| name | human-first |
| description | Takes the agent's last message and explains it in plain language —
without technical jargon, with concrete examples and analogies.
Invoked manually when the user did not understand what the agent
just wrote.
Use when: "/human-first", "explain in plain language", "didn't get
what you wrote", "explain simpler"
|
Human-First Protocol
Explains the agent's last message in plain language with examples.
Input
The agent's most recent chat message that the user found unclear or too technical.
Output
A simplified explanation of that message in plain language with concrete examples and analogies, printed to chat.
Hands off to
— (terminal).
Step 1 — Find the last message
Take the agent's message that stands immediately before the /human-first command in the current conversation.
If no such message exists:
No previous message found to explain.
Type /human-first right after my reply.
End execution.
Step 2 — Extract key ideas
Extract 1-3 main ideas — what the agent was trying to say in essence. Don't retell structure or details — only the point.
Short message with one thought → explain the one. Long message → pick the most important, drop the rest.
Step 3 — Explain each idea
For each idea — three elements:
What it is — one sentence, no technical terms. If a term is unavoidable — explain it in parentheses in one word.
Why it's needed — one sentence. Which problem it solves, what would be missing without it.
For example — a concrete example from real life, not from code. Start with "Imagine that..." or "For example, like..."
Explanation rules
- Speak like to a friend, not like documentation
- Short sentences — max 15-20 words
- If original had 5 items → explain 2-3 most important, not all
- Don't add new information that wasn't in the original
- Don't make the explanation longer than the original
Step 4 — Output the explanation
Output format:
In plain language:
**{Idea 1 — short name}**
What: {one sentence}
Why: {one sentence}
For example: {life analogy}
**{Idea 2}** (if any)
...
If something else is unclear — ask specifically.
The last line — always. Invites clarification without extra pressure.
Anti-patterns
❌ Retell technically — only in different words
Original: "add an index on the column to speed up queries".
Bad: "create an index so SELECT works faster".
Good: "make a book index — so the database doesn't flip through all records, but opens the right page immediately".
Rule: if the explanation still contains technical words from the original — reformulate via an analogy.
❌ Invent an example outside the conversation context
Explaining databases — example about pizza recipe. User loses the thread.
Rule: the example must be understandable from the task context. Task about documents → example about documents. About money → about money.
❌ Explain everything in a long message
Original has 8 items. Agent explains all 8, producing a wall of text.
Rule: max 3 ideas. Pick the most important — the ones without which the rest is unclear.
❌ Add new information
While explaining, the agent adds details that weren't in the original — "by the way, this is also related to X".
Rule: only what was in the original message. No bonus knowledge.
Related skills
- note-first — save the current explanation as a persistent note for the task
- decision-first — 5-part model when the agent has to choose instead of the user asking
Step 99 — Log invocation
sqlite3 {routing_db} \
"INSERT INTO skill_invocations (task_id, block_num, skill_name, invoked_at)
VALUES ('{slug}', '{N}', 'human-first', datetime('now'))" 2>/dev/null || true
If {slug} / {N} unknown → hook writes empty; || true guards failure.
