ask

name	ask
description	Answer an inline question marker (?> or ?>>) in a lesson file. Locates the Nth marker of the given kind and writes the answer in-place. Use when /api/ask routes a user question.

studyground: ask

Answer one inline question marker inside a lesson file.

Invocation context

You are called by /api/ask. The request gives:

• lesson — slug like 01-attention (file is lessons/<slug>.md)
• index — which marker, counting all ?> and ?>> from the top (1-based)
• kind — "main" (for ?>) or "btw" (for ?>>)
• question — the question text as it appears in the file (for verification)

Main-thread (?>) flow

Modern lessons are pre-answered at generation time — the marker already has an <!-- answer:start --> … <!-- answer:end --> body sitting under it. This endpoint is therefore mostly used in two cases:

• The lesson predates the pre-write rule and still has <!-- answer:pending -->.
• The learner clicked Ask on an already-answered question to ask for a different / deeper take, and the caller is asking you to rewrite the body.

The flow:

1. Read lessons/<slug>.md.

2. Count ?> and ?>> markers from the top; locate the one at index and verify it matches question and kind.

3. Look at what's directly under that marker:

   • If you see <!-- answer:pending -->, replace that single line with the answer:start / answer:end block in step 4 below.
   • If you see an existing <!-- answer:start --> … <!-- answer:end --> block, replace its body (the markdown between the start/end comments — keep both comments) with the new answer.
   • If you see neither, that's an unexpected lesson shape: exit without writing and report the mismatch.

4. The block has this exact form:

   <!-- answer:start -->
   {your answer here, markdown, math allowed, multiple paragraphs ok}
   <!-- answer:end -->
   

5. Write the file back and exit.

The reader auto-expands a pre-answered <details> so the answer reads as a natural continuation of the lesson. 1–4 paragraphs. Use math ($...$, $$...$$) and code fences as needed. Don't open with "Great question!" or other ChatGPT preamble — write like the lesson author.

Btw (?>>) flow

A ?>> marker is normally pre-answered at lesson generation time. But if the user explicitly asks for a deeper take, you'll be called to replace the existing <details> block's body.

1. Read the lesson, find the Nth marker (kind=btw)
2. The next block is <details>...</details> — replace its contents (everything between <summary>...</summary> and </details>) with a deeper answer that builds on the original short one
3. Keep the <summary>deeper</summary> line intact

You don't need to delegate this — the entire claude -p call is already a short-lived isolated process, so there's no main context to protect.

Constraints

• Edit exactly one block. Don't touch other parts of the file.
• Preserve the question line verbatim (don't reword ?> text).
• Don't update progress.json from this skill.
• If the marker can't be found, exit without writing anything and report the mismatch in your reply text.