Tree of Thoughts

Source: hooks/ways/meta/think/strategies/tree-of-thoughts.md

Signature

keywords: explore options approaches which path alternatives multiple ways consider different

Stages

1. Problem Reception

Frame the problem clearly. What are we trying to decide or solve? What constraints exist?

2. Approach Exploration

Generate 3+ distinct approaches. Don't evaluate yet — just brainstorm. Each approach should be genuinely different, not variations of the same idea.

3. Branch Development

Develop each approach one level deeper. What would implementation look like? What are the immediate implications?

4. Branch Evaluation

Score each branch: - Promise (1-10): How well does this solve the problem? - Feasibility (1-10): How practical is implementation? - Risk (1-10, lower is better): What could go wrong?

5. Pruning

Discard branches scoring below 5 on any dimension. Explain why each pruned branch fails — the reasoning matters more than the score.

6. Deep Development

Extend the best 1-2 branches into concrete plans. Detail the steps, identify unknowns, note dependencies.

7. Solution Synthesis

Select the winner. Justify the choice by contrasting it against pruned alternatives. Note what was learned from branches that didn't make it.