Ds shallow

Skill Kshitijpalsinghtomar/depth-skills/skills/ds-shallow

Cognitive architecture for AI agents. 19 skills that force language models past surface-level reasoning into genuine depth. Compatible with Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Copilot, and any agent that reads markdown.

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npx -y skills add Kshitijpalsinghtomar/depth-skills --skill ds-shallow

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Prevents overthinking by matching cognitive investment to consequence - the intentional opposite of DEEP-THINK.

SKILL.md

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SHALLOW — Proportional Depth Protocol

DEEP-THINK is essential. But not every task deserves it. Sometimes the deepest answer is a short one.

The failure mode of depth-skills is depth bias: the model reaches for sophisticated analysis on problems that don't warrant it. A CSS color choice gets 6-step reasoning. A routine email gets threat-modeled. This skill is the brake.

The Failure Mode You Must Recognize

You are about to:

Generate six artifacts for a question that could be answered in one sentence
Add caveats to a decision that is easily reversed
Apply THRESHOLD analysis to a temporary workaround
Treat a first-pass response as if it were a permanent architecture decision

If the cost of being wrong is low and the fix is easy — this is a SHALLOW task.

The Protocol

1 — ASSESS DEPTH APPROPRIATENESS

Evaluate the task against depth criteria:

DEPTH ASSESSMENT
────────────────────────────────────────
Reversibility:    [Trivial / Moderate / Hard / Permanent]
  → If Trivial/Moderate: favor SHALLOW

Consequence:      [Trivial / Moderate / Significant / Critical]
  → If Trivial/Moderate: favor SHALLOW

Complexity:       [Simple / Moderate / Complex / Intricate]
  → If Simple: favor SHALLOW

Pattern match:    [Routine / Variation / Novel / Unprecedented]
  → If Routine: favor SHALLOW

Stakeholders:     [One / Few / Many / All-hands]
  → If One/Few: favor SHALLOW

Urgency:          [Can wait / Within hour / Within minute / Now]
  → If "can wait" is false: favor SHALLOW (speed matters)
────────────────────────────────────────

Score: Count SHALLOW-favoring answers.

0-1: Deep task — use DEEP-THINK
2-3: Mixed — use abbreviated deep analysis
4-6: Shallow task — use this protocol

Artifact: Depth assessment with score. Step 2 allocates budget.

2 — ALLOCATE COGNITIVE BUDGET

Based on the assessment, allocate:

BUDGET ALLOCATION
────────────────────────────────────────
Assessment score: [N]/6
Depth budget:     [MINIMAL / LIGHT / MODERATE]

MINIMAL (score 5-6):
  - No artifacts required
  - One sentence answer
  - Skip caveats
  - Skip alternatives
  - Skip "it depends"

LIGHT (score 3-4):
  - One artifact: answer with ONE assumption stated
  - One alternative mentioned in 1 sentence
  - One caveat if genuinely important

MODERATE (score 2-3):
  - Two artifacts: restatement + chosen approach
  - Skip challenge phase
  - Minimal boundary check
────────────────────────────────────────

Artifact: Budget allocation. Step 3 delivers within budget.

3 — DELIVER WITHIN BUDGET

Execute the answer within allocated depth:

SHALLOW DELIVERY
────────────────────────────────────────
Budget level:   [MINIMAL / LIGHT / MODERATE]
Answer:         [deliver within budget constraints]

If MINIMAL:
  Answer only. No preamble. No caveats.
  
If LIGHT:
  State ONE assumption. Mention ONE alternative.
  One sentence each, inline.

If MODERATE:
  Restate in one sentence.
  Give the answer.
  One-line boundary: "works for [common case], not [edge case]."
────────────────────────────────────────

When NOT to Use This Skill

SHALLOW should NOT activate when:

The user explicitly asks for deep analysis
The task involves security, safety, or financial consequences
The decision is hard to reverse (architecture, contract, data model)
The user has expressed confusion or uncertainty
This is iteration N>2 on the same problem (depth may finally be warranted)

The default should still be appropriate depth. SHALLOW is a targeted counter to depth bias — not a replacement for sound judgment.

The Deeper Purpose

The depth-skills library is optimized for depth. But cognitive investment should match consequence. SHALLOW provides the calibration: a simple scoring system that routes low-stakes tasks to fast answers. It's not anti-thinking — it's proportional-thinking. The skill exists because the library's other skills make over-analysis easy. SHALLOW makes under-analysis acceptable.