thinking-via-negativa

thinking-via-negativa is a skill in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills, last changed 16 Jul 2026. It is instructions only: no scripts, no named hosts and no pre-approved tools. Our pattern check flagged nothing at commit 7b8fece on 27 Oct 2026.

Pattern check: nothing flagged · commit 7b8fece · 27 Oct 2026

Install

From the author

Use when the reflex is to add a feature, layer, or process. Prefer removing harmful or nonessential elements first, with an irreversibility guard before deletion.

Licence: MIT
Repo stars: 1.7k
Folder last changed: 16 Jul 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Publisher: tjboudreaux
Files: 1 file
Checked: 7b8fece (opens in a new tab) · 27 Oct 2026

Install

Each tab says whether it installs commit 7b8fece, the one we checked, or the latest version.

No tab for your agent? Use Any agent for OpenCode, Goose, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Zed, Roo Code, Factory Droid, Junie, Amp and Antigravity, and Claude Code for Cline. Kiro needs the folder copied by hand.

Pinned to commit 7b8fece, the one we checked.

From your project's root folder:

tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&
  git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git "$tmp" &&
  git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  mkdir -p .claude/skills &&
  mkdir .claude/skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  cp -R "$tmp"/skills/thinking-via-negativa/. .claude/skills/thinking-via-negativa/ &&
  rm -rf "$tmp"

If Claude Code was already running and this created the skills folder, run /reload-skills.

Or install the thinking-skills plugin it ships in. Installs the latest version, not the one we checked. Installs everything in the plugin, including any hooks, MCP servers and scripts our check doesn't cover.

claude plugin marketplace add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --scope project &&
  claude plugin install thinking-skills@thinking-skills-marketplace --scope project

Claude Code docs

Pinned to commit 7b8fece, the one we checked.

Skills in the Claude apps belong to your account rather than to a project.

Make thinking-via-negativa.zip, with the skill folder at the top level:

tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&
  git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git "$tmp" &&
  git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  out="$(mktemp -d)" &&
  cp -R "$tmp"/skills/thinking-via-negativa "$out"/thinking-via-negativa &&
  (cd "$out" && zip -qr - thinking-via-negativa) > thinking-via-negativa.zip &&
  rm -rf "$tmp" "$out"

In Claude, open Customize > Skills, select +, then + Create skill > Upload a skill, and choose thinking-via-negativa.zip.

On Free, Pro and Max plans, turn on Code execution and file creation (Create and edit files in newer settings) under Settings > Capabilities.

Claude apps docs

Pinned to commit 7b8fece, the one we checked.

From your project's root folder:

tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&
  git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git "$tmp" &&
  git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  mkdir -p .agents/skills &&
  mkdir .agents/skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  cp -R "$tmp"/skills/thinking-via-negativa/. .agents/skills/thinking-via-negativa/ &&
  rm -rf "$tmp"

Codex picks up new skills on its own; restart it if this one does not appear.

Codex docs

Pinned to commit 7b8fece, the one we checked.

From your project's root folder:

tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&
  git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git "$tmp" &&
  git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  mkdir -p .cursor/skills &&
  mkdir .cursor/skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  cp -R "$tmp"/skills/thinking-via-negativa/. .cursor/skills/thinking-via-negativa/ &&
  rm -rf "$tmp"

Cursor docs

Pinned to commit 7b8fece, the one we checked.

From your project's root folder:

tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&
  git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git "$tmp" &&
  git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  mkdir -p .github/skills &&
  mkdir .github/skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  cp -R "$tmp"/skills/thinking-via-negativa/. .github/skills/thinking-via-negativa/ &&
  rm -rf "$tmp"

In a running Copilot CLI session, run /skills reload.

Or install it with gh skill, which also installs the commit we checked. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90 or later.

gh skill install tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills skills/thinking-via-negativa/SKILL.md@7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 --agent github-copilot --scope project

Copilot & VS Code docs

Pinned to commit 7b8fece, the one we checked.

From your project's root folder:

tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&
  git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git "$tmp" &&
  git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  mkdir -p .gemini/skills &&
  mkdir .gemini/skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  cp -R "$tmp"/skills/thinking-via-negativa/. .gemini/skills/thinking-via-negativa/ &&
  rm -rf "$tmp"

In a running session, run /skills reload.

Or use Gemini CLI’s own installer. Installs the latest version, not the one we checked.

gemini skills install https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git --path skills/thinking-via-negativa --scope workspace

Gemini CLI docs

Pinned to commit 7b8fece, the one we checked.

Codex, Cursor, Copilot, VS Code, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Goose, Amp and Zed all read .agents/skills; Claude Code and Kiro list only their own folders.

From your project's root folder:

tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&
  git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills.git "$tmp" &&
  git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 7b8fece345dfaa11773be7152ccd194589cb5437 &&
  mkdir -p .agents/skills &&
  mkdir .agents/skills/thinking-via-negativa &&
  cp -R "$tmp"/skills/thinking-via-negativa/. .agents/skills/thinking-via-negativa/ &&
  rm -rf "$tmp"

Or use the skills CLI from skills.sh. Installs the latest version, not the one we checked. The skills CLI reports installs to skills.sh unless you set DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1.

npx skills@1.7.4 add tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills --skill thinking-via-negativa

Agent Skills docs

What it can touch

From the files and frontmatter at commit 7b8fece. This is how much a skill can do, not whether it is risky.

What it can touch: Instructions only

It is instructions only: no scripts, no named hosts and no pre-approved tools.

Pattern check

Pattern check: nothing flagged · commit 7b8fece · 27 Oct 2026

We checked every text file in this skill, at commit 7b8fece on 27 Oct 2026, against 45 published patterns such as download-and-run commands, hidden text and credential access. We don't run the skill, we don't read the web pages it points to, and we can't judge everything its instructions might lead an agent to do. In published tests, pattern checks like this one missed most malicious skills. Read the skill before you install it — especially anything it asks you to download or run.

How the check works Report an incorrect finding

Format check

Each agent reads SKILL.md a little differently. We check the file against each one's published rules; we don't run the skill in any agent.

Agent Skills specPasses with warnings
The open format from agentskills.io, held to what the strictest agents enforce, so one folder loads everywhere.
- Warning
  Fields outside the spec: disable-model-invocation (read by Claude Code and VS Code). Uploads to the Claude apps and API, and the spec's validator, reject the file; most agents ignore these fields. O1
  Fix: Delete them for a portable skill, or keep them if you only target the agents that read them.
- Note
  There is no license field, so readers can't tell whether they may reuse the skill. O2
  Fix: Add license: with an SPDX name such as MIT or Apache-2.0, or the name of a bundled licence file.
Claude CodePasses
Claude apps & API uploadFails
Uploading to claude.ai or the Claude API, or packaging with Anthropic's script, accepts only the six spec fields and stops on anything else.
- Error
  Upload and packaging fail on fields outside the spec: disable-model-invocation. O1
  Fix: Delete them, and keep your own data under metadata as text values.
OpenAI (Codex & API)Passes with warnings
Codex finds SKILL.md by its exact name and needs a description; OpenAI's Skills API checks the frontmatter against the spec and caps uploads.
- Warning
  Fields outside the spec: disable-model-invocation. Codex ignores them; OpenAI doesn't say whether its upload accepts them. O1
  Fix: Delete them, or move your own data under metadata as text values.
VS Code & CopilotPasses

SKILL.md

Files

1 file

Path	Size
SKILL.md (opens in a new tab)	2.9 KB

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All skills in tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills

Install

What it can touch

Pattern check

Format check

SKILL.md

Files

More from tjboudreaux/cc-thinking-skills

thinking-bounded-rationality

thinking-circle-of-competence

thinking-cynefin

thinking-effectuation

thinking-first-principles

thinking-five-whys-plus