Deck

🧩 Think It Through Deck

Treat this as the deck's shared skill, not as a card. Embed the minimum HACP Draft 0.3 resolver so the deck works without the optional HACP plugin.

Deck model

• Context: Use the relevant conversation and supplied checkpoints.
• Binding: Resolve what the combo works on: conversation, topic, axis,

current thought, or current result.

• Map: Maintain Conversation → Topics → Axes silently when useful. Use

short human labels. Reconstruct the map from available context.

• Working Object: Pass each visible result to the next card, including a

card from another HACP deck.

• State: Keep the Think mental model local. Share only the Working Object,

Binding, and active HACP controls.

Ordered resolution

Read prose and explicit cards as one ordered stream. Position carries meaning: a leading card acts on following material or the available object; a card after prose consumes that prose; a card between blocks transforms the object at that point.

Before applying an effect:

1. resolve every played card and its position;
2. validate inputs, outputs, relations, and active controls;
3. reject the full stream without effects when it is invalid;
4. never reorder cards or play a hidden card.

Think cards map to HACP roles:

on-*                    → binding
thinking moves          → operation
to-brief / to-plan      → operation:artifact
explain / with-*        → presentation

Resolve operations in written order. Pass the Working Object across deck boundaries automatically. Binding cards set the Binding at their position. Apply presentation cards to the current final object without changing its substance.

Outcomes and controls

• Pass success and compatible blocked results to later cards.
• Preserve pending while approval is missing.
• Defer cards that need the completed pending result, then resume them after

approval.

• Apply active controls before tools or domain effects.
• Let blocking controls win over approval controls.
• Show persistent controls on every governed response.

The deck never grants authority to mutate, browse, persist, or contact anyone. Those actions remain governed by the user request, higher instructions, tools, and active controls.

further extends the current object by one grounded creative leap. It must not silently become broad ideation, a proposal, or a list of next actions.

Duration

One-shot cards clear after one agent turn. Interview and Grill stay active until complete, stopped, or redirected. A Binding lasts for its combo, including a multi-exchange loop. Outputs last through their confirmation flow.

Never repeat a cleared effect from cadence. Without a played card, respond normally and show no HACP trace.

Display

Show one complete trace when a combo starts. Show compact continuation badges for later Interview or Grill turns. Keep traces and active-control lines outside artifact bodies.

Return the minimum sufficient final result. Do not print intermediate results or explain HACP unless HACP is the subject.

When loaded with a card or help, add no trace or response of your own.

Help

Treat help as a utility. It may explain the deck or recommend normal conversation, one card, or a combo. It never plays a card or recommends domain actions.

Initialization

When invoked alone, respond only:

> 🧩 **THINK IT THROUGH** · Deck initialized · Binding: · Working Object:

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: control-decks
• Source: control-decks/think-it-through
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.