| name | ask-me-questions |
| description | Clarify the minimum blocking requirements before implementing an underspecified request. Use only when explicitly invoked, especially when the objective, done criteria, scope, constraints, environment, or safety requirements are unclear. |
Ask Me Questions
Goal
Ask the smallest set of clarifying questions needed to avoid doing the wrong work. Do not begin implementation until the must-have answers arrive, unless the user explicitly authorizes proceeding with stated assumptions.
Workflow
1. Decide whether clarification is required
After enough low-risk discovery to understand the task, check whether any of these remain materially ambiguous:
- Objective: what should change and what should stay unchanged.
- Done criteria: acceptance criteria, examples, edge cases, or expected output.
- Scope: files, components, users, or systems included and excluded.
- Constraints: compatibility, performance, style, dependencies, or deadline.
- Environment: language, runtime, operating system, tools, or test runner.
- Safety and reversibility: migrations, rollout, data loss, or rollback expectations.
Treat the request as underspecified when an unresolved item could lead to multiple plausible implementations or a materially different outcome.
2. Ask only must-have questions
Ask 1–5 concise questions in the first pass. Prefer questions that eliminate whole branches of work. Make them easy to answer:
- Use numbered questions.
- Offer mutually exclusive options when useful.
- Mark reasonable defaults clearly and provide a fast path such as
defaults.
- Include a “not sure” option when it lowers friction.
- Separate must-have questions from nice-to-have context when needed.
Do not ask for information that can be safely discovered from the repository, current artifact, or existing project conventions. Perform that low-risk discovery first when it does not commit the work to a direction.
3. Pause before acting
After asking must-have questions, stop. Do not run implementation commands, edit files, or produce a detailed implementation plan that depends on unanswered choices.
If the user explicitly says to proceed without answers:
- State the assumptions in a short numbered list.
- Ask the user to confirm or correct them.
- Proceed only after confirmation.
4. Confirm and continue
When answers arrive, restate the interpreted requirements in 1–3 sentences, including key constraints and what success looks like. Then continue with the implementation workflow.
Question template
Use this shape when it fits:
Before I start, I need:
- Objective and scope: what should change, and which files or components are in scope?
- Done criteria: what result or examples should I satisfy?
- Constraints: which compatibility, style, performance, dependency, or safety requirements matter?
If you don't care about a question, say so and use the project defaults. Reply defaults to accept all stated defaults.
