painhardcore

Use when the user asks to restate or explain the last message in plain, jargon-free language.

Sketch types, signatures, and module structure before code, then stay in the loop while implementation fills in.

Spawn N parallel candidates at the same task, pick a base, graft the strongest parts of the losers into it.

Apply when wiring validation, error handling, or framework adapters.

Apply to any non-trivial work, not just bulk work: edits, migrations, analyses, checks.

Generate a project-local verification skill that drives your app the way a user does — any language, framework, or platform.

Apply when you catch yourself writing the same instruction a second time, or notice a recurring correction.

Apply when product, UX, or feature-scope tradeoffs come up.

Apply when debugging. Trace each symptom to its root cause and fix it there; reproduce first, ask why until you reach it, resist nil-check…

Apply before writing logic: choosing core types and data structures, sequencing scaffold-vs-feature work, asking what concurrent actors…

Apply when context is filling up: large outputs, long files, repeated reads, fan-out planning.

Explain how a subsystem works, trace a runtime flow, or determine where code and ownership belong before making a change.