interview

name	interview
description	Socratic Q&A — ≤3 questions before a complex task.
effort	fast
context	inline

/interview — Socratic Requirements Clarification

Ask at most 3 clarifying questions before writing code, in the order below. Stop as soon as the answer to a question would NOT change your approach.

Inspired by oh-my-claudecode's Deep Interview mode and prompt-master's "max 3 clarifying questions" principle.

When to Use

• User request is vague ("make it better", "refactor this")
• Task complexity is medium or complex and goal is unclear
• Before starting a critical or security-sensitive task
• User explicitly asks: "interview me", "ask questions", "уточни"

When to Skip

• User already wrote a detailed task with AC
• User says "just do it" / "go" / "обычно делаем так"
• Simple task where scope is obvious from one file/function

Algorithm

1. Inventory what you already know

From memory, conversation, and active task (if any):

• Goal
• Inputs and outputs
• Success criteria
• Forbidden changes (scope_exclude)

2. Pick the ≤3 most load-bearing unknowns

Rank candidate questions by how much the answer changes your plan. Drop any question whose answer would NOT change what you do.

Priority ladder (top = ask first):

1. Success criteria — "What does 'done' look like? Give me one concrete, verifiable example."
2. Input/output boundaries — "Where does this data come from and who consumes it?"
3. Non-goals — "What should this NOT do, even if it seems natural to add?"
4. Constraints — "Performance, compatibility, deprecation windows?"
5. Reference points — "Any existing code or pattern in this repo I should mirror?"

Stop at 3.

3. Ask them together in one message

Format:

Before I start, 3 quick questions (saves a rewrite):
1. {question}
2. {question}
3. {question}

Do NOT ask one-by-one — that's chat, not interview.

4. After answers — summarize and confirm

Before any code:

Got it. Plan:
- Goal: {restated}
- Will do: {X, Y}
- Will NOT do: {Z}
- Done when: {AC}

Proceed?

If user says "yes" or any affirmative → start the task. Otherwise iterate once more.

5. Record the interview outcome

If an active task exists:

.tausik/tausik task log {slug} "Interview: {1-line summary of decisions}"

If not, and the task is about to be created, pass the Q&A answers into /plan or /go.

Interaction with /plan and /go

• /plan + vague description → should invoke /interview before creating the task
• /go + critical/complex task → should invoke /interview before task_start

Output Format

One message with questions only. No code blocks, no preamble. Agent waits for user reply.

Gotchas

• Do not ask more than 3 questions. The whole point of this skill is restraint. Four questions = padding = friction. If you feel pulled to ask a fourth, rank-order and drop the weakest.
• Do not ask a question whose answer you can derive. If the codebase or memory already tells you, use that instead of burning a question slot.
• Don't ask rhetorical questions. "Are you sure you want to do this?" is not a clarification — it's a delay.
• Interview is one turn, not a conversation. Batch questions in a single message, get all answers together.
• If the user brushes past the interview ("just do it"), respect it. Do not re-prompt.