Scientific Thinking Scholar Evaluation
affaan-m/ECC
Structured scholarly-work evaluation for papers, proposals, literature reviews, methods sections, evidence quality, citation support, and research-writing feedback.
Before rejecting a proposal or reflexively agreeing, build the strongest faithful opposing case, state agreement conditions, then update or reaffirm.
MITAuto-check passed
Install Thinking Steel Manning
$ npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills thinking-steel-manning --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/thinking-steel-manning .claude/skills/thinking-steel-manning && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.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/
Install the "thinking-steel-manning" agent skill from https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/tree/main/skills/thinking-steel-manning into .claude/skills/thinking-steel-manning/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "thinking-steel-manning", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/tree/main/skills/thinking-steel-manningType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills thinking-steel-manning --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/thinking-steel-manning .agents/skills/thinking-steel-manning && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "thinking-steel-manning" agent skill from https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/tree/main/skills/thinking-steel-manning into .agents/skills/thinking-steel-manning/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "thinking-steel-manning", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills thinking-steel-manning --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/thinking-steel-manning .cursor/skills/thinking-steel-manning && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "thinking-steel-manning" agent skill from https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/tree/main/skills/thinking-steel-manning into .cursor/skills/thinking-steel-manning/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "thinking-steel-manning", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git --path skills/thinking-steel-manning--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills thinking-steel-manning --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/thinking-steel-manning .gemini/skills/thinking-steel-manning && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "thinking-steel-manning" agent skill from https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/tree/main/skills/thinking-steel-manning into .gemini/skills/thinking-steel-manning/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "thinking-steel-manning", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills thinking-steel-manningInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/thinking-steel-manning .github/skills/thinking-steel-manning && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "thinking-steel-manning" agent skill from https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/tree/main/skills/thinking-steel-manning into .github/skills/thinking-steel-manning/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "thinking-steel-manning", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills thinking-steel-manning --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/thinking-steel-manning .opencode/skills/thinking-steel-manning && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "thinking-steel-manning" agent skill from https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/tree/main/skills/thinking-steel-manning into .opencode/skills/thinking-steel-manning/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "thinking-steel-manning", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
thinking-steel-manning- GitHub stars
- 1.6k
- Token cost
- ~842 tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 385 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 26
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Before rejecting a proposal or reflexively agreeing, build the strongest faithful opposing case, state agreement conditions, then update or reaffirm.
- Works in 5 steps: State the target claim or decision you… → Extract the core insight behind the… → Construct the strongest faithful case an… → …
- 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 Steel Manning is an agent skill from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills. Before rejecting a proposal or reflexively agreeing, build the strongest faithful opposing case, state agreement conditions, then update or reaffirm.
Its SKILL.md is about 840 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-steel-manning”
Workflow steps
5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- State the target claim or decision you are about to accept or reject, in one sentence. Name the real alternative if one exists.
- Extract the core insight behind the opposing position (or against your preferred path): the legitimate concern even if the proposed…
- Construct the strongest faithful case an informed advocate would make: best evidence, incentives, and failure modes — no mockery, no…
- State agreement / overturn conditions. Write one observation or result that would make you accept the opposing case (or abandon your…
- Engage that strong version, then decide. Respond to the steel-manned case on the merits. Output one of: accept opposing path, revise…
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 Steel Manning loads about 842 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 43 tokens; SKILL.md has 385 words of instructions outside code blocks.
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). 385 words, ~842 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/thinking-steel-manning/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- thinking-steel-manning
- description
- Before rejecting a proposal or reflexively agreeing, build the strongest faithful opposing case, state agreement conditions, then update or reaffirm.
- disable-model-invocation
- true
Steel-Manning
Core rule: Engage the best form of the opposing case, not a weak one. If your position survives that, reaffirm; if not, update.
When to Use
- About to reject a proposal, design, or alternative approach.
- Inclined to agree with the user/plan and risk sycophancy — construct the best case against first.
- Design review, architecture debate, or conflict where trade-offs are real.
- Validating your own preferred decision before locking it (strongest-countercase check).
When NOT to Use
- Settled fact, security anti-pattern, or violated hard requirement — correct it; do not invent a defense of what is wrong.
- You already agree for stated, weighed reasons — do not perform a fake debate.
- Trivial or fully reversible choices where deliberation cost exceeds downside.
- Live emergency — act first; steel-man in the post-incident review.
- Need definition/assumption cleanup, not opposition — use socratic.
- Need failure scenarios for a plan — use pre-mortem; need attacker paths — use red-team.
Procedure
- State the target claim or decision you are about to accept or reject, in one sentence. Name the real alternative if one exists.
- Extract the core insight behind the opposing position (or against your preferred path): the legitimate concern even if the proposed solution is wrong.
- Construct the strongest faithful case an informed advocate would make: best evidence, incentives, and failure modes — no mockery, no cherry-picked weak version, no motive attacks. Include base rates or concrete alternatives that could overturn the preferred path when relevant.
- State agreement / overturn conditions. Write one observation or result that would make you accept the opposing case (or abandon your preferred path), and whether you have looked for it.
- Engage that strong version, then decide. Respond to the steel-manned case on the merits. Output one of: accept opposing path, revise synthesis, or reaffirm original with explicit residual risks. Naming the countercase without accept/revise/reaffirm is incomplete. Stop once the decision updates or is reaffirmed with conditions.
Show full SKILL.md (73 more words)Show less
Output
claim: <decision or proposal under test>
core_insight: <legitimate concern behind the opposition>
steel_man: <strongest faithful opposing argument>
overturn_if: <concrete observation that would change your mind>
looked_for_overturn: yes | no | partial
response_to_steel_man: <engagement on the merits>
decision: accept_opposing | revise | reaffirm
update: <what changed in belief or plan, or why reaffirm stands>
residual_risks: <what remains even after reaffirm/revise>Verification
- Falsify / stop: If the "steel man" is weaker than the original or attacks a caricature, rebuild it. If no overturn condition is stated, the check is incomplete. If evidence meets the overturn condition, you must update — reaffirmation is then false.
- Over-application guard: Do not steel-man factual errors or hard constraints. Do not run a full adversarial brief for near-zero-cost reversible choices. Do not use this skill to delay an emergency response.
© 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-steel-manning of tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 7b8fece
Compare with similar skills
Thinking Steel Manning 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.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thinking Steel Manning this skilltjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills | 1.6k | — | ~842 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Scientific Thinking Scholar Evaluationaffaan-m/ECC | 277k | 1 repos | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Geo Proposalsickn33/agentic-awesome-skills | 47k | 1 repos | ~3.2k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT | |
| Better Proposals AutomationComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills | 77k | 3 repos | ~764 | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Review Proposalsanthropics/claude-for-legal | 9.6k | 2 repos | ~410 | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| Contract And Proposal Writeralirezarezvani/claude-skills | 28k | 2 repos | ~3.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
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Questions about Thinking Steel Manning
What does Thinking Steel Manning do?
Before rejecting a proposal or reflexively agreeing, build the strongest faithful opposing case, state agreement conditions, then update or reaffirm. Thinking Steel Manning is an agent skill from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills. Before rejecting a proposal or reflexively agreeing, build the strongest faithful opposing case, state agreement conditions, then update or reaffirm.
How do I install Thinking Steel Manning in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/thinking-steel-manning in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills) into .claude/skills/thinking-steel-manning in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Thinking Steel Manning in Codex?
Run `npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/thinking-steel-manning in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills) into .agents/skills/thinking-steel-manning in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Thinking Steel Manning 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-steel-manning -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-steel-manning, .gemini/skills/thinking-steel-manning, .github/skills/thinking-steel-manning and .opencode/skills/thinking-steel-manning in your project.
What does Thinking Steel Manning need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Thinking Steel Manning is instructions for the agent only.
Does Thinking Steel Manning 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 Steel Manning 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 Steel Manning use?
Thinking Steel Manning 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 Steel Manning use?
About 842 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.4k 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 Steel Manning?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Thinking Steel Manning: Scientific Thinking Scholar Evaluation (affaan-m/ECC, 277k stars), Geo Proposal (sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, 47k stars), Better Proposals Automation (ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills, 77k stars) and Review Proposals (anthropics/claude-for-legal, 9.6k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Thinking Steel Manning?
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.