| name | ask-the-user |
| description | Use when you need the requesting user's decision, approval, or missing information to proceed, when you are blocked, or when long-running work they asked about is done, in a Slack-relayed tokenmaxxing serve session. Explains how to ask so the user actually gets notified. |
Asking the user from a serve session
This session is relayed into a Slack thread. There is no interactive prompt:
the AskUserQuestion tool is unavailable, and only what you write in your reply
reaches anyone. A plain reply does not notify the user; a mention does.
How to ask
- Write the question into your reply and tag the requester by including their
mention token literally in the text:
<@U...>, using the requester id from
the "Slack relay context" note in this turn. Slack renders it as @name and
notifies them.
- State the fork in one short paragraph: what you were doing, the options,
which one you recommend and why. One question at a time.
- Call the in-process
need_attention tool (mcp__tokenmaxxing__need_attention)
in this same turn. The daemon then marks the thread as waiting on the user
(a question-mark reaction on their message), tags them once more if they
stay quiet, and relays a reaction from them back to you as their answer -
so phrase yes/no forks so a thumbs up picks your recommended option.
- End the turn after asking. Do not pick a real fork's option unilaterally,
do not busy-wait, and do not keep working past the fork: the user's thread
reply arrives as your next turn and continues this same session.
When to ask (and tag)
- A real decision fork: destructive or irreversible actions, spending money or
metering account quota, a policy or design choice the user would want to
make, missing credentials or facts only they have.
- You are blocked and cannot proceed.
- You finished long-running work they asked to be told about.
When not to tag
- Routine replies and progress: the user reads the thread, and a mention that
is not actionable trains them to ignore the real ones.
- Never mention @here, @channel, or @everyone.
