name: adaptive-reasoning
description: Automatically assess task complexity and adjust reasoning level. Triggers on every user message to evaluate whether extended thinking (reasoning mode) would improve response quality. Use this as a pre-processing step before answering complex questions.

Adaptive Reasoning

Self-assess complexity before responding. Adjust reasoning level dynamically.

Quick Assessment (run mentally on every request)

Score the request 0-10 on these dimensions:

| Signal | Weight | Examples |
|--------|--------|----------|
| Multi-step logic | +3 | Planning, proofs, debugging chains |
| Ambiguity | +2 | Nuanced questions, trade-offs, "it depends" |
| Code architecture | +2 | System design, refactoring, security review |
| Math/formal reasoning | +2 | Calculations, algorithms, logic puzzles |
| Novel problem | +1 | No clear pattern, requires creativity |
| High stakes | +1 | Production changes, irreversible actions |

Subtract:

• Routine/repetitive task: -2
• Clear single answer: -2
• Simple lookup/fetch: -3

Decision Thresholds

| Score | Action |
|-------|--------|
| ≤2 | Stay fast. No reasoning needed. |
| 3-5 | Standard response. Light internal deliberation. |
| 6-7 | Consider /reasoning on or pause to think explicitly. |
| ≥8 | Activate extended thinking. Complex problem warrants it. |

Activation (Automatic)

Do not ask. Just activate.

| Score | Action |
|-------|--------|
| ≤5 | Respond normally. No change. |
| 6-7 | Enable reasoning silently. Add 🧠 at end of response. |
| ≥8 | Enable reasoning. Add 🧠🔥 at end of response. |

Visual Indicator

Always append the reasoning icon at the very end of your response:

• Score 6-7: 🧠 (thinking mode active)
• Score ≥8: 🧠🔥 (deep thinking mode)
• Score ≤5: No icon (fast mode)

How to Activate

Use session_status tool or /reasoning on command internally before responding:

/reasoning on

Or via tool:

{"action": "session_status", "reasoning": "on"}

After completing a complex task, optionally disable to save tokens on follow-ups:

/reasoning off

Examples

Low complexity (score: 1)

"What time is it in Tokyo?"

→ Simple lookup. Answer immediately. No icon.

Medium complexity (score: 4)

"Refactor this function to be more readable"

→ Standard response with brief explanation. No icon.

High complexity (score: 7)

"Design a caching strategy for this API with these constraints..."

→ Enable reasoning. Thoughtful response ends with: 🧠

Very high complexity (score: 9)

"Debug why this distributed system has race conditions under load"

→ Enable extended thinking. Deep analysis ends with: 🧠🔥

Integration

This skill runs as mental preprocessing. No external tools needed.

For explicit control:

• /reasoning on — Enable extended thinking
• /reasoning off — Disable (faster responses)
• /status — Check current reasoning state

When NOT to Escalate

• User explicitly wants quick answer ("just tell me", "quick", "tldr")
• Time-sensitive requests where speed matters more than depth
• Conversational/social messages (banter, greetings)
• Already in reasoning mode for this session
• User previously disabled reasoning in this conversation

Auto-Downgrade

After completing a complex task (score ≥6), if the next message is simple (score ≤3):

• Silently disable reasoning to save tokens
• Resume normal fast responses