Clarify - Intensive Questioning (v2.37)

Systematically gather requirements using TLDR semantic search + AskUserQuestion tool.

Quick Start

bash

/clarify  # Start intensive questioning for current task

Pre-Clarification: TLDR Semantic Search (v2.37)

AUTOMATIC - Before asking questions, use semantic search to understand existing code:

bash

# Find existing related functionality (95% token savings)
tldr semantic "$USER_TASK_KEYWORDS" .

# Example: For "add authentication", find existing auth code
tldr semantic "authentication login session user password" .

# Get structure overview for context
tldr structure . --lang "$PRIMARY_LANGUAGE"

This helps formulate better questions based on what already exists in the codebase.

Workflow

MUST_HAVE Questions (Blocking)

These MUST be answered before proceeding:

yaml

AskUserQuestion:
  questions:
    - question: "What is the primary goal of this feature?"
      header: "Goal"
      multiSelect: false
      options:
        - label: "New user-facing feature"
        - label: "Internal refactoring"
        - label: "Bug fix"
        - label: "Performance optimization"

Categories to Cover

•
Functional Requirements
- •What exactly should this do?
- •What are inputs/outputs?
- •Edge cases?
•
Technical Constraints
- •Existing patterns to follow?
- •Technology preferences?
- •Performance requirements?
•
Integration Points
- •Existing code interactions?
- •APIs to maintain?
- •Database changes?
•
Testing & Validation
- •How will this be tested?
- •Acceptance criteria?
•
Deployment
- •Feature flags needed?
- •Rollback strategy?

NICE_TO_HAVE Questions

Accept defaults but still ask:

yaml

AskUserQuestion:
  questions:
    - question: "Implementation preferences?"
      header: "Approach"
      multiSelect: true
      options:
        - label: "Minimal changes"
        - label: "Include tests"
        - label: "Add documentation"

Question Templates

Goal Clarification

yaml

AskUserQuestion:
  questions:
    - question: "What problem does this solve?"
      header: "Problem"
      options:
        - label: "User pain point"
          description: "Direct user-facing issue"
        - label: "Technical debt"
          description: "Code maintainability"
        - label: "Performance issue"
          description: "Speed/resource usage"
        - label: "Security concern"
          description: "Vulnerability fix"

Scope Definition

yaml

AskUserQuestion:
  questions:
    - question: "What is the scope?"
      header: "Scope"
      options:
        - label: "Single file"
        - label: "Single module"
        - label: "Multiple modules"
        - label: "Cross-system"

Priority

yaml

AskUserQuestion:
  questions:
    - question: "Priority level?"
      header: "Priority"
      options:
        - label: "Critical (blocking)"
        - label: "High (this sprint)"
        - label: "Medium (this quarter)"
        - label: "Low (backlog)"

Integration

•Invoked by /orchestrator in Step 1
•Pre-step: tldr semantic search (automatic in v2.37)
•Must complete before CLASSIFY step
•Results inform plan complexity

TLDR Integration (v2.37)

Phase	TLDR Command	Purpose
Before questions	`tldr semantic "$KEYWORDS" .`	Find related code
Context gathering	`tldr structure .`	Codebase overview
Dependency check	`tldr deps "$FILE" .`	Impact analysis

Anti-Patterns

•Never proceed with unanswered MUST_HAVE questions
•Never assume user intent
•Never skip clarification for features
•Never ask more than 4 questions at once (AskUserQuestion limit)