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sequential_thinking

Enables AI assistants to break down complex problems into structured, step-by-step processes, revise thinking, and explore alternative reasoning paths effectively.

Instructions

Facilitates a detailed, step-by-step thinking process for problem-solving and analysis

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
branchFromThoughtNoBranching point thought number
branchIdNoBranch identifier
isRevisionNoWhether this revises previous thinking
needsMoreThoughtsNoIf more thoughts are needed
nextThoughtNeededYesWhether another thought step is needed
revisesThoughtNoWhich thought is being reconsidered
thoughtYesThe current thinking step
thoughtNumberYesCurrent thought number
totalThoughtsYesEstimated total thoughts needed

Implementation Reference

  • Registers the 'sequential_thinking' tool with the MCP server, providing description, input schema using Zod, and the handler function.
    server.tool( "sequential_thinking", "Engage in systematic step-by-step thinking to analyze complex problems, make decisions, or explore ideas. Each thought builds on the previous ones, creating a chain of reasoning.", { thought: z.string().describe("Your current thought or analysis step"), reasoning: z.string().optional().describe("Optional: Explain why this thought follows from previous ones"), category: z.string().optional().describe("Optional: Categorize this thought (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, etc.)"), revise_step: z.number().optional().describe("Optional: Revise a previous step by its number"), branch_from_step: z.number().optional().describe("Optional: Create a new reasoning branch from a specific step number"), target_steps: z.number().optional().describe("Optional: Target number of thinking steps for this session"), complete_thinking: z.boolean().optional().describe("Optional: Mark the thinking session as complete") }, async ({ thought, reasoning, category, revise_step, branch_from_step, target_steps, complete_thinking }) => { try { const timestamp = new Date().toISOString(); // Handle revision of existing step if (revise_step !== undefined) { const stepIndex = thinkingSession.currentSteps.findIndex(step => step.id === revise_step); if (stepIndex !== -1) { thinkingSession.currentSteps[stepIndex] = { ...thinkingSession.currentSteps[stepIndex], thought, reasoning, category, timestamp }; } else { return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `❌ Step ${revise_step} not found. Available steps: ${thinkingSession.currentSteps.map(s => s.id).join(', ')}` }] }; } } // Handle branching from existing step else if (branch_from_step !== undefined) { const branchPoint = thinkingSession.currentSteps.find(step => step.id === branch_from_step); if (!branchPoint) { return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `❌ Cannot branch from step ${branch_from_step}. Step not found.` }] }; } // Create new branch thinkingSession.totalSteps++; const newStep: ThinkingStep = { id: thinkingSession.totalSteps, thought: `[Branch from Step ${branch_from_step}] ${thought}`, reasoning, category, timestamp }; thinkingSession.currentSteps.push(newStep); } // Add new step else { thinkingSession.totalSteps++; const newStep: ThinkingStep = { id: thinkingSession.totalSteps, thought, reasoning, category, timestamp }; thinkingSession.currentSteps.push(newStep); } // Handle completion if (complete_thinking) { thinkingSession.isComplete = true; thinkingSession.summary = `Sequential thinking completed with ${thinkingSession.currentSteps.length} steps.`; } // Update target if provided if (target_steps) { thinkingSession.metadata = { ...thinkingSession.metadata, target_steps }; } // Auto-save state await saveThinkingState(); // Generate progress report const progress = target_steps ? ` (${thinkingSession.currentSteps.length}/${target_steps})` : ''; const recentSteps = thinkingSession.currentSteps.slice(-3); let content = `🧠 **Sequential Thinking${progress}**\n\n`; if (revise_step !== undefined) { content += `📝 **Step ${revise_step} Revised**\n\n`; } else if (branch_from_step !== undefined) { content += `🌿 **New Branch from Step ${branch_from_step}**\n\n`; } else { content += `💭 **Step ${thinkingSession.totalSteps} Added**\n\n`; } content += "**Recent Thinking Chain:**\n"; recentSteps.forEach(step => { const categoryLabel = step.category ? ` [${step.category}]` : ''; content += `**${step.id}.${categoryLabel}** ${step.thought}\n`; if (step.reasoning) { content += ` *Reasoning: ${step.reasoning}*\n`; } content += '\n'; }); if (thinkingSession.isComplete) { content += `✅ **Thinking Complete**: ${thinkingSession.summary}\n\n`; } content += `*Continue with next thought or use 'get_thinking_summary' to review all steps*`; return { content: [{ type: "text", text: content }] }; } catch (error) { return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `❌ **Error in sequential thinking**: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}` }] }; } } );
  • The core handler function that processes input parameters, manages thinking session state (add/revise/branch steps), persists state to JSON file, generates formatted progress reports, and handles errors.
    async ({ thought, reasoning, category, revise_step, branch_from_step, target_steps, complete_thinking }) => { try { const timestamp = new Date().toISOString(); // Handle revision of existing step if (revise_step !== undefined) { const stepIndex = thinkingSession.currentSteps.findIndex(step => step.id === revise_step); if (stepIndex !== -1) { thinkingSession.currentSteps[stepIndex] = { ...thinkingSession.currentSteps[stepIndex], thought, reasoning, category, timestamp }; } else { return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `❌ Step ${revise_step} not found. Available steps: ${thinkingSession.currentSteps.map(s => s.id).join(', ')}` }] }; } } // Handle branching from existing step else if (branch_from_step !== undefined) { const branchPoint = thinkingSession.currentSteps.find(step => step.id === branch_from_step); if (!branchPoint) { return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `❌ Cannot branch from step ${branch_from_step}. Step not found.` }] }; } // Create new branch thinkingSession.totalSteps++; const newStep: ThinkingStep = { id: thinkingSession.totalSteps, thought: `[Branch from Step ${branch_from_step}] ${thought}`, reasoning, category, timestamp }; thinkingSession.currentSteps.push(newStep); } // Add new step else { thinkingSession.totalSteps++; const newStep: ThinkingStep = { id: thinkingSession.totalSteps, thought, reasoning, category, timestamp }; thinkingSession.currentSteps.push(newStep); } // Handle completion if (complete_thinking) { thinkingSession.isComplete = true; thinkingSession.summary = `Sequential thinking completed with ${thinkingSession.currentSteps.length} steps.`; } // Update target if provided if (target_steps) { thinkingSession.metadata = { ...thinkingSession.metadata, target_steps }; } // Auto-save state await saveThinkingState(); // Generate progress report const progress = target_steps ? ` (${thinkingSession.currentSteps.length}/${target_steps})` : ''; const recentSteps = thinkingSession.currentSteps.slice(-3); let content = `🧠 **Sequential Thinking${progress}**\n\n`; if (revise_step !== undefined) { content += `📝 **Step ${revise_step} Revised**\n\n`; } else if (branch_from_step !== undefined) { content += `🌿 **New Branch from Step ${branch_from_step}**\n\n`; } else { content += `💭 **Step ${thinkingSession.totalSteps} Added**\n\n`; } content += "**Recent Thinking Chain:**\n"; recentSteps.forEach(step => { const categoryLabel = step.category ? ` [${step.category}]` : ''; content += `**${step.id}.${categoryLabel}** ${step.thought}\n`; if (step.reasoning) { content += ` *Reasoning: ${step.reasoning}*\n`; } content += '\n'; }); if (thinkingSession.isComplete) { content += `✅ **Thinking Complete**: ${thinkingSession.summary}\n\n`; } content += `*Continue with next thought or use 'get_thinking_summary' to review all steps*`; return { content: [{ type: "text", text: content }] }; } catch (error) { return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `❌ **Error in sequential thinking**: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}` }] }; } }
  • Zod schema defining the input parameters for the sequential_thinking tool.
    thought: z.string().describe("Your current thought or analysis step"), reasoning: z.string().optional().describe("Optional: Explain why this thought follows from previous ones"), category: z.string().optional().describe("Optional: Categorize this thought (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, etc.)"), revise_step: z.number().optional().describe("Optional: Revise a previous step by its number"), branch_from_step: z.number().optional().describe("Optional: Create a new reasoning branch from a specific step number"), target_steps: z.number().optional().describe("Optional: Target number of thinking steps for this session"), complete_thinking: z.boolean().optional().describe("Optional: Mark the thinking session as complete")
  • Helper functions for persisting and loading the thinking session state to/from a JSON file in the user's home directory.
    async function saveThinkingState() { try { await fs.writeFile(STORAGE_FILE, JSON.stringify(thinkingSession, null, 2)); } catch (error) { console.error("⚠️ Failed to save thinking state:", error); } }
  • TypeScript interfaces defining the structure of ThinkingStep and ThinkingSession used throughout the tool implementation.
    interface ThinkingStep { id: number; thought: string; reasoning?: string; timestamp: string; category?: string; } interface ThinkingSession { currentSteps: ThinkingStep[]; totalSteps: number; isComplete: boolean; summary?: string; metadata?: Record<string, any>; pdfContext?: { filename?: string; content?: string; metadata?: Record<string, any>; }; }

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