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Agent skill

Thinking Opportunity Cost

by tjboudreaux in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills

Before committing scarce time, people, or money, name the best forgone use of those resources and the value delta of the chosen path versus that alternative.

MITAuto-check passed

Install Thinking Opportunity Cost

skills CLI
$ npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-opportunity-cost -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills thinking-opportunity-cost --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/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/thinking-opportunity-cost .claude/skills/thinking-opportunity-cost && 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
thinking-opportunity-cost
GitHub stars
1.6k
Token cost
~965 tokens
SKILL.md length
441 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
26
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Before committing scarce time, people, or money, name the best forgone use of those resources and the value delta of the chosen path versus that alternative.

  • Works in 6 steps: State the commitment. Name the choice,… → List real alternatives, including… → Value each path. For each alternative,… → …
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use, When NOT to Use, Procedure and Output, plus 1 more section
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Thinking Opportunity Cost is an agent skill from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills. Before committing scarce time, people, or money, name the best forgone use of those resources and the value delta of the chosen path versus that alternative.

Its SKILL.md is about 970 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

The repository describes itself as: 28 eval-informed mental models and critical-thinking skills for Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Codex, Cursor, and other Agent Skills-compatible tools. The licence is MIT.

Example prompts

  • “/thinking-opportunity-cost”

Workflow steps

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

  1. State the commitment. Name the choice, the scarce resource units (eng-weeks, dollars, calendar), and the decision horizon.
  2. List real alternatives, including do-nothing. At least: proposed option, next-best productive use of the same resources, and status quo /…
  3. Value each path. For each alternative, estimate direct value, strategic value, risk, and time-to-value in the same units. Prefer rough…
  4. Compute best forgone value and value delta. Identify the single best non-chosen alternative (may be do-nothing). best_forgone_value = its…
  5. Future tradeoff / permanent forgone options. For serious alternatives (including the bold path): mark temporary recoverable costs vs…
  6. Strongest countercase and decide. Steel the case that the best alternative or its value is misidentified (sunk-cost anchoring, status-quo…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 7b8fece. 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

Thinking Opportunity Cost loads about 965 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 46 tokens; SKILL.md has 441 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~46
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~965

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 tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills at commit 7b8fece, republished under its MIT licence (© tjboudreaux). 441 words, ~965 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/thinking-opportunity-cost/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
thinking-opportunity-cost
description
Before committing scarce time, people, or money, name the best forgone use of those resources and the value delta of the chosen path versus that alternative.
disable-model-invocation
true

Opportunity Cost

Core rule: every commitment displaces its best alternative. Report both that forgone value and the net value delta; decide on the delta, not the chosen path alone.

When to Use

  • Allocating scarce time, headcount, budget, or attention across competing options
  • Feature prioritization, build-vs-buy, tech-debt vs product work
  • Saying yes to a large commitment that displaces other work
  • Comparing a bold path against polishing the status quo when windows may close

When NOT to Use

  • Trivial or cheaply reversible choices where analysis costs more than the resource
  • No real alternative use (resource is idle, earmarked, or non-fungible)
  • Mandatory work (compliance, security fix, hard dependency) with no optional alternative
  • Inventing speculative alternatives only to look rigorous when the next-best is clearly worse

Procedure

  1. State the commitment. Name the choice, the scarce resource units (eng-weeks, dollars, calendar), and the decision horizon.
  2. List real alternatives, including do-nothing. At least: proposed option, next-best productive use of the same resources, and status quo / wait. Drop fantasy options with no owner or feasibility.
  3. Value each path. For each alternative, estimate direct value, strategic value, risk, and time-to-value in the same units. Prefer rough comparable magnitudes over fake precision.
  4. Compute best forgone value and value delta. Identify the single best non-chosen alternative (may be do-nothing). best_forgone_value = its estimated value. value_delta = chosen_value − best_forgone_value (same units). True cost of choosing = direct cost of the choice + best_forgone_value. Prefer the option with the superior (positive) value delta after risk; a large positive chosen value is not enough if the forgone alternative is larger.
  5. Future tradeoff / permanent forgone options. For serious alternatives (including the bold path): mark temporary recoverable costs vs permanent losses (window closes, lock-in, no re-entry). Prefer avoiding the greater permanent loss when acting downside is recoverable and non-catastrophic—even if near-term value_delta is slightly negative. Do not invent permanence for speculative upside without evidence.
  6. Strongest countercase and decide. Steel the case that the best alternative or its value is misidentified (sunk-cost anchoring, status-quo undervalued, or a "free" option that still burns time). Recompute value_delta under that challenge. Then choose: proceed if delta stays favorable (or permanent-loss rule applies), else switch, wait, or split. Stop when ranking is stable.
Show full SKILL.md (76 more words)Show less

Output

text
Choice: …
Resources committed: …
Alternatives:
  A (proposed): value … risk …
  B (next-best): value … risk …
  C (do-nothing / wait): value … risk …
Best forgone alternative: …
Best forgone value: …
Value delta (chosen_value − best_forgone_value): …
Permanent vs temporary losses: …
Decision: proceed | switch | wait | split — because value_delta … (and permanent-loss rule if used)
Countercase checked: …

Verification

  • Falsify: If the analysis never names a concrete next-best use of the same resources, or reports only one number labeled both "opportunity cost" and "delta," it is incomplete—add B, then report best_forgone_value and value_delta separately.
  • Stop: When one best forgone alternative and a signed value delta determine the choice, stop enumerating weaker options.
  • Over-application guard: Do not run full accounting on mandatory or trivial work. Ignore sunk costs; revalue only from current state forward.

© tjboudreaux, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/thinking-opportunity-cost of tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 7b8fece

Compare with similar skills

Thinking Opportunity Cost 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.

Thinking Opportunity Cost compared with similar skills
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Thinking Opportunity Cost this skilltjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills1.6k—~965Automated safety check: PassMIT
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Commitdavila7/claude-code-templates33k3 repos~730Automated safety check: PassMIT
Commitwindmill-labs/windmill18k—~447Automated safety check: PassCustom licence
Commitccusage/ccusage19k—~722Automated safety check: PassCustom licence
CommitsJetBrains/intellij-community21k—~589Automated safety check: PassCustom licence

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Questions about Thinking Opportunity Cost

What does Thinking Opportunity Cost do?

Before committing scarce time, people, or money, name the best forgone use of those resources and the value delta of the chosen path versus that alternative. Thinking Opportunity Cost is an agent skill from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills. Before committing scarce time, people, or money, name the best forgone use of those resources and the value delta of the chosen path versus that alternative.

How do I install Thinking Opportunity Cost in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-opportunity-cost -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/thinking-opportunity-cost in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills) into .claude/skills/thinking-opportunity-cost in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Thinking Opportunity Cost in Codex?

Run `npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-opportunity-cost -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/thinking-opportunity-cost in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills) into .agents/skills/thinking-opportunity-cost in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Thinking Opportunity Cost 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 tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-opportunity-cost -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/thinking-opportunity-cost, .gemini/skills/thinking-opportunity-cost, .github/skills/thinking-opportunity-cost and .opencode/skills/thinking-opportunity-cost in your project.

What does Thinking Opportunity Cost need to run?

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

Does Thinking Opportunity Cost 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 Thinking Opportunity Cost 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 Thinking Opportunity Cost use?

Thinking Opportunity Cost is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Thinking Opportunity Cost use?

About 965 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Thinking Opportunity Cost?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Thinking Opportunity Cost: Commit (sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, 47k stars), Commit (davila7/claude-code-templates, 33k stars), Commit (windmill-labs/windmill, 18k stars) and Commit (ccusage/ccusage, 19k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Thinking Opportunity Cost?

tjboudreaux (a GitHub user) maintains it in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills, which has 1,613 GitHub stars. The repository holds 26 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 7, 2026.

Source: tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.