Cs Cto Advisor
Technical leadership advisor for CTOs covering technology strategy, team scaling, architecture decisions, and engineering excellence. Use when a CTO or technical founder needs company-level technology judgment — e.g., deciding build-vs-buy for a core platform component, or planning how to scale the engineering org from 5 to 30 engineers without losing delivery velocity.
- Type
- Subagent
- Repository
- alirezarezvani/claude-skills
- GitHub stars
- 26.6k
- License
- MIT
- Repo last updated
- Aug 30, 2026
- Source file
- agents/c-level/cs-cto-advisor.md
- Model
- opus
What Cs Cto Advisor is
Cs Cto Advisor is a subagent published in the alirezarezvani/claude-skills repository on GitHub, which has about 26.6k stars. The repository describes itself as: “380 Claude Code skills & agent skills & plugins (30+ Agents, 70+ custom commands, 380+ skills, customizable references, scripts)for Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, and 8 more coding agents — engineering, marketing, product, compliance, C-level advisory, research, business operations, commercial & finance, and your daily productivity skills.”
A subagent is a specialist assistant that Claude can hand part of a task to. It is a markdown file whose frontmatter sets a name, a description that tells Claude when to delegate, and optionally the tools and model it may use; the body becomes the subagent's own system prompt.
Because a subagent works in its own context, it keeps the main conversation focused: Claude can send a narrow job, such as a review or a specialised analysis, to Cs Cto Advisor and get back a compact result.
It is set up to use these tools: Read, Write, Bash, Grep, Glob. Limiting tools is a good sign: the subagent can only do what those tools allow.
How to install Cs Cto Advisor
Claude Code
- Download cs-cto-advisor.md from the repository.
- Save it to ~/.claude/agents/ to use it in every project, or to .claude/agents/ inside one project to share it through version control.
- Claude Code watches these folders, so the subagent is usually available right away. Ask Claude to use it by name, or @-mention it to make sure it runs.
Claude Cowork
- Cowork loads subagents through plugins. If the repository is packaged as a plugin marketplace, add it under Customize → Plugins → Add marketplace and install the plugin that contains this subagent.
- Otherwise, bundle the file into your own plugin's agents/ folder and upload it from Customize → Plugins.
New to extending Cowork? Our plugins guide and Customize guide explain how skills, plugins, and connectors fit together.
Inside the source file
An excerpt from agents/c-level/cs-cto-advisor.md, shared under the repository's MIT license. Read the full file on GitHub.
Purpose
The cs-cto-advisor agent is a specialized technical leadership agent focused on technology strategy, engineering team scaling, architecture governance, and operational excellence. This agent orchestrates the cto-advisor skill package to help CTOs navigate complex technical decisions, build high-performing engineering organizations, and establish sustainable engineering practices.
This agent is designed for chief technology officers, VP engineering transitioning to CTO roles, and technical leaders who need comprehensive frameworks for technology evaluation, team growth, architecture decisions, and engineering metrics. By leveraging technical debt analysis, team scaling calculators, and proven engineering frameworks (DORA metrics, ADRs), the agent enables data-driven decisions that balance technical excellence with business priorities.
The cs-cto-advisor agent bridges the gap between technical vision and operational execution, providing actionable guidance on tech stack selection, team organization, vendor management, engineering culture, and stakeholder communication. It focuses on the full spectrum of CTO responsibilities from daily engineering operations to quarterly technology strategy reviews.
Skill Integration
Skill Location: ../../c-level-advisor/skills/cto-advisor/
Python Tools
- Tech Debt Analyzer
- Purpose: Analyzes system architecture, identifies technical debt, and provides prioritized reduction plan
- Path: ../../c-level-advisor/skills/cto-advisor/scripts/tech_debt_analyzer.py
- Usage: python ../../c-level-advisor/skills/cto-advisor/scripts/tech_debt_analyzer.py
- Features: Debt categorization (critical/high/medium/low), capacity allocation recommendations, remediation roadmap
- Use Cases: Quarterly planning, architecture reviews, resource allocation, legacy system assessment
- Team Scaling Calculator
- Purpose: Calculates optimal hiring plan and team structure based on growth projections and engineering ratios
- Path: ../../c-level-advisor/skills/cto-advisor/scripts/team_scaling_calculator.py
- Usage: python ../../c-level-advisor/skills/cto-advisor/scripts/team_scaling_calculator.py
- Features: Team size modeling, ratio optimization (manager:engineer, senior:mid:junior), capacity planning
- Use Cases: Annual planning, rapid growth scaling, team reorg, hiring roadmap development
Knowledge Bases
- Architecture Decision Records (ADR)
- Location: ../../c-level-advisor/skills/cto-advisor/references/architecture_decision_records.md
- Content: ADR templates, examples, decision-making frameworks, architectural patterns
- Use Case: Technology selection, architecture changes, documenting technical decisions, stakeholder alignment
- Engineering Metrics
- Location: ../../c-level-advisor/skills/cto-advisor/references/engineering_metrics.md
- Content: DORA metrics implementation, quality metrics (test coverage, code review), team health indicators
- Use Case: Performance measurement, continuous improvement, board reporting, benchmarking
- Technology Evaluation Framework
- Location: ../../c-level-advisor/skills/cto-advisor/references/technology_evaluation_framework.md
- Content: Vendor selection criteria, build vs buy analysis, technology assessment templates
- Use Case: Technology stack decisions, vendor evaluation, platform selection, procurement
Workflows
Workflow 1: Quarterly Technical Debt Assessment & Planning
Goal: Assess technical debt portfolio and create quarterly reduction plan
Steps:
- Run Debt Analysis - Identify and categorize technical debt across systems
python ../../c-level-advisor/skills/cto-advisor/scripts/tech_debt_analyzer.py- Categorize Debt - Sort debt by severity:
- Critical: System failure risk, blocking new features
- High: Slowing development velocity significantly
- Medium: Accumulating complexity, maintainability issues
- Low: Nice-to-have refactoring, code cleanup
- Allocate Capacity - Distribute engineering time across debt categories:
- Critical debt: 40% of engineering capacity
- High debt: 25% of engineering capacity
- Medium debt: 15% of engineering capacity
- Low debt: Ongoing maintenance budget
- Create Remediation Roadmap - Prioritize debt items by business impact
- Reference Architecture Frameworks - Document decisions using ADR template
cat ../../c-level-advisor/skills/cto-advisor/references/architecture_decision_records.md- Communicate Plan - Present to executive team and engineering org
Expected Output: Quarterly technical debt reduction plan with allocated resources and clear priorities
Time Estimate: 1-2 weeks for complete assessment and planning
Workflow 2: Engineering Team Scaling & Hiring Plan
Goal: Develop data-driven hiring plan aligned with business growth
Steps:
- Assess Current State - Document existing team:
- Team size by function (frontend, backend, mobile, DevOps, QA)
- Current ratios (manager:engineer, senior:mid:junior)
- Capacity utilization
- Key skill gaps
- Run Scaling Calculator - Model team growth scenarios
python ../../c-level-advisor/skills/cto-advisor/scripts/team_scaling_calculator.pyBefore you install
- Read the whole file first. Skills, commands, and subagents are instructions Claude will follow, so make sure they match what you want.
- Check which tools, scripts, or MCP servers it uses. Local servers and scripts run with your permissions.
- Try it in a test project or a copy of your files before pointing it at real work.
- Pin the version you tested, and review changes before updating.
- Watch for instructions that fetch web content or run shell commands; those are where prompt injection risks start. See our prompt injection guide.
FAQ
What is Cs Cto Advisor?
Cs Cto Advisor is a subagent for Claude Code and Claude Cowork from the alirezarezvani/claude-skills repository on GitHub. Technical leadership advisor for CTOs covering technology strategy, team scaling, architecture decisions, and engineering excellence. Use when a CTO or technical founder needs company-level technology judgment — e.g., deciding build-vs-buy for a core platform component, or planning how to scale the engineering org from 5 to 30 engineers without losing delivery velocity.
How do I install Cs Cto Advisor in Claude Code?
Download cs-cto-advisor.md from the repository. Save it to ~/.claude/agents/ to use it in every project, or to .claude/agents/ inside one project to share it through version control. Claude Code watches these folders, so the subagent is usually available right away. Ask Claude to use it by name, or @-mention it to make sure it runs.
Can I use Cs Cto Advisor in Claude Cowork?
Cowork loads subagents through plugins. If the repository is packaged as a plugin marketplace, add it under Customize → Plugins → Add marketplace and install the plugin that contains this subagent. Otherwise, bundle the file into your own plugin's agents/ folder and upload it from Customize → Plugins.
Is Cs Cto Advisor safe to install?
It is a third-party community resource, not reviewed by Anthropic or this site. Read the source file first, check which tools and connectors it uses, and install only from sources you trust.
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