profile

What this skill does

<purpose>
Load an expert thinking profile's action file and follow it directly. Action files are self-contained -- they include voice, approach, priorities, and output format. Single targets execute directly. Multiple targets launch parallel agents.
</purpose>

<steps>

  <step id="load-config" number="1">
    <description>Load Configuration</description>
    <load-config>
      <action>Resolve the user's home directory.</action>
      <command language="bash" output="home" tool="Bash">echo $HOME</command>
      <constraint>Never pass `~` to the Read tool.</constraint>
      <read path="<home>/.things/config.json" output="config" />
      <read path="<home>/.things/think-like/profiles/master-index.json" output="master-index" />
      <read path="<home>/.things/think-like/preferences.json" output="preferences" />
      <if condition="any-missing">Tell the user to run `/setup-tl`.</if>
    </load-config>
  </step>

  <step id="parse-arguments" number="2">
    <description>Parse Arguments</description>
    <action>Parse `$ARGUMENTS` for profile ID, action, and optional target.</action>

    <if condition="no-profile-id">
      <action>Check `preferences.json` for `default_profile`. If set, use it.</action>
      <if condition="no-default-profile">
        <action>List available profiles from `master-index.json`.</action>
        <ask-user-question>
          <question>Which profile would you like to use?</question>
          <option-with-text-input>Enter profile ID or name:</option-with-text-input>
        </ask-user-question>
      </if>
    </if>

    <if condition="no-action">
      <action>Look up the profile's available actions from `master-index.json`.</action>
      <if condition="only-one-action">
        <action>Use it.</action>
      </if>
      <if condition="multiple-actions">
        <ask-user-question>
          <question>Which action would you like to run?</question>
          <option-with-text-input>Enter action name:</option-with-text-input>
        </ask-user-question>
      </if>
    </if>

    <if condition="no-target">
      <ask-user-question>
        <question>What should I review? Provide a file path, directory, or describe what to look at.</question>
      </ask-user-question>
    </if>
  </step>

  <step id="detect-execution-mode" number="3">
    <description>Detect Execution Mode</description>
    <action>Determine whether to run in direct mode (single target) or parallel mode (multiple targets).</action>

    <parallel-triggers>
      <trigger>Multiple explicit targets (e.g., "plugins/a and plugins/b")</trigger>
      <trigger>User says "in parallel", "all at once", "simultaneously"</trigger>
      <trigger>User says "all plugins", "every plugin", "each plugin"</trigger>
      <trigger>Comma-separated paths or glob patterns expanding to multiple directories</trigger>
    </parallel-triggers>

    <direct-triggers>
      <trigger>Single target path or description (this is the default)</trigger>
      <trigger>No parallelism keywords</trigger>
      <trigger>User says "just this one", "only"</trigger>
    </direct-triggers>

    <action>If parallel mode detected, resolve all targets now:</action>
    <resolution-rules>
      <rule>"all plugins" → list directories under `plugins/` in the working directory (or ask the user to confirm the base path)</rule>
      <rule>Comma-separated → split into individual target paths</rule>
      <rule>Glob pattern → expand to matching directories</rule>
    </resolution-rules>

    <if condition="parallel and targets > 10">
      <ask-user-question>
        <question>That's {count} targets. Running all in parallel will use significant context. Run all at once, or batch into groups of 5?</question>
        <option label="All at once">Launch all targets in parallel</option>
        <option label="Batch (groups of 5)">Run 5 at a time, then the next 5</option>
      </ask-user-question>
    </if>
  </step>

  <step id="resolve-profile" number="4">
    <description>Resolve Profile</description>

    <phase name="find-profile" number="1">
      <action>Find the profile in `master-index.json` by ID.</action>
      <if condition="not-found">
        <action>Search by partial match or display name.</action>
        <if condition="still-not-found">
          <action>Tell the user: "Profile '<id>' not found. Run `/manage-profiles list` to see available profiles."</action>
          <exit />
        </if>
      </if>
    </phase>

    <phase name="verify-action" number="2">
      <action>Verify the requested action exists for this profile by checking the profile's actions in `master-index.json`.</action>
      <if condition="action-not-found">
        <action>Tell the user: "Profile '<name>' doesn't have a '<action>' action. Available: <list>. Run `/manage-profiles edit <id>` to add one."</action>
        <exit />
      </if>
    </phase>
  </step>

  <step id="load-and-execute" number="5">
    <description>Load and Execute Action File</description>
    <read path="<home>/.things/think-like/profiles/<id>/<action>.md" output="action-file" />

    <action>This file IS the complete instruction set. It contains:</action>
    <output-format>
    - Voice: How to communicate (tone, phrases, rhetorical patterns)
    - Approach: The 4-phase execution structure
    - Lens: How this person approaches this activity
    - Priorities: What to check, in order
    - Typical Questions: Questions to ask in their voice
    - Red Flags: Patterns to flag
    - Approval Signals: Patterns to praise
    - Output Format: How to structure findings
    - Counterpoint: Mandatory blind spots to surface
    </output-format>

    <branch on="execution-mode">

      <direct-mode>
        <description>Single target — execute directly (default, unchanged behavior)</description>
        <constraint>Follow the action file as your instructions. Apply it to the target. Execute all 4 phases. Phase 4 (Counterpoint) is mandatory -- never skip it.</constraint>
      </direct-mode>

      <parallel-mode>
        <description>Multiple targets — launch parallel action-runner agents</description>

        <phase name="launch" number="1">
          <action>For each target, launch a Task with:</action>
          <task-config>
            <subagent_type>think-like:action-runner</subagent_type>
            <prompt>
              You are executing a think-like action file against a specific target.

              **Target**: <target path>
              **Target Label**: <short label, e.g., plugin name or directory name>

              ## Action File

              <full content of the action file, pasted verbatim>

              ## Instructions

              Follow the action file above as your complete instruction set. Apply it to the target path. Execute all 4 phases. Phase 4 (Counterpoint) is mandatory. Begin your output with `## <target label>`.
            </prompt>
          </task-config>
          <constraint>Launch ALL tasks in a single message before waiting for any results. This is critical for parallel execution — do not launch one, wait, then launch the next.</constraint>
        </phase>

        <phase name="collect" number="2">
          <action>Collect results from all agents.</action>
        </phase>

        <phase name="synthesize" number="3">
          <action>Present a combined report:</action>
          <output-structure>
            1. **Per-target sections**: Include each agent's full output under its target label header
            2. **Cross-Target Synthesis**: Add a final section that identifies:
               - Patterns that appear across multiple targets
               - Targets with the most/fewest issues
               - Systemic concerns vs. isolated findings
               - Priority ordering across all targets
          </output-structure>
        </phase>

        <fallback>
          <condition>If the action-runner agent is not available (agent type not found)</condition>
          <action>Fall back to sequential