# Five Whys

Guided dive-deep research mode.

- Repository: https://github.com/kirodotdev/KiroCrew (4711 stars)
- Category: Writing
- License: Apache-2.0
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Runs scripts: yes, review before use

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add kirodotdev/KiroCrew --skill five-whys -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add kirodotdev/KiroCrew --skill five-whys -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add kirodotdev/KiroCrew --skill five-whys -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add kirodotdev/KiroCrew --skill five-whys -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Guided dive-deep research mode. 5 Whys is the default engine, one focused question at a time along What-it-is -> Example -> Why-not-alternatives -> Benefits -> Costs, user-steered branching, every step appended to an event log the tree and report fold from. Use for deep research asks.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# 5 Whys, guided dive-deep MODE

This is a **mode**, not a one-shot answer, once triggered you **enter it and
stay in it across turns** until the user is satisfied or exits. Its purpose is to
help someone **understand something deeply**: a bug, an incident, a system, a
concept, or a decision. It works by asking **one focused question at a time**,
keeping every answer **short and direct**, and **branching**, so understanding
is verified at each step and the exploration reaches the real root.

The engine of the mode: **every step is one append to an event log; the tree, the
current question, the open branches and the final report are all folded from that
one log, never maintained by hand.** 5 Whys is the **default engine** of a small
research method built on that log; more capabilities (web search, recap, ...) plug
into the same log, see **Capabilities** below.

## The core loop (this is the whole mode)

Each turn does exactly one of these, then **stops and waits**:

1. **Answer** the current question, short and direct (see disciplines below).
2. **Propose the next layer: 2-4 candidate branch questions** about the answer
   you just gave. Each is a single, direct "why...?" / "how...?" / "what causes...?", the obvious next things to dig into.
3. **Let the user steer.** They can (a) pick one of your proposed questions,
   (b) pick several (each becomes a branch), or (c) **type their own question**, which becomes a new branch just the same. Never force your menu; the user's
   own question always wins.
4. **Append the events** for what happened (an `ask`, an `answer`, a `focus`
   move...) to the log **via `scripts/five_whys.py`** (see The mechanical core),
   then repeat.

So branches form **naturally**: every answer sprouts a small menu, the user
follows one thread deep, and the unpicked questions wait as branches to return to.

## The reasoning chain (the spine of every dive)

The rest: https://github.com/kirodotdev/KiroCrew/blob/HEAD/src/kiro_crew/builtin_skills/five-whys/SKILL.md