Does it provide a template for decisions?

Yes, it includes a Strategic Decision Record template that documents context, assumptions, root causes, alternatives, and accepted trade-offs for future reference.

What is the MoAI Philosopher skill for Claude Code?

It is a strategic thinking plugin that provides a structured framework for complex decision-making, integrating methodologies from Stanford and MIT into the AI coding workflow.

When should I activate the Philosopher skill?

Use it for high-impact decisions such as choosing a tech stack, planning an architecture change involving 5+ files, or evaluating performance vs. maintainability trade-offs.

Can this skill be used with the SPEC workflow?

Yes, it is designed to integrate with the MoAI SPEC workflow, particularly during the planning and analysis phases where documentation of assumptions and alternatives is critical.

How does this skill help with cognitive bias?

It includes a dedicated 'Bias Check' phase that prompts the user to identify common errors like anchoring and confirmation bias, ensuring more objective technical recommendations.

MoAI Philosopher Framework

Name: MoAI Philosopher Framework
Author: modu-ai

bymodu-ai

•

Productivity & Workflow

Implements a strategic thinking framework for Claude Code to improve architectural decision-making through systematic analysis and first principles.

The MoAI Philosopher Framework is a comprehensive strategic thinking skill for Claude Code that elevates AI-assisted development from simple coding to high-level architectural problem-solving. By integrating First Principles Analysis, Stanford Design Thinking, and MIT Systems Engineering, it guides the user through a rigorous five-phase process: auditing hidden assumptions, decomposing root causes, generating diverse alternatives, performing weighted trade-off analysis, and mitigating cognitive biases. This skill is indispensable for developers and architects facing complex technology selections, large-scale refactors, or high-stakes system design decisions where logical rigor is as important as implementation.

Key Features

0116 GitHub stars

02Assumption Audit to surface and validate hidden technical and business constraints before they become blind spots.

03Cognitive Bias Check to identify and neutralize anchoring, confirmation bias, and sunk cost fallacies.

04Weighted Trade-off Analysis to objectively compare options across performance, risk, and maintainability.

05First Principles Decomposition using the 'Five Whys' technique to identify fundamental root causes.

06Systematic Alternative Generation to explore at least three distinct solution paths before converging.

Use Cases

01Planning high-impact refactors or breaking changes that affect multiple modules across a codebase.

02Evaluating and selecting technology stacks, libraries, or database architectures for new projects.

03Conducting architectural pre-mortems to identify potential failure points in a proposed design.

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add modu-ai/cc-plugins moai-foundation-philosopher

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Download Skill