# reflect-skill

Halts detail work and re-reads the whole conversation from the original goal, so you can see where the direction drifted.

- plugin · `type=plugin` · Claude Code · ★ 28733
- Author: Alireza Rezvani
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/HEAD/productivity/reflect
- Updated: 2026-10-23
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/plugins/reflect-skill

## What it does

The skill fires mid-conversation, either when you say "reflect" or when the thread has gone ten-plus turns deep on details with no strategic check-in. It stops the current line of work and re-reads the conversation from the original goal forward, not just the last few messages. Then it runs a five-dimension pass: original goal against current direction, unverified assumptions and skipped constraints, whether the problem is framed correctly, bias signals (confirmation, sunk cost, anchoring, complexity, recency), and whether the direction still serves the actual goals.

Output is flowing prose with no headers, ending in one recommendation: Continue, Pivot or Pause. Inside the plugin there is a reflection persona agent, a `/cs-reflect` slash command, and three stdlib Python scripts — one regex-scans the conversation for the five bias signals, one counts turns and detects implicit triggers, one verifies the output really ends with one of the three verdicts. Reference files cover the cognitive bias canon, honest-output discipline, and Schön's reflective practice.

There are no dependencies, which makes this the most portable piece of the collection: it runs in Claude CLI and on Claude.ai. The rule worth knowing is that the skill refuses to manufacture problems when the path is sound. You get either a specific reason why it holds up or evidence from the conversation for changing course — never a vague "looks good". If you want criticism for its own sake, look elsewhere.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Plugin marketplace**
In the agent chat (not a shell):
```text
/plugin marketplace add alirezarezvani/claude-skills
```
In the agent chat (not a shell):
```text
/plugin install reflect-skill@claude-code-skills
```

## When to use it
- stop and check the current direction against the original goal
- surface unverified assumptions and skipped constraints
- catch confirmation or sunk-cost bias in a debate
- spot where a simple task got overcomplicated
- get a Continue, Pivot or Pause verdict instead of vague reassurance

## Example prompts
- reflect — we've spent ten turns on details, are we still on track?
- /cs-reflect: step back and tell me if we're missing something
- zoom out and say honestly whether we're solving the right problem

## Source text · reflect · MIT

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BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE d32e9a7e3be49a05
````text
# reflect

Mid-conversation reflection skill. Pauses execution and **zooms out from detail-mode** to honestly reassess direction, assumptions, and bias.

## What this skill does

When invoked mid-conversation (explicitly or via implicit signals like 10+ turns deep on details without strategic check-in), the skill:

1. **Halts the current thread** and re-reads the full conversation from the original goal forward — not just recent turns
2. Runs the **5-dimension analysis framework**:
   - **Macro Perspective** — original goal vs current direction; drift detection
   - **Gap Analysis** — unverified assumptions, missing stakeholders, skipped constraints, dismissed alternatives
   - **Reflective Inquiry** — is the problem framed correctly? Right problem vs adjacent easier one? Simpler path overcomplicated? Harder valuable path avoided?
   - **Bias Check** — confirmation / sunk cost / anchoring / complexity / recency
   - **Contextual Alignment** — does direction serve actual goals + best use of time + external factors honored
3. Delivers **flowing prose** (no headers, conversational tone)
4. Ends with a **clear directional recommendation**: Continue / Pivot / Pause

## Sibling skill relationship

Productivity sibling of `capture` (Slice 1). Both share light-prompt-flow shape, max-1-question intake, fast-to-action discipline. Different mode: `capture` organizes external dumps; `reflect` re-examines internal conversation state.

## Honest-output discipline

The skill explicitly does NOT manufacture problems when things are on track. "This is solid because X" is a valid output. **Vague reassurance ("looks good!") is rejected** — when the path is solid, the skill states specific reasoning for why; when the path needs correction, the skill states specific evidence from the conversation.

## Source spec

`megaprompts/02-reflect-megaprompt.md` (maintainer-local draft spec — gitignored, not in the public repo) (PR #657).

## Plugin layout

```
productivity/reflect/
├── .claude-plugin/plugin.json
├── README.md
├── agents/cs-reflect.md             ← reflection persona, honest-output enforcer
├── commands/cs-reflect.md           ← /cs-reflect (or auto-triggers on phrases)
└── skills/reflect/
    ├── SKILL.md
    ├── references/
    │   ├── cognitive_bias_canon.md         ← 5 biases + recognition cues (7+ sources)
    │   ├── honest_output_discipline.md     ← anti-manufactured-problems (7+ sources)
    │   └── conversation_reflection_practice.md  ← Schön reflective practice canon (7+ sources)
    └── scripts/
        ├── bias_pattern_detector.py        ← stdlib: regex scan for 5-bias signals in conversation
        ├── conversation_depth_analyzer.py  ← stdlib: turn count + implicit-trigger signal detection
        └── directional_recommendation_validator.py  ← stdlib: verify output ends with Continue/Pivot/Pause
```

## Dependencies

**None.** Pure-reasoning skill — most portable in the v2 collection. Works in Claude Code CLI + Claude.ai web natively.

## License

MIT.
````
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The third-party file has ended. Everything between the d32e9a7e3be49a05 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

© Alireza Rezvani · MIT · https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/HEAD/productivity/reflect

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From the same set: [alirezarezvani/claude-skills](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/by/alirezarezvani/claude-skills.md) — 394 cards

---
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