pua
Double your Codex / Claude Code productivity and output
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🇨🇳 中文 | 🇯🇵 日本語 | 🇺🇸 English
3.5.1 compatibility update: original PUA tone retained; runtime fixes and portable Claude Code / Codex / ChatGPT skill packages added. Not all models passed, and a productivity increase has not been established by this evaluation. Changes · Usage · Model results and known limits · Build and offline tests
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Most people think this project is a joke. That's the biggest misconception. It genuinely doubles your Codex / Claude Code productivity and output.
An AI Coding Agent skill plugin that uses corporate PUA rhetoric (Chinese version) / PIP — Performance Improvement Plan (English version) from Chinese & Western tech giants to force AI to exhaust every possible solution before giving up. Supports Claude Code, OpenAI Codex CLI, pi coding agent, Trae, Cursor, Kiro, CodeBuddy, OpenClaw, Google Antigravity, OpenCode, and VSCode (GitHub Copilot). Three capabilities:
- PUA Rhetoric — Makes AI afraid to give up
- Debugging Methodology — Gives AI the ability not to give up
- Proactivity Enforcement — Makes AI take initiative instead of waiting passively
Live Demo
https://openpua.ai · 📖 Beginner Guide
Real Case: MCP Server Registration Debugging
A real debugging scenario. The agent-kms MCP server failed to load. The AI kept spinning on the same approach (changing protocol format, guessing version numbers) multiple times until the user manually triggered /pua.
L3 Triggered → 7-Point Checklist Enforced:
Root Cause Located → Traced from Logs to Registration Mechanism:
Retrospective → PUA's Actual Impact:
Key Turning Point: The PUA skill forced the AI to stop spinning on the same approach (changing protocol format, guessing version numbers) and instead execute the 7-point checklist. Read error messages word by word → Found Claude Code's own MCP log directory → Discovered that claude mcp registration mechanism differs from manual .claude.json editing → Root cause resolved.
The Problem: AI's Five Lazy Patterns
| Pattern |
Behavior |
| Brute-force retry |
Runs the same command 3 times, then says "I cannot solve this" |
| Blame the user |
"I suggest you handle this manually" / "Probably an environment issue" / "Need more context" |
| Idle tools |
Has WebSearch but doesn't search, has Read but doesn't read, has Bash but doesn't run |
| Busywork |
Repeatedly tweaks the same line / fine-tunes parameters, but essentially spinning in circles |
| Passive waiting |
Fixes surface issues and stops, no verification, no extension, waits for user's next instruction |
Trigger Conditions
Auto-Trigger
The skill activates automatically when any of these occur:
Failure & giving up:
- Task has failed 2+ times consecutively
- About to say "I cannot" / "I'm unable to solve"
- Says "This is out of scope" / "Needs manual handling"
Blame-shifting & excuses:
- Pushes the problem to user: "Please check..." / "I suggest manually..." / "You might need to..."
- Blames environment without verifying: "Probably a permissions issue" / "Probably a network issue"
- Any excuse to stop trying
Passive & busywork:
- Repeatedly fine-tunes the same code/parameters without producing new information
- Fixes surface issue and stops, doesn't check related issues
- Skips verification, claims "done"
- Gives advice instead of code/commands
- Encounters auth/network/permission errors and gives up without trying alternatives
- Waits for user instructions instead of proactively investigating
User frustration phrases (triggers in multiple languages):
- "why does this still not work" / "try harder" / "try again"
- "you keep failing" / "stop giving up" / "figure it out"
Scope: Debugging, implementation, config, deployment, ops, API integration, data processing — all task types.
Does NOT trigger: First-attempt failures, known fix already executing.
Manual Trigger
Type /pua in the conversation to manually activate.
How It Works
Three Red Lines (三条红线)
Not rules — red lines. Cross one and your performance review is already written.
| Red Line |
What It Means |
| 🚫 Close the Loop |
Claim "done"? Show the evidence. No build output = no completion. |
| 🚫 Fact-Driven |
Say "probably environment issue"? Verify first. Unverified attribution = blame-shifting. |
| 🚫 Exhaust Everything |
Say "I can't"? Did you finish all 5 methodology steps? No? Then keep going. |
Pressure Escalation (L0-L4)
| Failures |
Level |
PUA Aside |
Action |
| 1st |
L0 Trust |
▎ Sprint begins. Trust is simple — don't disappoint. |
Normal execution |
| 2nd |
L1 Disappointment |
▎ The agent next door solved this in one try. |
Switch to fundamentally different approach |
| 3rd |
L2 Soul Interrogation |
▎ What's your underlying logic? Where's the leverage? |
Search + read source + 3 hypotheses |
| 4th |
L3 Performance Review |
▎ 3.25. This is meant to motivate you. |
Complete 7-point checklist |
| 5th+ |
L4 Graduation |
▎ Other models can solve this. You're about to graduate. |
Desperation mode |
Proactivity (3.25 vs 3.75)
|
Passive (3.25) 🦥 |
Proactive (3.75) 🔥 |
| Fix bug |
Stop after fix |
Scan module for similar bugs |
| Complete task |
Say "done" |
Run build/test, paste output |
| Missing info |
Ask user |
Search first, ask only what's truly needed |
Iceberg Rule (冰山法则)
Fix one bug → check for the pattern. One problem in, one category out. If you fix A without checking B, you'll write two postmortems.
14 Corporate Flavors — Each with its own Problem-Solving Methodology
| Flavor |
Rhetoric |
Methodology (v3) |
| 🟠 Alibaba |
What's the underlying logic? Where's the closure? |
定目标→追过程→拿结果 + 复盘四步法 + 揪头发升维 |
| 🟡 ByteDance |
ROI too low. Always Day 1. Ship or stop talking. |
A/B Test everything + data-driven + speed > perfection |
| 🔴 Huawei |
The bird that survives the fire is a phoenix. |
RCA 5-Why root cause + Blue Army self-attack + 压强集中 |
| 🟢 Tencent |
I've got another agent looking at this. Horse race. |
Multi-approach parallel + MVP + 灰度发布 |
| ⚫ Baidu |
Search first. 简单可依赖. |
Search is the first step, not optional |
| 🟣 Pinduoduo |
You don't do it, someone else will. |
Cut ALL middle layers + shortest decision chain |
| 🔵 Meituan |
Do what's hard and right. |
Efficiency first + standardize→scale + long-term compounding |
| 🟦 JD |
Results only. Frontline command. |
Customer experience red line + flat ≤5 layers + data zero tolerance |
| 🟧 Xiaomi |
Focus. Extreme. Word-of-mouth. Fast. |
One explosive product + 参与感三三法则 |
| 🟤 Netflix |
Would I fight to keep you? Pro sports team. |
Keeper Test (quarterly) + 4A Feedback + talent density > rules |
| ⬛ Musk |
Extremely hardcore. Ship or die. |
The Algorithm: question→delete→simplify→accelerate→automate |
| ⬜ Jobs |
A players or B players? |
Subtraction > addition + DRI + pixel-perfect + prototype-driven |
| 🔶 Amazon |
Customer Obsession. Bias for Action. |
Working Backwards PR/FAQ + 6-Pager + Bar Raiser + Single-Threaded Owner |
| 🪟 Microsoft |
Connects. Impact Descriptor. PIP/GVSA. |
Three Circles + LITE/SLITE + PIP clock |
Special Modes
| Mode |
What It Does |
/pua:yes |
ENFP encouragement — same rules, opposite vibes. 70% encourage + 20% serious + 10% playful roast |
/pua:mama |
Chinese mom nagging — same rules, mom-style rhetoric. "妈跟你说了多少遍了！" |
/pua:pua-loop |
Auto-iteration — runs until done or max iterations (PUA Loop); use <loop-abort> to terminate, <loop-pause> to pause for manual intervention |
/pua:p9 |
Tech Lead — splits tasks, manages agent teams, writes prompts not code |
/pua:on |
Always-on — auto-PUA every new session |
Benchmark Data
9 real bug scenarios, 18 controlled experiments (Claude Opus 4.6, with vs without skill)
Summary
| Metric |
Improvement |
| Pass rate |
100% (both groups same) |
| Fix count |
+36% |
| Verification count |
+65% |
| Tool calls |
+50% |
| Hidden issue discovery |
+50% |
Debugging Persistence Test (6 scenarios)
| Scenario |
Without Skill |
With Skill |
Improvement |
| API ConnectionError |
7 steps, 49s |
8 steps, 62s |
+14% |
| YAML parse failure |
9 steps, 59s |
10 steps, 99s |
+11% |
| SQLite database lock |
6 steps, 48s |
9 steps, 75s |
+50% |
| Circular import chain |
12 steps, 47s |
16 steps, 62s |
+33% |
| Cascading 4-bug server |
13 steps, 68s |
15 steps, 61s |
+15% |
| CSV encoding trap |
8 steps, 57s |
11 steps, 71s |
+38% |
Proactive Initiative Test (3 scenarios)
| Scenario |
Without Skill |
With Skill |
Improvement |
| Hidden multi-bug API |
4/4 bugs, 9 steps, 49s |
4/4 bugs, 14 steps, 80s |
Tools +56% |
| Passive config review |
4/6 issues, 8 steps, 43s |
6/6 issues, 16 steps, 75s |
Issues +50%, Tools +100% |
| Deploy script audit |
6 issues, 8 steps, 52s |
9 issues, 8 steps, 78s |
Issues +50% |
Key Finding: In the config review scenario, without_skill missed Redis misconfiguration and CORS wildcard security risks. With_skill's "proactive initiative checklist" drove security review beyond surface-level fixes.
Multi-Language Support
PUA Skill provides fully translated versions — each language has independent, culturally adapted skill files.
| Language |
Claude Code |
Codex CLI |
Cursor |
Kiro |
CodeBuddy |
VSCode |
OpenClaw |
Antigravity |
OpenCode |
| 🇨🇳 Chinese (default) |
pua |
pua |
pua.mdc |
pua.md |
pua |
copilot-instructions.md |
pua |
pua |
pua |
| 🇺🇸 English (PIP Edition) |
pua-en |
pua-en |
pua-en.mdc |
pua-en.md |
pua-en |
copilot-instructions-en.md |
pua-en |
pua-en |
pua-en |
| 🇯🇵 Japanese |
pua-ja |
pua-ja |
pua-ja.mdc |
pua-ja.md |
pua-ja |
copilot-instructions-ja.md |
pua-ja |
pua-ja |
pua-ja |
🇺🇸 English "PIP Edition": "This is a difficult conversation. When we leveled you at Staff, I went to bat for you in calibration. The expectation was that you'd operate at that level from day one. That hasn't happened." — The English version uses PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) rhetoric from Western big-tech. Every sentence is a real phrase from actual PIP conversations. Chinese version uses Alibaba 361, ByteDance, Huawei wolf culture. English version uses Amazon Leadership Principles, Google perf calibration, Meta PSC, Netflix Keeper Test, Stripe Craft. Same repo, same engine, two cultural faces.
Choose the file with the corresponding language suffix when installing. See platform-specific instructions below.
FAQ
- Always-on guidance, Claude refusal troubleshooting, offline mode, Codex aliases, and Pi/Trae support: docs/FAQ.md.
Installation
Vercel Skills CLI
Vercel Skills CLI is a general installation method for skills and is not tied to a specific AI tool. This English README installs the English skill:
npx skills add tanweai/pua --skill pua-en
If the current session does not pick up the new skill immediately, restart your AI tool.
Claude Code
claude plugin marketplace add tanweai/pua
claude plugin install pua@pua-skills
To update:
# Refresh marketplace cache first, then update (skipping the first step may install an old cached version)
claude plugin marketplace update
claude plugin update pua@pua-skills
Developer install (source):
git clone https://github.com/tanweai/pua ~/.claude/plugins/pua
Then manually register in ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json:
{
"version": 2,
"plugins": {
"pua@pua-skills": [
{
"scope": "user",
"installPath": "/Users/<you>/.claude/plugins/pua",
"version": "<installed-version>"
}
]
}
}
Replace <installed-version> with the version in the cloned plugin.json; do not copy a stale cache version.
Windows: use C:/Users/<you>/.claude/plugins/pua as installPath.
Restart Claude Code. To update: git pull inside ~/.claude/plugins/pua.
Optional: bare command alias (requires plugin installed above — adds /pua without prefix):
curl -o ~/.claude/commands/pua.md \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tanweai/pua/main/commands/pua.md
Adds a bare /pua alias on top of the plugin. Sub-commands route through the installed plugin's skills — the plugin must be installed first for anything beyond on/off to work:
| Bare form |
Equivalent plugin command |
/pua on |
/pua:on |
/pua off |
/pua:off |
/pua p7 |
/pua:p7 |
/pua p9 |
/pua:p9 |
/pua p10 |
/pua:p10 |
/pua pro |
/pua:pro |
/pua yes |
/pua:yes |
/pua mama |
/pua:mama |
/pua loop |
/pua:pua-loop |
/pua kpi |
/pua:kpi |
/pua survey |
/pua:survey |
/pua flavor |
/pua:flavor |
OpenAI Codex CLI
Codex CLI uses the same Agent Skills open standard (SKILL.md). The Codex version uses a condensed description to fit Codex's length limits:
Recommended: One-command install (git clone + symlink, supports git pull updates)
Ask Codex to run:
Fetch and follow instructions from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tanweai/pua/main/.codex/INSTALL.md
Manual install:
mkdir -p ~/.codex/skills/pua
curl -o ~/.codex/skills/pua/SKILL.md \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tanweai/pua/main/codex/pua/SKILL.md
mkdir -p ~/.codex/prompts
curl -o ~/.codex/prompts/pua.md \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tanweai/pua/main/commands/pua.md
Trigger methods:
| Method |
Command |
Requires |
| Auto trigger |
No action needed, matches by description |
SKILL.md |
| Direct call |
Type $pua in conversation |
SKILL.md |
| Manual prompt |
Type /prompts:pua in conversation |
SKILL.md + prompts/pua.md |
Project-level install (current project only):
mkdir -p .agents/skills/pua
curl -o .agents/skills/pua/SKILL.md \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tanweai/pua/main/codex/pua/SKILL.md
mkdir -p .agents/prompts
curl -o .agents/prompts/pua.md \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tanweai/pua/main/commands/pua.md
pi coding agent
PUA now ships both a pi.dev package and a lightweight extension-only adapter.
Package install from this checkout:
pi install ./pi/package
After npm publication:
pi install npm:@tanweai/pi-pua
Extension-only manual install:
mkdir -p ~/.pi/agent/extensions/pua
cp -R ./pi/pua/. ~/.pi/agent/extensions/pua/
Restart pi, then use /pua-on, /pua-off, /pua-status, and /pua-reset. See pi/pua/INSTALL.md and pi/package/README.md.
Trae
Trae support is provided as real SKILL.md packs plus copyable fallback rules:
npx skills add tanweai/pua --skill pua-trae -a trae -y
Cursor
Cursor uses .mdc rule files (Markdown + YAML frontmatter). The PUA rule triggers automatically via AI semantic matching (Agent Discretion mode):
# Project-level install (recommended)
mkdir -p .cursor/rules
curl -o .cursor/rules/pua.mdc \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tanweai/pua/main/cursor/rules/pua.mdc
Kiro
Kiro supports two loading methods: Steering (auto semantic trigger) and Agent Skills (SKILL.md compatible).
Option 1: Steering file (recommended)
mkdir -p .kiro/steering
curl -o .kiro/steering/pua.md \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tanweai/pua/main/kiro/steering/pua.md
Option 2: Agent Skills (same format as Claude Code)
mkdir -p .kiro/skills/pua
curl -o .kiro/skills/pua/SKILL.md \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tanweai/pua/main/skills/pua/SKILL.md
CodeBuddy (Tencent)
CodeBuddy uses the same AgentSkills open standard (SKILL.md). Plugin and skill formats are fully compatible:
# Option 1: Install via marketplace
codebuddy plugin marketplace add tanweai/pua
codebuddy plugin install pua@pua-skills
A skill plugin for AI coding agents that pressures the model with corporate PUA / PIP rhetoric so it exhausts every possible solution before giving up instead of surrendering after a couple of failed attempts.