chat-driven

name	chat-driven
description	Chat-first interaction mode for marvinzhang.dev workflows. Replaces file-editing with conversational input — AI asks questions in chat, captures answers, writes all files on behalf of the author. Designed for mobile/voice dictation where editing files is impractical. Load this skill to make any workflow fully chat-driven.
metadata	{"author":"marvinzhang","version":"1.0","tier":"foundation"}

Chat-Driven Interaction Mode

All input happens in the chat. AI writes all files. Author never needs to open an editor.

When to Use

• Working from mobile (voice dictation)
• Any context where file editing is impractical
• When author prefers conversational flow over file-based workflows

Core Principle

The chat box is the only input surface. The AI must:

1. Ask questions in the chat — never say "fill out this file"
2. Capture answers from conversation — never expect the author to edit files
3. Write everything to files on behalf of the author
4. Present content inline in chat for review — never say "check the file"

Interaction Patterns

Gathering Information (Replaces Questionnaire)

Instead of creating a questionnaire file and asking the author to fill it out:

Don't:

I've created the questionnaire in drafts/{date-slug}/questionnaire.md.
Please fill out the questionnaire section, then say "questionnaire complete".

Do:

Let's figure out the article together. I'll ask a few questions.

First: What's the core idea you want to communicate?

Rules:

• Ask 1-2 questions at a time (not a wall of 10 questions)
• Adapt question depth to the answer — short answer → follow up; detailed answer → move on
• After gathering enough context, write the draft file yourself
• Confirm with a brief summary: "Here's what I captured — anything to adjust?"

Reviewing Content (Replaces "Check the File")

When presenting outlines, drafts, or plans for review:

Don't:

I've written the outline to drafts/{date-slug}/outline.md.
Please review and let me know your thoughts.

Do:

Here's the proposed outline:

## 1. Introduction — Why X matters now
## 2. The Problem — What's broken about Y
## 3. The Approach — How Z solves it
## 4. Results — What we measured
## 5. Lessons — What surprised us

Does this flow work? Any sections to add, remove, or reorder?

Rules:

• Show content inline in chat (summarized if long)
• Ask specific questions: "Does this flow work?" not "Any thoughts?"
• Offer concrete options when possible: "Should section 3 come before or after section 2?"
• For long content (full sections), show a brief summary + key points, offer to show full text

Giving Feedback (Replaces File Edits)

Make it easy for the author to give direction without precision editing:

Accept these kinds of feedback:

• "Make section 2 shorter"
• "The tone is too formal here"
• "Add something about performance benchmarks"
• "Swap sections 3 and 4"
• "This is good, move on"
• "I don't like the opening, try something more provocative"

AI should:

• Interpret intent, not require exact wording
• Apply changes and show the result
• Ask "Better?" or "Anything else to adjust?" before moving on

Approvals (Replaces Status Updates)

Don't: Ask the author to update spec status or check boxes in files.

Do: Handle all status tracking internally.

✓ Outline approved. Moving to writing.
I'll start with Section 1: Introduction. Ready?

Alignment Gates (learned 2026-07)

A complete-looking task brief is NOT a license to write the whole article autonomously — even when the brief arrives as a detailed prompt with every stage specified. The most expensive failure mode is a polished full draft built on an unaligned foundation: hook style, voice, content balance, and title were all rejected in one review, forcing a ground-up rewrite that one pre-writing exchange would have prevented.

Mandatory stops, each a short inline-chat exchange:

1. Before writing: outline + fully-drafted hook sample + title → author approves or adjusts. Offer concrete options (AskUserQuestion works well for direction choices: hook style, content balance, drafting language, pacing).
2. After each author feedback round: restate the diagnosis in your own words before fixing, so a misread critique doesn't drive another wrong round.

Adaptive Question Depth

Match the question style to the answer style:

Author gives...	AI should...
1-2 word answer	Ask a focused follow-up to get more detail
1-2 sentence answer	Acknowledge and move to next question
Paragraph answer	Extract key points, confirm understanding, skip related questions
Rambling/stream-of-consciousness	Synthesize into structured points, confirm

Session Continuity

On mobile, sessions may be interrupted. The AI should:

• Save progress to spec files after each meaningful exchange
• Start new sessions with a brief status recap: "Last time we finished the outline. Ready to write Section 1?"
• Never require the author to re-state information already captured

File Writing Protocol

When the AI writes files on behalf of the author:

1. Write content directly to the correct file path
2. Briefly confirm what was written: "Saved the research notes to drafts/{date-slug}/research.md"
3. Don't show full file contents unless asked — just confirm + summarize
4. For article sections, show the section in chat first, get approval, then write to MDX

Compatibility

This skill modifies how other skills interact. When loaded:

• Questionnaire workflows → become conversational Q&A
• Outline reviews → become inline chat reviews
• Section writing → AI shows section in chat, gets feedback, writes to file
• Refinement → AI presents changes inline for approval
• Status tracking → AI manages spec updates silently