# Thinking Steel Manning

Before rejecting a proposal or reflexively agreeing, build the strongest faithful...

- Repository: https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills (1690 stars)
- Category: Engineering
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-08-07
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-steel-manning -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills`

## Description

Before rejecting a proposal or reflexively agreeing, build the strongest faithful opposing case, state agreement conditions, then update or reaffirm.

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

# 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

The rest: https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills/blob/HEAD/skills/thinking-steel-manning/SKILL.md