cf-ask

name	cf-ask
description	Quick Q&A about codebase — explores code to answer, saves to docs/memory. Use when the user asks a focused question about the project — e.g. "how does X work?", "where is Y defined?", "what's the flow for Z?", "explain this module", "how are these connected?", "what pattern does this use?", "why is this done this way?". Unlike $cf-research (deep multi-doc output), this gives a single focused answer.
created	2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
updated	2026-07-04T00:00:00.000Z

$cf-ask

CLI Requirement: OPTIONAL — Uses the memory MCP from coding-friend-cli for fast indexed search and storage. Without the CLI: falls back to grep over docs/memory/ and direct file writes. Full functionality preserved, slower memory recall. See CLI requirements.

Answer the question: $ARGUMENTS

Purpose

Quick, focused Q&A about the codebase. Proactively explores code to find the answer, then saves the Q&A to project memory so it can be referenced later.

• Unlike $cf-research: single focused answer, no multi-doc output
• Unlike $cf-remember: proactively explores the codebase to answer vs extracting knowledge already in conversation

Folder

Output goes to {docsDir}/memory/ (default: docs/memory/). Check .coding-friend/config.json for custom docsDir if it exists.

IMPORTANT — path resolution:

• Use MAIN_REPO_ROOT from the SessionStart bootstrap context (injected via session-init.sh). If absent, fall back to running pwd for $CWD and use $CWD as MAIN_REPO_ROOT.
• Read config from CF_CONFIG_FILE (= $MAIN_REPO_ROOT/.coding-friend/config.json) — do NOT search sub-folders
• Use CF_DOCS_ROOT as the docs base dir (= $MAIN_REPO_ROOT/{docsDir} where docsDir comes from config, default docs)
• Always resolve file_path as an absolute path: {CF_DOCS_ROOT}/memory/{category}/{name}.md
• Never use relative paths in write specs — they may resolve incorrectly when the working directory contains nested git repos

Workflow

Step 0: Custom Guide

Custom guide — auto-loaded below (if the raw command shows instead of its output, run it yourself):

bash "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/lib/load-custom-guide.sh" cf-ask

If output is not empty, integrate returned sections: ## Before → before first step, ## Rules → apply throughout, ## After → after final step.

Step 1: Parse the Question

1. Read $ARGUMENTS as the question

2. If no question provided, ask the user what they want to know

3. Identify keywords and likely relevant areas (modules, features, patterns)

4. Classify the question type — check if the question is a flow question. A flow question asks about how something works end-to-end, how components interact, or what happens when a process runs. Trigger words: "how does X work", "flow of", "lifecycle", "sequence", "process", "when X happens", "walk me through", "how are X connected", "what triggers", "what happens when", "pipeline", "chain". Non-flow questions (lookup/definition/pattern/why) do NOT trigger this path.

   Set IS_FLOW_QUESTION = true/false for use in Steps 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Step 2: Check Existing Memory (Memory Recall)

Before exploring the codebase, search existing memory docs. Extract 2-3 keywords from the question.

Primary method — Memory MCP tool (if memory_search tool is available):

Call the memory_search MCP tool with: { "query": "<keywords from question>", "limit": 5 }

If the tool call fails (MCP not configured), fall back to the grep method below.

Fallback — 3-tier grep (if memory MCP unavailable):

Check {docsDir} from .coding-friend/config.json (default: docs).

1. Grep ^description: lines across {docsDir}/memory/**/*.md — match against question keywords
2. If no match, grep ^tags: lines across {docsDir}/memory/**/*.md
3. If no match, grep file content for the keywords (output_mode: "files_with_matches")

After finding matches:

1. Read the top 2-3 most relevant matched files
2. If a direct match is found (same or very similar question already answered):
   • Present the existing answer to the user (cite the memory file)
   • Ask if they want a fresh exploration or if the existing answer is sufficient
   • If sufficient → skip to Step 7 (no save needed)
3. If related context is found (useful background, not a direct answer):
   • Collect it as supplementary context to pass along to Step 3
4. If no relevant memory is found → proceed to Step 3

Step 3: Explore the Codebase (via cf-explorer agent)

Launch the cf-explorer agent to gather codebase context for the question.

Spawn the cf-explorer custom agent. Pass:

Explore the codebase to answer the following question: [question from Step 1]

Questions to answer:

1. [rephrase the user's question as specific search targets]
2. What files, functions, or patterns are relevant?
3. What are the key code snippets that answer the question?

Scope: [keywords and likely relevant areas from Step 1]

If IS_FLOW_QUESTION = true, add the following to the agent prompt:

Flow mapping required — also identify and report:

• Entry points: where does the flow start? (user action, event, API call, CLI command…)
• Actors / components: what modules, classes, functions, or services are involved?
• States / stages: what are the distinct states or phases the system moves through?
• Transitions: what triggers movement from one state/stage to the next?
• Exit points / outcomes: what are the final states or outputs?
• Error / alternate paths: are there branches, retries, or failure modes?

Organize findings as a list of states and transitions — not just a list of files.

If related memory context was found in Step 2, include it:

Existing memory context (use as supplementary info, verify against current code):

[summary of related memory findings]

Wait for the cf-explorer to return its findings.

Step 4: Form the Answer

1. Synthesize findings into a clear, structured answer
2. Incorporate any related memory context from Step 2
3. Reference specific files and line ranges where relevant
4. Use code snippets only when they clarify the answer
5. Keep it concise — this is a focused answer, not a research paper

If IS_FLOW_QUESTION = true, also generate an ASCII diagram as part of the answer:

• Pick the right layout based on the flow's shape:
  • Discrete states with transitions → a state chart: boxed states joined by labeled arrows (e.g. [Idle] --start--> [Running])
  • Component-to-component interactions with messages → a sequence layout: vertical actor lanes with horizontal ---> message arrows top-to-bottom
  • Process with decisions / branching → a top-down flowchart: boxes for steps, a decision node with yes / no labeled branches
• Rubric: identify actors/states (nodes), then transitions/messages (edges), then add alternate/error paths as labeled arrows. Label every transition with what triggers it. Keep the diagram to the minimum nodes needed to convey the big picture — omit internal implementation details that don't add clarity.
• Style: plain text only, using box-drawing / arrow characters (┌ ─ ┐ │ └ ┘ → ← ↑ ↓ + | -). No Mermaid or other rendered-diagram syntax. Render it inside a plain fenced code block so alignment is preserved.
• The diagram IS the concise answer for flow questions — keep surrounding prose tight.

Step 5: Present to User

1. Show the answer directly in the conversation
2. If IS_FLOW_QUESTION = true, display the ASCII diagram inline (inside a plain fenced code block) before or after the prose — whichever gives the clearest reading order
3. List the key files that were consulted

Step 6: Save to Memory (via cf-writer agent)

1. Read language config (local .coding-friend/config.json overrides global ~/.coding-friend/config.json, default: en)
2. Search existing memory files in {docsDir}/memory/ — if an existing file covers the same topic, use task: update (append). Otherwise, use task: create.
3. Choose the appropriate category:
   • features/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>.md — for feature-specific logic, flows, APIs
   • conventions/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>.md — for project-wide patterns and rules
   • decisions/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>.md — for architecture/design decisions
4. Use kebab-case for file names

Backward compat: When updating existing memory files without a date prefix, preserve the existing filename — do not add a date prefix to already-created files.

Construct a write spec and delegate to cf-writer agent by spawning the cf-writer custom agent.

When creating a new file (use absolute path for file_path):

WRITE SPEC
----------
task: create
file_path: {CF_DOCS_ROOT}/memory/{category}/YYYY-MM-DD-{name}.md
language: {language from config}
content: |
  ---
  title: "<Title>"
  description: "<One-line summary for grep-based recall, under 100 chars>"
  tags: [tag1, tag2, tag3]
  created: YYYY-MM-DD
  updated: YYYY-MM-DD
  ---

  # <Title>

  ## Overview
  <1-2 sentences>

  ## Q&A: <short question summary> (YYYY-MM-DD)

  **Q:** <question>

  **A:** <concise answer>

  <!-- Include this section only when IS_FLOW_QUESTION = true -->
  ## Flow Diagram

  ```
  <diagram generated in Step 4>

Related files: path/to/file1, path/to/file2 readme_update: false auto_commit: false existing_file_action: skip

**When appending** to an existing file (use absolute path for `file_path`):

WRITE SPEC

task: update file_path: {CF_DOCS_ROOT}/memory/{category}/YYYY-MM-DD-{name}.md language: {language from config} content: |

Q&A: (YYYY-MM-DD)

Q:

A:

Flow Diagram

<diagram generated in Step 4>

Related files: path/to/file1, path/to/file2 readme_update: false auto_commit: false existing_file_action: append

When appending, also instruct cf-writer to update the `updated` date in the existing frontmatter.

**Frontmatter rules:**

- `description`: factual, searchable summary under 100 chars. Good: `"JWT auth flow with refresh tokens and OAuth2 integration"`. Bad: `"About auth"`.
- `tags`: 3-5 keywords as array

### Step 7: Index in CF Memory (MANDATORY)

**This step is REQUIRED — do NOT skip it.**

After the cf-writer agent completes and the file is saved, you MUST call the `memory_store` MCP tool to index the memory in the database. This is a separate action from writing the file — the cf-writer agent does NOT do this.

**If creating a new memory** — call `memory_store` with:

- `title`: from the frontmatter title
- `description`: from the frontmatter description
- `type`: `fact`
- `tags`: from the frontmatter tags
- `content`: the full markdown content (including frontmatter)
- `importance`: 3 (default)
- `source`: "conversation"
- `index_only`: true

**If updating an existing memory** — call `memory_update` with:

- `id`: the memory ID (e.g., `features/auth-module` — derived from `{category}/{name}`)
- `content`: the updated full markdown content
- `tags`: updated tags array (if changed)

If the MCP tools are unavailable, log a warning to the user but do NOT fail silently — the user should know the memory was saved as a file but NOT indexed.

### Step 8: Confirm

Show the user a 2-line summary:

- **Markdown file:** `path/to/file.md` (created or appended)
- **Memory DB:** indexed ✓ — or: MCP unavailable, file only

## Rules

- Delegate exploration to the cf-explorer agent — keep the main context lean
- Stay lightweight — no multi-doc output
- Always save to `{docsDir}/memory/` — saving is mandatory, not optional
- Search existing memory files before creating new ones
- NEVER overwrite existing content — only append
- Respect `.coding-friend/ignore` patterns
- Use `language` config for answer language
- Create directories as needed