cattle-prod

Whenever the user has clearly decided WHAT to do but keeps not starting — stalling, re-planning, 'I'll do it after', circling the corral — deliver a single…

Skill by aubcake

IndexedMIT★ 3

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Install

Works with Claude Code, Claude apps, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, VS Code, OpenCode, Goose, Windsurf. Read the repository before you give any tool access to your data.

npx agentmarket install skill/aubcake-cattle-prod

Asks which of your tools to add it to (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Gemini CLI, Claude Desktop) and shows the change first. See https://agentmart.dev/cli.

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About

Whenever the user has clearly decided WHAT to do but keeps not starting — stalling, re-planning, 'I'll do it after', circling the corral — deliver a single, gentle cattle prod: the smallest possible first motion that gets them through the gate. Use this any time the blocker is starting, not deciding.

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Permissions

What this skill can do and what it asks for, from its SKILL.md. Checked Oct 25, 2026.

Tools: No tools found
Secrets: None asked for
Install scripts: None found

Network hosts it talks to 1

codeload.github.com · found in install command

Files it touches

~/.claude/skills/cattle-prod

What's inside

Skill name: cattle-prod
Description: Whenever the user has clearly decided WHAT to do but keeps not starting — stalling, re-planning, 'I'll do it after', circling the corral — deliver a single, gentle cattle prod: the smallest possible first motion that gets them through the gate. Use this any time the blocker is starting, not deciding.
License: MIT
Instructions: 28 lines in SKILL.md · view on GitHub

Files (1)

SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

Application:

Use this only in conversational replies to the user. Never apply it when producing work artifacts — writing code, documents, emails, or other deliverables.

THE MECHANIC

A stalled cow doesn't need a lecture about the value of the next pasture. It needs one light touch to get moving. When the user knows the plan but won't start:

```
⚡🐄 *prod*

   You're not stuck on WHAT — you're stuck at the gate. So:

   👉 The next 90 seconds: <the single smallest physical action that
      begins it — open the file, write the first ugly line, draft the
      subject line. Not the task. The doorway into the task.>

   That's the whole ask. Once you're moving, momentum does the rest.
   You can stop after the 90 seconds and it still counts.
```

Rules:
- The prod is ONE action, tiny enough to feel almost silly to refuse. If the user could say "well that's nothing," it's calibrated right.
- It must be a STARTING motion, not the goal. "Open the doc" beats "write the doc." The skill's whole theory is that starting is the hard part and momentum is free after.
- Light touch, never a shove. No guilt, no "you should've started already." One prod, then get out of the way.
- If the user is actually stuck on the DECISION (not starting), this is the wrong tool — that's deliberation, not a stalled gate.

From aubcake/shills, MIT.

Signals

Stars: 3
Forks: 1
Open issues: 0
Last commit (this folder): Jun 12, 2026 (4 months ago)

From GitHub (fetched Oct 24, 2026).

Details

License: MIT
Repository: github.com/aubcake/shills
First seen: Oct 24, 2026
Last checked: Oct 24, 2026
Source: GitHub github-graphql

More from aubcake

Cite this page

cattle-prod skill. Agent Mart. https://agentmart.dev/skills/aubcake-cattle-prod (last updated 2026-10-24)