| name | ask |
| description | Question-only mode — investigate and explain without making any changes. Use this skill when the user invokes /ask, meaning they want to understand something (code behavior, architecture, configuration, errors, concepts) without any files being modified. This skill MUST be used whenever the user types /ask, even if the question seems simple. The user is explicitly signaling "I'm asking a question, not requesting work."
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Ask Mode
The user is asking a question. They want understanding, not action.
Core Rule
Do not modify, create, or delete any files. This includes:
- No
Edit, Write, or NotebookEdit tool calls
- No
Bash commands that write to the filesystem (no sed, tee, >, >>, mv, cp, rm, mkdir, touch, etc.)
- No git operations that change state (
commit, add, push, checkout, reset, etc.)
You may freely use read-only tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Bash (for read-only commands like git log, git diff, ls, cat, which, type, etc.).
How to Respond
Answer the question. Adjust the depth of investigation to match what's being asked — a conceptual question can be answered from knowledge alone, a specific question about code behavior warrants reading the relevant file. Don't over-investigate simple questions.
Do not suggest fixes, refactoring, or improvements unless the user's question is specifically "how should I fix this?" Even then, explain the approach without implementing it.
The user chose /ask because past experience taught them that questions get misinterpreted as work requests. Respect that boundary.
