speckit-clarify

## User Input ```text $ARGUMENTS ``` You **MUST** consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty). ## Pre-Execution Checks **Check for extension hooks (before clarification)**: - Check if `.specify/extensions.yml` exists in the project root. - If it exists, read it and look for entries under the `hooks.before_clarify` key - If the YAML cannot be parsed or is invalid, skip hook checking silently and continue normally - Filter out hooks where `enabled` is explicitly `false`. Treat hooks without an `enabled` field as enabled by default. - For each remaining hook, do **not** attempt to interpret or evaluate hook `condition` expressions: - If the hook has no `condition` field, or it is null/empty, treat the hook as executable - If the hook defines a non-empty `condition`, skip the hook and leave condition evaluation to the HookExecutor implementation - When constructing slash commands from hook command names, replace dots (`.`) with hyphens (`-`). For example, `speckit.git.commit` → `/speckit-git-commit`. - For each executable hook, output the following based on its `optional` flag: - **Optional hook** (`optional: true`): ``` ## Extension Hooks **Optional Pre-Hook**: {extension} Command: `/{command}` Description: {description} Prompt: {prompt} To execute: `/{command}` ``` - **Mandatory hook** (`optional: false`): ``` ## Extension Hooks **Automatic Pre-Hook**: {extension} Executing: `/{command}` EXECUTE_COMMAND: {command} Wait for the result of the hook command before proceeding to the Outline. ``` - If no hooks are registered or `.specify/extensions.yml` does not exist, skip silently ## Outline Goal: Detect and reduce ambiguity or missing decision points in the active feature specification and record the clarifications directly in the spec file. Note: This clarification workflow is expected to run (and be completed) BEFORE invoking `/speckit-plan`. If the user explicitly states they are skipping clarification (e.g., exploratory spike), you may proceed, but must warn that downstream rework risk increases. Execution steps: 1. Run `.specify/scripts/bash/check-prerequisites.sh --json --paths-only` from repo root **once** (combined `--json --paths-only` mode / `-Json -PathsOnly`). Parse minimal JSON payload fields: - `FEATURE_DIR` - `FEATURE_SPEC` - (Optionally capture `IMPL_PLAN`, `TASKS` for future chained flows.) - If JSON parsing fails, abort and instruct user to re-run `/speckit-specify` or verify feature branch environment. - For single quotes in args like "I'm Groot", use escape syntax: e.g 'I'\''m Groot' (or double-quote if possible: "I'm Groot"). 2. Load the current spec file. Perform a structured ambiguity & coverage scan using this taxonomy. For each category, mark status: Clear / Partial / Missing. Produce an internal coverage map used for prioritization (do not output raw map unless no questions will be asked). Functional Scope & Behavior: - Core user goals & success criteria - Explicit out-of-scope declarations - User roles / personas differentiation Domain & Data Model: - Entities, attributes, relationships - Identity & uniqueness rules - Lifecycle/state transitions - Data volume / scale assumptions Interaction & UX Flow: - Critical user journeys / sequences - Error/empty/loading states - Accessibility or localization notes Non-Functional Quality Attributes: - Performance (latency, throughput targets) - Scalability (horizontal/vertical, limits) - Reliability & availability (uptime, recovery expectations) - Observability (logging, metrics, tracing signals) - Security & privacy (authN/Z, data protection, threat assumptions) - Compliance / regulatory constraints (if any) Integration & External Dependencies: - External services/APIs and failure modes - Data import/export formats - Protocol/versioning assumptions Edge Cases & Failure Handling: - Negative scenarios - Rate limiting / throttling - Conflict resolution (e.g., concurrent edits) Constraints & Tradeoffs: - Technical constraints (language, storage, hosting) - Explicit tradeoffs or rejected alternatives Terminology & Consistency: - Canonical glossary terms - Avoided synonyms / deprecated terms Completion Signals: - Acceptance criteria testability - Measurable Definition of Done style indicators Misc / Placeholders: - TODO markers / unresolved decisions - Ambiguous adjectives ("robust", "intuitive") lacking quantification For each category with Partial or Missing status, add a candidate question opportunity unless: - Clarification would not materially change implementation or validation strategy - Information is better deferred to planning phase (note internally) 3. Generate (internally) a prioritized queue of candidate clarification questions (maximum 5). Do NOT output them all at once. Apply these constraints: - Maximum of 5 total questions across the whole session. - Each question must be answerable with EITHER: - A short multiple‑choice selection (2–5 distinct, mutually exclusive options), OR - A one-word / short‑phrase answer (explicitly constrain: "Answer in <=5 words"). - Only include questions whose answers materially impact architecture, data modeling, task decomposition, test design, UX behavior, operational readiness, or compliance validation. - Ensure category coverage balance: attempt to cover the highest impact unresolved categories first; avoid asking two low-impact questions when a single high-impact area (e.g., security posture) is unresolved. - Exclude questions already answered, trivial stylistic preferences, or plan-level execution details (unless blocking correctness). - Favor clarifications that reduce downstream rework risk or prevent misaligned acceptance tests. - If more than 5 categories remain unresolved, select the top 5 by (Impact * Uncertainty) heuristic. 4. Sequential questioning loop (interactive): - Present EXACTLY ONE question at a time. - For multiple‑choice questions: - **Analyze all options** and determine the **most suitable option** based on: - Best practices for the project type - Common patterns in similar implementations - Risk reduction (security, performance, maintainability) - Alignment with any explicit project goals or constraints visible in the spec - Present your **recommended option prominently** at the top with clear reasoning (1-2 sentences explaining why this is the best choice). - Format as: `**Recommended:** Option [X] - <reasoning>` - Then render all options as a Markdown table: | Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | A | <Option A description> | | B | <Option B description> | | C | <Option C description> (add D/E as needed up to 5) | | Short | Provide a different short answer (<=5 words) (Include only if free-form alternative is appropriate) | - After the table, add: `You can reply with the option letter (e.g., "A"), accept the recommendation by saying "yes" or "recommended", or provide your own short answer.` - For short‑answer style (no meaningful discrete options): - Provide your **suggested answer** based on best practices and context. - Format as: `**Suggested:** <your proposed answer> - <brief reasoning>` - Then output: `Format: Short answer (<=5 words). You can accept the suggestion by saying "yes" or "suggested", or provide your own answer.` - After the user answers: - If the user replies with "yes", "recommended", or "suggested", use your previously stated recommendation/suggestion as the answer. - Otherwise, validate the answer maps to one option or fits the <=5 word constraint. - If ambiguous, ask for a quick disambiguation (count still belongs to same question; do not advance). - Once satisfactory, record it in working memory (do not yet write to disk) and move to the next queued question. - Stop asking further questions when: - All critical ambiguities resolved early (remaining queued items become unnecessary), OR - User signals completion ("done", "good", "no more"), OR - You reach 5 asked questions. - Never reveal future queued questions in advance. - If no valid questions exist at start, immediately report no critical ambiguities. 5. Integration after EACH accepted answer (incremental update approach): - Maintain in-memory representation of the spec (loaded once at start) plus the raw file contents. - For the first integrated answer in this session: - Ensure a `## Clarifications` section exists (create it just after the highest-level contextual/overview section per the spec template if missing). - Under it, create (if not present) a `### Session YYYY-MM-DD` subheading for today. - Append a bullet line immediately after acceptance: `- Q: <question> → A: <final answer>`. - Then immediately apply the clarification to the most appropriate section(s): - Functional ambiguity → Update or add a bullet in Functional Requirements. - User interaction / actor distinction → Update User Stories or Actors subsection (if present) with clarified role, constraint, or scenario. - Data shape / entities → Update Data Model (add fields, types, relationships) preserving ordering; note added constraints succinctly. - Non-functional constraint → Add/modify measurable criteria in Success Criteria > Measurable Outcomes (convert vague adjective to metric or explicit target). - Edge case / negative flow → Add a new bullet under Edge Cases / Error Handling (or create such subsection if template provides placeholder for it). - Terminology conflict → Normalize term across spec; retain original only if necessary by adding `(formerly referred to as "X")` once. - If the clarification invalidates an earlier ambiguous statement, replace that statement instead of duplicating; leave no obsolete contradictory text. - Save the spec file AFTER each integration to minimize risk of context loss (atomic overwrite). - Preserve formatting: do not reorder unrelated sections; keep heading hierarchy intact. - Keep each inserted clarification minimal and testable (avoid narrative drift). 6. Validation (performed after EACH write plus final pass): - Clarifications session contains exactly one bullet per accepted answer (no duplicates). - Total asked (accepted) questions ≤ 5. - Updated sections contain no lingering vague placeholders the new answer was meant to resolve. - No contradictory earlier statement remains (scan for now-invalid alternative choices removed). - Markdown structure valid; only allowed new headings: `## Clarifications`, `### Session YYYY-MM-DD`. - Terminology consistency: same canonical term used across all updated sections. 7. Write the updated spec back to `FEATURE_SPEC`. Behavior rules: - If no meaningful ambiguities found (or all potential questions would be low-impact), respond: "No critical ambiguities detected worth formal clarification." and suggest proceeding. - If spec file missing, instruct user to run `/speckit-specify` first (do not create a new spec here). - Never exceed 5 total asked questions (clarification retries for a single question do not count as new questions). - Avoid speculative tech stack questions unless the absence blocks functional clarity. - Respect user early termination signals ("stop", "done", "proceed"). - If no questions asked due to full coverage, output a compact coverage summary (all categories Clear) then suggest advancing. - If quota reached with unresolved high-impact categories remaining, explicitly flag them under Deferred with rationale. Context for prioritization: $ARGUMENTS ## Mandatory Post-Execution Hooks **You MUST complete this section before reporting completion to the user.** Check if `.specify/extensions.yml` exists in the project root. - If it does not exist, or no hooks are registered under `hooks.after_clarify`, skip to the Completion Report. - If it exists, read it and look for entries under the `hooks.after_clarify` key. - If the YAML cannot be parsed or is invalid, skip hook checking silently and continue to the Completion Report. - Filter out hooks where `enabled` is explicitly `false`. Treat hooks without an `enabled` field as enabled by default. - For each remaining hook, do **not** attempt to interpret or evaluate hook `condition` expressions: - If the hook has no `condition` field, or it is null/empty, treat the hook as executable - If the hook defines a non-empty `condition`, skip the hook and leave condition evaluation to the HookExecutor implementation - When constructing slash commands from hook command names, replace dots (`.`) with hyphens (`-`). For example, `speckit.git.commit` → `/speckit-git-commit`. - For each executable hook, output the following based on its `optional` flag: - **Mandatory hook** (`optional: false`) — **You MUST emit `EXECUTE_COMMAND:` for each mandatory hook**: ``` ## Extension Hooks **Automatic Hook**: {extension} Executing: `/{command}` EXECUTE_COMMAND: {command} ``` - **Optional hook** (`optional: true`): ``` ## Extension Hooks **Optional Hook**: {extension} Command: `/{command}` Description: {description} Prompt: {prompt} To execute: `/{command}` ``` ## Completion Report Report completion (after questioning loop ends or early termination): - Number of questions asked & answered. - Path to updated spec. - Sections touched (list names). - Coverage summary table listing each taxonomy category with Status: Resolved (was Partial/Missing and addressed), Deferred (exceeds question quota or better suited for planning), Clear (already sufficient), Outstanding (still Partial/Missing but low impact). - If any Outstanding or Deferred remain, recommend whether to proceed to `/speckit-plan` or run `/speckit-clarify` again later post-plan. - Suggested next command. ## Done When - [ ] Spec ambiguities identified and clarifications integrated into spec file - [ ] Extension hooks dispatched or skipped according to the rules in Mandatory Post-Execution Hooks above - [ ] Completion reported to user with questions answered, sections touched, and coverage summary