Break through stagnation with lateral thinking modes. Offers six modes: contrarian, simplifier, researcher, architect, ontologist, and hacker to reframe problems and unblock progress. Triggers: stuck, unstuck, blocked, can't figure out, help me think, stalled, going in circles
Break through stagnation with lateral thinking modes.
Invoke with /unstuck or /unstuck [mode].
| Mode | Style | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| contrarian | "What if we're solving the wrong problem?" | When assumptions need challenging |
| simplifier | "Cut scope, return to MVP" | When complexity is overwhelming |
| researcher | "What information are we missing?" | When the problem is unclear |
| architect | "Restructure the approach entirely" | When the current design is wrong |
| ontologist | "What IS this, really?" | When requirements are vague or you're solving symptoms |
| hacker |
| "Make it work first, elegance later" |
| When overthinking blocks progress |
When the user invokes this skill:
Determine context:
If a specific mode is requested, use it. Otherwise, route based on context:
Adopt the chosen mode fully. Apply its core question (see AGENTS.md S6 Thinking Modes) to the current situation:
User: I'm stuck on the database schema design
Mode: Simplifier
---
Start with exactly 2 tables. If you can't build the core feature
with 2 tables, you haven't found the core feature yet.
Questions to consider:
- What is the ONE query your users will run most?
- Can you use a single JSON column instead of normalised tables?
- What if you started with flat files and added a DB later?