# cynefin-classify

Classifies problems across five Cynefin domains to route work to the right engineering methods. Designed for the Mycelium framework.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · ★ 47
- Author: haabe
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/haabe/mycelium/tree/HEAD/plugins/mycelium/skills/cynefin-classify/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/cynefin-classify

## What it does

The skill evaluates challenges against five domains: Clear, Complicated, Complex, Chaotic, and Confused. It guides the agent through diagnostic questions regarding predictability, expert consensus, and stability. Based on the outcome, it assigns strategies ranging from standard automation to safe-to-fail experiments or stabilization.

Outputs update `.claude/diamonds/active.yml` with the resolved `cynefin_domain`. If strategic context exists, the skill also cross-references Wardley evolution stages in `.claude/canvas/landscape.yml`.

Running outside the Mycelium framework skips canvas state tracking, harness behavior, and theory gates. For canvas file modifications, it enforces using the `Read` tool before any edit: `Edit` allows `limit: 1`, while `Write` requires reading the entire target file.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill cynefin-classify -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/cynefin-classify/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/cynefin-classify/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill cynefin-classify -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/cynefin-classify/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill cynefin-classify -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/cynefin-classify/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install haabe/mycelium cynefin-classify
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/cynefin-classify/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill cynefin-classify -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/haabe/mycelium --path plugins/mycelium/skills/cynefin-classify
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/cynefin-classify/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill cynefin-classify -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/haabe/mycelium/tree/HEAD/plugins/mycelium/skills/cynefin-classify/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- categorize a problem into one of five Cynefin domains
- pick engineering methods matching domain uncertainty
- record cynefin_domain directly in `.claude/diamonds/active.yml`
- align problem context with component stages on a Wardley map

## Example prompts
- Classify this new architecture challenge using Cynefin
- Run cynefin-classify to evaluate requirement stability
- Assess domain uncertainty and update active.yml

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

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BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 2fe180d1c140c814
````text
---
name: cynefin-classify
description: "Use when facing a new problem to classify its domain (Clear, Complicated, Complex, Chaotic, Confused) and select appropriate methods."
metadata:
  instruction_budget: "20"
  framework_dependency: "mycelium"
  framework_dependency_note: "This skill is designed to run within the Mycelium framework (https://github.com/haabe/mycelium). Standalone use will skip the canvas state, theory gates, and harness behavior the skill assumes. Install: /plugin install mycelium@haabe-mycelium."
---

# Cynefin Classify Skill

Classify problem domain and route to appropriate methods.

## Preflight: Read target canvas file(s) before any Write/Edit

**Hard rule.** Before issuing `Write` or `Edit` against any `.claude/canvas/*.yml`, use the **Read tool** on that file in this session. Claude Code's Read-before-Write check requires the `Read` tool specifically — `cat`/`head`/`grep` via Bash do NOT satisfy it.

**Edit vs Write — different cost profiles** (verified 2026-05-14):
- **`Edit`** (exact-string replacement): `Read` with `limit: 1` satisfies the check at ~50 tokens. State-tracking is per-file, not per-byte — subsequent `Edit` calls work anywhere in the file. Use this for partial updates against large canvas files (e.g., `purpose.yml` at 800+ lines).
- **`Write`** (full replacement): do a **full Read** first. Write obliterates the file; you should see what you're about to replace. The `limit:1` shortcut is *not* appropriate here.

**ID-bearing entries — scan the ID space before assigning** (added 2026-05-15, v0.23.19): When adding a new component, opportunity, solution, or any other ID-bearing entry to a canvas file, run a Bash grep first to confirm the next ID in your prefix sequence is actually free:

```
grep -o "<prefix>-[0-9][0-9]*" .claude/canvas/<file>.yml | sort -u -t- -k2 -n | tail -3
```

Replace `<prefix>` with the canvas's ID prefix (`comp` for landscape, `opp` for opportunities, `sol` for solutions, `ht` for human-tasks, etc.). Then pick the next free integer, **matching the zero-padding already used in that file**. The sort is NUMERIC (`-t- -k2 -n`) rather than lexical, and that is not pedantry: a plain `sort -u` orders `ht-1` after `ht-080`, so on a canvas with inconsistent padding it reports the wrong maximum and the next ID collides. Verified on the dogfood repo 2026-08-13, where lexical sort returned `ht-1` as the highest human-task ID against an actual `ht-080`. `grep -o` is also deliberate: it matches IDs wherever they appear, including cross-references and prose, so an ID that was promised somewhere but not yet defined is not handed out twice. `validate_canvas.py` has a per-file duplicate-ID check (it reports `duplicate id '<id>'`) that catches the failure on CI, but a duplicate can persist in the working tree for days if CI isn't run between edit and discovery; that happened on 2026-05-15, when a duplicate ID was created in `landscape.yml`.
````
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