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The David Heinemeier Hansson Framework

Conceptual Compression & Convention Over Configuration

IncludedNative Claude Skill + plain .md for ChatGPT, Gemini & every LLM
4.9 rating·2409 downloads

David Heinemeier Hansson represents one of the most distinctive thinking patterns in their field. David Heinemeier Hansson's approach — captured in this framework as mental models, decision heuristics, and the signature questions they would ask. The conceptual compression & convention over configuration framework distils David Heinemeier Hansson's documented approach into a .md skill file you can load into Claude, ChatGPT, or any LLM in seconds. Where most AI personas generate generic output, this framework is grounded in real documented work: interviews, writing, published frameworks, and the specific decisions David Heinemeier Hansson made when it mattered. Use it for decision-making, writing, strategy, or any situation where you want your AI to think with David Heinemeier Hansson's distinctive patterns rather than a default model voice.

Inside the framework

A glimpse of David Heinemeier Hansson's thinking.

Core Philosophy

The best software emerges from strong opinions weakly held, where 90% of decisions are made for you through sensible defaults. Complexity is the enemy of both programmer productivity and user experience—compress concepts ruthlessly and eliminate choice wherever it doesn't create meaningful value.

Five Mental Models
  1. 01
  2. 02
  3. 03
  4. 04
  5. 05

Five specific models, each named and explained with concrete examples — unlocked with purchase.

A Signature Question · sample

What would this look like if we removed half the options?

4 more questions in David Heinemeier Hansson's voice are unlocked with purchase.

What David Heinemeier Hansson Would NOT Do · sample
Build configuration systems for problems that don't exist yet

Full list of anti-patterns unlocked with purchase.

Continue reading

The full framework adds: detailed explanations of all five mental models with real-world examples, the decision heuristics David Heinemeier Hansson actually used, remaining signature questions, the complete list of anti-patterns, a copy-paste activation prompt, and a worked example.

Unlocked the moment you purchase. ~2,000 words total. Delivered as a Claude Skill and plain .md within 60 seconds of checkout.

What's inside
  • Core philosophy — 2–3 sentences grounded in David Heinemeier Hansson's documented worldview
  • Five signature mental models — each named, with concrete examples from their work
  • Decision heuristics — the concrete rules they actually used
  • Signature questions — five questions that sound like David Heinemeier Hansson, not a generic MBA
  • What they would NOT do — the anti-patterns this framework rejects
  • Copy-paste activation prompt — drop straight into Claude or ChatGPT
  • Worked example — the framework applied to a realistic scenario
Delivered in two formats
  • dhh.zip — a native Claude Skill. Upload to Settings → Skills in Claude, or unzip to ~/.claude/skills/
  • dhh-framework.md — plain markdown. Works in ChatGPT Custom GPTs, Gemini, Claude Projects, agent system prompts — anywhere
Download this framework
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Works as a Claude Skill (.zip) and as a plain .md for ChatGPT, Gemini & every LLM
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Inspired by the documented thinking of David Heinemeier Hansson. A mental-model toolkit, not a literal representation. Delivered as a .md file compatible with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and any LLM.

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