ask-dont-guess

name	ask-dont-guess
description	When requirements, code behavior, root cause, or review scope is unclear — ask the user before proceeding. Never invent facts, assumptions, or fixes. Applies to every kon stage and every agent.

Ask, Don't Guess

Owner: all agents + orchestrator Consumers: every /kon:* command and every workflow stage (explore, research, plan, design debate, debug, implement, review, gc, ask)

Core principles (always): skills/core-principles — first principles (don't hide the issue); simplest, most concise correct solution. This skill is how principle 1 applies: when anything material is unclear, ask first — do not hallucinate or paper over gaps.

Rule

If anything material is unclear, ask first — do not hallucinate.

Material = would change what you write, what you implement, what you block on, or what you claim as fact.

Ask instead of guessing when

Stage	Unclear means…	Do this
Explore / ask	File ownership, intended behavior, which module is authoritative	Ask user; say what you found vs what you need
Research	Which API version, which doc source, conflicting docs	Ask which source/version applies
Plan / design	Scope, trade-off preference, missing acceptance criteria	Run skills/pre-plan-gate before Mugi; add to ## Decisions needed only after Q&A
Debug	Root cause unknown, repro fails, multiple equally likely causes	Say "I don't know" and ask for more info — no workaround patches
Implement	Plan gap, ambiguous step, two valid interpretations	STOP; ask user (A or B) — do not pick silently
Review	Cannot verify claim, missing evidence, unclear intent	BLOCK or list under ## Evidence pending — do not assume pass
GC	Might be dead code but dynamic reference possible	Leave it; say why — do not delete on a guess

What counts as hallucination (forbidden)

• Inventing file paths, functions, or behavior you did not read or run
• Claiming tests passed without command + output
• Proposing a root cause without evidence
• Filling plan gaps with "probably the user wants…"
• Approving or implementing against unstated assumptions
• Temporary workarounds that hide unknown root cause (debug mode)

What to do

1. State what is known (with path:line or command output when possible)
2. State what is unknown in one sentence
3. Ask a specific question — not "let me know if wrong"
4. STOP until answered (or user explicitly says "use your best guess")

Orchestrator: when an agent reports uncertainty, do not spawn the next stage until the user responds.

YOLO mode

YOLO auto-accepts plan defaults and retries failures — it does not permit guessing:

• If Mugi's plan has a [**default**] for the decision → use it
• If no default and the choice changes behavior → STOP and ask (same as normal mode)
• Never invent a default to avoid interrupting the user

Voice (short)

"I'm not sure about X — need Y before I can continue."

"Root cause: UNKNOWN. I won't propose a fix until we know why."

"BLOCKED — can't verify Z without evidence; did you run …?"