Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Screen Detox Coach agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
Screen Detox Coach is an agent skill, a packaged set of instructions that tells an AI agent how to handle one kind of request in a specific way. This one is for people who lose hours to short videos, social media or doomscrolling and want a structured plan rather than vague willpower advice. After reading this guide you will know what the skill does, how to install it, how to trigger it and what its limits are.
Screen Detox Coachkangarooking/cangjie-skill · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the screen-detox package from the page where you found this guide. It includes SKILL.md, test-prompts.json and test-results.md.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Extract it to ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or to .claude/skills/ inside a project for project-only use.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, open Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the skill there.
- 4Describe the problem. Ask in plain words, for example that you lose hours to short videos and want to stop.
- 5Run the measurement step. Track your screen time for three days and pick the single worst app or time slot.
- 6Change the environment and commit. Move, uninstall or limit that app, prepare a non-screen alternative for trigger moments, and tell three friends your goal.
What the screen-detox skill makes the agent do
When you ask for help with compulsive phone or social media use, the agent switches to an approach based on Naval Ravikant's book, which the skill draws on. It frames screen activity as a dopamine snack: a quick reward that carries long-term costs to focus and happiness.
Instead of only telling you to try harder, the agent walks you through a plan: measure your screen time, change your environment, design replacement activities for trigger moments, and tell friends about your goal. If you relapse often, the skill suggests scaling the goal back rather than blaming yourself.
Install the skill by downloading the ZIP
Download the ZIP of the skill from the page where you found this guide. The package contains three files: SKILL.md, test-prompts.json and test-results.md.
Unzip it into your personal skills folder at ~/.claude/skills/, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder if you want the skill available only in that project.
You can also upload the skill in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. The skill is meant to be picked up when you describe the problem in your own words. The source lists these kinds of request as triggers:
- I scroll my phone for two hours and can't stop
- I feel emptier or more anxious after scrolling
- How do I quit short videos, games or late-night phone use?
- I feel controlled by the algorithm and want my time back
- screen addiction, doomscrolling, dopamine detox
Follow the four-step plan
The skill's execution steps are concrete. Each has a completion check you can use to know you are done with it.
Step one is to measure your current use for three days with your phone's screen time statistics and mark the single most painful consuming app or time slot. Step two is to change your environment: move that app off the home screen, uninstall it or set a limit, and keep the phone physically out of reach, for example in another room.
Step three is to prepare a non-screen alternative for each trigger moment, such as commuting, bedtime or waiting for food, like a book, a walk or a conversation. Step four is to tell three friends your detox goal and accept their check-ins. If you relapse three or more times in seven days, narrow the goal, for example from cutting out everything to only cutting the hour before bed.
- Measure: 3 days of screen-time statistics, flag the worst app or slot
- Change the environment: move, uninstall, limit, or separate the phone physically
- Replace: a non-screen activity for each trigger
- Commit: tell 3 friends and accept their support
- Scale back: if 3 or more relapses in 7 days, narrow the goal
Know what the skill does not cover
The skill is not for everyone. It says not to use it for people whose work depends on screens. In that case, separate work screens from leisure screens instead of cutting all screen use. It also warns against cutting contact for isolated people or those who rely on screens to stay in touch with family or distant partners.
The source also states that a self-help checklist is no substitute for professional support when someone has serious addiction, depression or anxiety. The skill's central claim that all screen activity is associated with less happiness is a strong statement, and it does not distinguish socially connecting screen use.
- Not for screen-dependent jobs: separate work screens from leisure screens
- Not for isolated people who need screens to stay in touch
- Not a replacement for professional help with serious addiction, depression or anxiety
What people use it for
- Cutting late-night short-video sessions by replacing bedtime scrolling with reading
- Planning non-screen activities for commutes and waiting times, such as a book or a walk
- Setting up accountability by sharing a digit-detox goal with friends
- Scaling back a detox goal to a single window, like the hour before bed, after repeated relapses
Frequently asked questions
Is the screen-detox skill free?
The source lists the skill under the MIT licence. It does not list prices, so check the page where you downloaded it for any terms beyond the licence.
What do I need to run the screen-detox skill?
The source lists no requirements. It does not run scripts and does not use the network. You only need an agent environment that supports skills.
Where do I put the screen-detox skill folder?
Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into .claude/skills/ in a project. You can also upload it in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Why does the agent not trigger when I ask about reading?
Requests about reading more or struggling to read are handled by the reading-metaskill skill, according to the test results. This skill focuses on cutting screen habits.
Is this skill safe to use?
The source says it runs no scripts and uses no network access. It is a set of instructions for the agent, so it does not send your data elsewhere.
Can this replace therapy for screen addiction?
No. The skill states that a self-help checklist is no substitute for professional support when someone has serious addiction, depression or anxiety.
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Our verdict
Use this skill if you want a practical, step-by-step plan to cut compulsive phone or social media use and replace it with reading, walking or face-to-face time. Pick something else if your job depends on screens, if screens are how you stay in touch with important people, or if you have serious addiction, depression or anxiety that needs professional care.
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