In short:
ak-problem-solvingreads the symptom of how you are stuck, picks 1 of 5 techniques to rethink the problem, applies it to your actual problem and stops once there is a step you can take right away. If the code is broken or a test fails, it hands off to the debug skill you have installed. It does not fix bugs and does not finish the work for you.
Disclosure: I maintain AgentKit and have an affiliate relationship with it: the AgentKit link in this post is an affiliate link; buying through it gets you 30% off.
Summary
Use it when you are partway through a task and stuck on how to think about it: code keeps growing with special cases, the usual approach no longer works, the same problem shows up in several places, the solution is forced into "there is only one way", or you do not know whether the design will hold as it grows. You do not need it when the code is broken or a test fails: that is for the debug skill you have installed.
flowchart LR
A["Stuck mid-task"] --> B["ak-problem-solving"]
B --> C["Technique that fits the symptom"]
C --> D["Grounded decision or a test"]
D --> E["Back to the work"]
F["Broken code, failing test"] --> G["Your installed debug skill"]Four concepts to know:
| Concept | Question | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stuck symptom | How exactly are you stuck? | Adding another if branch every week for a "special case" is spiraling complexity, very different from "there is only one way to do it". |
| Technique | Which way of rethinking fits that kind of stuck? | Spiraling complexity calls for Simplification Cascades: find one insight that makes many parts redundant at once. |
| Actionable result | When does it stop? | When there is a grounded decision ("merge 7 branches into one price table"), or a test that tells two hypotheses apart. Once it has that, it returns and does not keep going. |
| Combining techniques | What if the first technique does not unblock you? | Find the repeated pattern with Meta-Pattern Recognition, then use Simplification Cascades to merge every place that has it. |
Sample prompt when code keeps growing with special cases:
/ak-problem-solving The shipping fee function in <project> already has 7 if branches
for 7 order types, and every week adds a new case.
Tried: splitting each branch into its own function, still messy.
Constraint: fees for existing orders must not change.| Flag | What it is for | Since ak |
|---|---|---|
--ultra | 5 independent rethinks, pick the best one | 2.13.0 |
Below is the detailed version: the run flow, 6 situations with prompts, each flag explained (when to use it, when you do not need it, what you get, which flags it combines with), the change history by ak release, and common pitfalls. The detailed version and the interactive page are for subscribers. Your agent can also search them through the portal's MCP.
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Use this piece in your agent
Get an API keyCopy the text below and paste it into Claude Code, Codex or whichever agent you use. The agent reads the piece and checks it against the repo you have open.
Read "ak-problem-solving: pick the right way to rethink when stuck" on modernEngineer and apply it to this repo.
1. Call the content_get tool of the modernengineer MCP server with locale "en", slug "ak-problem-solving". If the modernengineer MCP server is not connected, stop and walk me through connecting it from https://modernengineer.dev/en/mcp.
2. Summarize the main steps of the piece and point out which apply to this repo.
3. Propose concrete changes and ask me before editing any file.Connect MCP in Claude Code (once)
claude mcp add --transport http modernengineer \
https://api.modernengineer.dev/mcp \
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- Version
- v1.0.0
- Updated
- 22/10/2026
- Licence
- All rights reserved
- Slug
- ak-problem-solving
