Cmd-S / Ctrl-S saves.
  • Cmd-Z / Ctrl-Z undoes.
  • Esc closes overlays.
  • / focuses search.
  • Cmd-K / Ctrl-K opens command palette.

Honoring these conventions constrains the user to expected behavior. Violating them creates surprise.

Mouse conventions
  • Click triggers actions.
  • Right-click opens context menus.
  • Drag moves elements.
  • Hover reveals supplementary information.
Layout conventions
  • Logo top-left links to home.
  • Account menu top-right.
  • Primary action bottom-right of dialogs.
  • "Cancel" left of "Confirm" in dialog footers.

Mappings in software UI

Spatial mappings
  • A list of items in vertical order; the action buttons for each row appear next to each row.
  • A toolbar of formatting buttons; the buttons appear above the text they affect.
Show full SKILL.md (262 more words)Show less
Direction mappings
  • Up arrow scrolls up.
  • "Increase" controls increase what they control.
  • A slider moves rightward to increase.
Color mappings
  • Brand color = primary action.
  • Red = destructive.
  • Green = success.

(Color mapping intersects with semantic color systems; see color-semantic-systems.)

When psychological constraints fail

  • First-time users lacking the convention. They don't know cmd-K opens the palette; the constraint doesn't apply.
  • Cross-cultural transfer — symbols and conventions vary by region. Red means luck in some cultures, not danger.
  • Convention drift — old conventions (the floppy-disk save icon) become opaque to younger users.
  • Override by stronger signal — a brand redesign that breaks convention may overpower it.

When psychological constraints fail, fall back to physical constraints (block the wrong action structurally) or explicit information (explain the rules).

Anti-patterns

  • Custom icons that violate conventions — the user's prior knowledge becomes wrong.
  • Convention-breaking shortcuts — Cmd-S that triggers something other than save.
  • Arbitrary mappings — buttons that don't correspond spatially to what they affect.
  • Cultural-blind symbols — a hand gesture icon that means OK in one culture and offense in another.

Heuristics

  1. The convention audit. For each interactive element, name the convention you're following or breaking. Breaking should be deliberate.
  2. The "what does this symbol mean?" check. Show your icons to users unfamiliar with your product. If they can't tell, the symbol isn't carrying its psychological constraint.
  3. The mapping check. For each control, do its position and direction match the effect? If not, mapping is failing.
  • constraint (parent).
  • constraint-physical — the structural complement.
  • mapping (cognition) — the broader principle.
  • mimicry — psychological constraints often borrow from familiar systems.
  • expectation-effect — convention-honoring designs match user expectations.

© hashgraph-online, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in plugins/HDeibler/universal-design-principles/plugins/interaction-and-control-principles/skills/constraint-psychological of hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins.

  • SKILL.md
  • references/conventions-and-symbols.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 3e1456a

Compare with similar skills

Constraint Psychological 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.

Constraint Psychological compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Constraint Psychological this skillhashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins1.3k—~1.4kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Design Systemaffaan-m/ECC276k—~698Automated safety check: PassMIT
Design Guidepaperclipai/paperclip99k1 repos~3.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Design Audit Against Rams' Principlesthedotmack/claude-mem99k—~4.6kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Figma Design to Codewarpdotdev/warp65k4 repos~2.9kAutomated safety check: PassAGPL-3.0
Design Consultationgarrytan/gstack136k—~15kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT

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Questions about Constraint Psychological

What does Constraint Psychological do?

A skill your agent uses when designing constraints that work through perception, expectation, and learned convention — symbols, conventions, mappings. Constraint Psychological is an agent skill from hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins. Use this skill when designing constraints that work through perception, expectation, and learned convention — symbols, conventions, mappings.

When should I use Constraint Psychological?

Constraint Psychological fits situations like: designing constraints that work through perception; learned convention — symbols; designing iconography; picking control conventions.

How do I install Constraint Psychological in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins --skill constraint-psychological -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/HDeibler/universal-design-principles/plugins/interaction-and-control-principles/skills/constraint-psychological in hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins) into .claude/skills/constraint-psychological in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Constraint Psychological in Codex?

Run `npx skills add hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins --skill constraint-psychological -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/HDeibler/universal-design-principles/plugins/interaction-and-control-principles/skills/constraint-psychological in hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins) into .agents/skills/constraint-psychological in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Constraint Psychological 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 hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins --skill constraint-psychological -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/constraint-psychological, .gemini/skills/constraint-psychological, .github/skills/constraint-psychological and .opencode/skills/constraint-psychological in your project.

What does Constraint Psychological need to run?

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

Does Constraint Psychological 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 Constraint Psychological 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 Constraint Psychological use?

Constraint Psychological is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Constraint Psychological use?

About 1.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.7k 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 670 tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Constraint Psychological?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Constraint Psychological: Design System (affaan-m/ECC, 276k stars), Design Guide (paperclipai/paperclip, 99k stars), Design Audit Against Rams' Principles (thedotmack/claude-mem, 99k stars) and Figma Design to Code (warpdotdev/warp, 65k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Constraint Psychological?

hashgraph-online (a GitHub organization) maintains it in hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins, which has 1,267 GitHub stars. The repository holds 716 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 10, 2026.

Source: hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.