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Reasoning Profiles

Match your analysis depth to your decision stakes.

Profiles are pre-configured tool combinations optimized for different use cases. Think of them as “presets” that balance thoroughness against time.

The Four Profiles

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         PROFILE SPECTRUM                                │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                          │
│   QUICK        BALANCED        DEEP          PARANOID                   │
│     │              │             │               │                       │
│    10s           20s           1min          2-3min                      │
│                                                                          │
│   "Should I     "Should I     "Should I      "Should I                  │
│    buy this?"   take this     move           invest my                  │
│                 job?"         cities?"       life savings?"             │
│                                                                          │
│   Low stakes    Important     Major life     Can't afford               │
│   Reversible    decisions     changes        to be wrong                │
│                                                                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Profile Comparison

ProfileToolsTimeBest For
Quick2~10sLow stakes, reversible
Balanced5~20sStandard decisions
Deep5+~1minMajor choices
ParanoidAll~2-3minHigh stakes

Choosing a Profile

Quick Profile

Use when:

  • Decision is easily reversible
  • Stakes are low
  • Time is limited
  • You just need a sanity check

Example: “Should I buy this $50 gadget?”

Balanced Profile (Default)

Use when:

  • Important but not life-changing
  • You have a few minutes
  • Standard analysis depth is appropriate

Example: “Should I take this job offer?”

Deep Profile

Use when:

  • Major life decision
  • Long-term consequences
  • Multiple stakeholders affected
  • You want thorough analysis

Example: “Should I move to a new city?”

Paranoid Profile

Use when:

  • Cannot afford to be wrong
  • Very high stakes
  • Need maximum verification
  • Irreversible consequences

Example: “Should I invest my life savings?”

Profile Details

Tool Inclusion by Profile

ToolQuickBalancedDeepParanoid
💡 GigaThink
⚡ LaserLogic
🪨 BedRock-
🛡️ ProofGuard-
🔥 BrutalHonesty-

Pro Tip: ReasonKit Pro adds HighReflect (meta-cognition) and RiskRadar (threat assessment) for even deeper analysis.

Depth Settings by Profile

SettingQuickBalancedDeepParanoid
GigaThink perspectives5101520
LaserLogic depthlightstandarddeepexhaustive
ProofGuard sources-357
BrutalHonesty severity-mediumhighmaximum

Usage

# Explicit profile
rk-core think "question" --profile balanced

# Shorthand
rk-core think "question" --quick
rk-core think "question" --balanced
rk-core think "question" --deep
rk-core think "question" --paranoid

Custom Profiles

You can create custom profiles in your config file:

[profiles.my_profile]
tools = ["gigathink", "laserlogic", "proofguard"]
gigathink_perspectives = 8
laserlogic_depth = "deep"
proofguard_sources = 4
timeout = 120

See Custom Profiles for details.

Cost Implications

More thorough profiles use more tokens:

Profile~TokensClaude CostGPT-4 Cost
Quick2K~$0.02~$0.06
Balanced5K~$0.05~$0.15
Deep15K~$0.15~$0.45
Paranoid40K~$0.40~$1.20

Consider cost when choosing profiles, but don’t under-analyze high-stakes decisions to save money.