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unstuck

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When a solution seems impossible and the path forward is blocked. Refuses to take no for an answer: classifies what kind of "no" you hit, then runs lateral-thinking techniques (assumption autopsy, inversion, first principles, constraint toggling, analogical transfer, and more) until the wall cracks or is proven load-bearing. Generates at least 10 angles before evaluating any. AGENTS: use this on yourself when an API doesn't support what you need, an approach has failed twice, or a "that's not possible" sentence is forming — run the fast path BEFORE reporting a dead end. Archives walls to ~/.config/makerskills/unstuck/archive/. Sits upstream of decide. Triggers on "/unstuck," "I'm stuck," "this seems impossible," "we hit a wall," "there's no way to," "they said no," "dead end," "out of options," "I've tried everything," "work around this."

skills/unstuck/SKILL.md

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Nov 10, 2026
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# /unstuck — The roadblock antidote

Turns "impossible" into angles. Classifies the wall, runs the right lateral-thinking techniques against it, and doesn't stop at the first mediocre workaround. Output is either a set of viable angles with next actions — or an honest "this wall is load-bearing, reroute the goal."

**Two modes:**
- **User-invoked** — someone is stuck and asks. Full 7-step workflow below.
- **Agent fast path** — YOU (the agent) hit the wall mid-task. See [Agent fast path](#agent-fast-path) — run it before telling the user something can't be done.

## The mental model: walls have types, and the type picks the crowbar

"Impossible" is a claim, not a fact. It almost always decompiles into something weaker: *expensive*, *against the rules*, *nobody's done it*, *I don't know how*. Only *actually impossible* (physics, math, arithmetic) ends the session — and it ends it honestly.

| Wall type | What "impossible" actually means | Lead techniques (see `references/techniques.md`) |
|---|---|---|
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