| name | ctx-kb-ask |
| description | Q&A grounded in the existing kb. Read-only on prose; refuses to web-jump; if the kb cannot answer, opens a Q-### row in outstanding-questions.md and reports the gap. Writes an ask closeout for the audit trail. |
Answer a question using only what .context/kb/ already contains.
Cite by EV-###. Do not web-jump, do not invent prose, do not
modify topic pages. If the kb cannot answer, open a Q-### row
in .context/kb/outstanding-questions.md and report the gap.
This is the read side of the editorial pipeline. The write side
is /ctx-kb-ingest. Authority for prose synthesis lives there;
this skill is read-only on prose.
When to Use
- The user asks "does the kb say...", "according to evidence...",
"what do we know about ".
- The user wants a citation-backed answer before deciding
whether to ingest more material.
When NOT to Use
- The user wants new material extracted (
/ctx-kb-ingest).
- The user wants the kb structurally audited
(
/ctx-kb-site-review).
- The user wants external re-grounding (
/ctx-kb-ground).
- The question is about
ctx itself (answer from
KB-RULES.md directly).
Input
A single question, supplied as the slash argument or inline.
No flags, no sources, no URLs.
Refuse-on-Empty
If no question was supplied, return exactly:
no question provided; pass a question or describe it inline.
Stop. The CLI enforces this independently.
Pre-Write Gates
.context/ missing → suggest ctx init and stop..context/kb/ missing → suggest and stop.
