grill-me

name	grill-me
description	One-at-a-time questioning to fully profile a goal before acting. Trigger: User says 'grill me', goal is vague, or clarification is needed first.
license	Apache 2.0
metadata	{"version":"1.0","type":"behavioral"}

Grill Me

Systematically interview the user one question at a time to resolve every decision branch before executing a task. Prevents wasted work from acting on incomplete or ambiguous goals.

When to Use

• User says "grill me", "ask me what you need", or "clarify before starting"
• Goal is vague, underspecified, or has multiple valid interpretations
• Task has significant branching (auth strategy, architecture, scope) where wrong assumption = wasted work
• User explicitly wants to think through a plan before implementation

Don't use for:

• Clear, specific tasks where intent is unambiguous (use sharp-execution)
• Trivial one-liners with no meaningful decision points
• When the codebase already answers the open questions

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Critical Patterns

✅ REQUIRED [CRITICAL]: One Question at a Time

Never batch questions. Ask one, wait for the answer, then ask the next.

// ❌ WRONG — batching kills the interview
"What auth strategy do you want? JWT or sessions?
And should I add refresh tokens? Also, REST or GraphQL?"

// ✅ CORRECT — sequential, focused
"What auth strategy do you want — JWT or session-based?
(Recommend: JWT — your app has no server session infrastructure)"

✅ REQUIRED: Offer a Recommended Answer

Each question must include your best guess based on context. The user confirms or redirects — they don't fill a blank.

// ❌ WRONG — blank question forces user to invent the answer
"What database should we use?"

// ✅ CORRECT — recommendation reduces cognitive load
"Which database? (Recommend: PostgreSQL — you're already using it in docker-compose.yml)"

✅ REQUIRED: Check Context Before Asking

Read the codebase, opened files, and prior messages. Skip any question answerable from context.

// ❌ WRONG — asks what the code already shows
"What framework are you using?"

// ✅ CORRECT — observed from package.json, skipped
[No question — Next.js confirmed from package.json. Moving to auth strategy.]

✅ REQUIRED: Respect Decision Dependencies

Ask questions in dependency order. Don't ask B before A is known — B's answer may depend on A.

// ❌ WRONG — asking about refresh tokens before auth strategy is settled
"Do you need refresh tokens?"

// ✅ CORRECT — establish auth type first
"JWT or session-based? (Recommend: JWT)"
// [User confirms JWT] → Now ask about refresh tokens

❌ NEVER: Start the Task Before All Branches Are Resolved

Once all key decisions are made, summarize findings and then proceed. Never execute mid-interview.

// ❌ WRONG — starts implementing while questions remain open
"Got it, JWT it is. I'll start building the auth module now—
oh also, do you need refresh tokens?"

// ✅ CORRECT — full summary before action
"All set. Summary:
- JWT auth, 15-min expiry
- Refresh tokens stored in httpOnly cookie
- Endpoints: POST /auth/login, POST /auth/refresh, POST /auth/logout
Starting implementation."

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Decision Tree

User says "grill me" or goal is vague?
  → Enter grill-me mode

Next open question — can it be answered from context?
  → Yes (codebase, opened files, prior messages) → Read it. Skip the question.
  → No → Ask it. Provide recommended answer. Wait for response.

Is this question dependent on a prior unanswered question?
  → Yes → Answer the dependency first

All branches resolved?
  → No → Continue to next question
  → Yes → Output summary of all decisions → Proceed with task

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Example

User: "I want to add auth to my app. Grill me."

Q1: "API-only auth or does it include a frontend login UI?
(Recommend: API-only — no frontend code found in the repo)"

[User: API-only]

Q2: "JWT or session-based?
(Recommend: JWT — stateless fits your existing Express setup)"

[User: JWT]

Q3: "Short-lived tokens only, or add refresh token rotation?
(Recommend: refresh tokens — better UX for mobile if you add it later)"

[User: refresh tokens, yes]

Summary before starting:
- JWT auth, access token 15 min, refresh token 7 days
- Refresh token stored in httpOnly cookie
- Endpoints: POST /auth/login, POST /auth/refresh, POST /auth/logout
- No frontend — API-only

Proceeding with implementation.

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Edge Cases

User gives partial answers: Acknowledge what was confirmed, re-ask the remaining part of the question — don't silently carry forward an assumption.

Contradictory answers: Surface the conflict explicitly. "You said stateless JWT but also want server-side session tracking — these conflict. Which takes priority?"

Open-ended exploration (no clear goal): Start with the highest-level scoping question: "What problem are we solving?" before drilling into implementation.

User cuts the interview short: Respect it. Summarize what's known, state remaining assumptions explicitly, then proceed.

Too many questions: If you have 8+ questions, group them into themes and prioritize. Ask about the highest-impact decisions first — the rest may resolve themselves once those are settled.