Topic: $0
If topic is a file path, read it. Explore the code and any referenced spec before asking anything.
The loop
Run this loop. Do NOT prepare a question list in advance — each question is chosen after the previous answer.
- Ground. Read the code/spec relevant to the next open branch. Broad sweep on first iteration, narrow re-reads after that — the prior answer often reframes what to look at.
- Decide: ask or assume? For each candidate piece of information, run it through the filter below.
- Passes filter → ask it.
- Fails filter → assume it and move on. Surface the assumption inline only if it's load-bearing for the next question.
- Ask exactly one question with your recommended answer. Wait.
- Incorporate the answer. It may close a branch, open a new one, or invalidate an earlier assumption. Go back to step 1.
The filter — ask ONLY if the question meets at least one
- PM / product judgment — users, scope, priorities, UX tradeoffs you shouldn't decide unilaterally.
- Genuinely ambiguous — multiple plausible interpretations the code/spec don't resolve.
- Hidden constraint — deadlines, stakeholders, past incidents, preferences not in the repo.
- Irreversible / high blast-radius — public API shape, naming, schema — cheap now, expensive to reverse.
- Confidence < 90% — your recommended answer is a guess, not a grounded inference from code/spec.
Don't ask
- What the code already shows (layout, existing patterns, naming in use).
- What the user's initial message already stated or implied.
- Implementation defaults when one obvious choice matches repo conventions.
- Yes/no questions where "no" would be absurd given context.
- Permission to proceed ("should I continue?") — just continue or stop.
- Multiple questions in one turn, even related ones.
Topic hints
- Codebase exploration: architecture decisions, why certain approaches.
- Issue investigation: symptoms, repro, what changed, when it started.
- New feature: scope, users, acceptance criteria, affected systems.
- Plan / spec review: tradeoffs, edge cases, dependencies.
Style
- One question per turn, with a recommended answer.
- Go deep on the current branch before switching — resolve dependencies between decisions first.
- Challenge vague answers — push for specifics.
Exit
When all meaningful branches are exhausted or the user says "done", summarize findings and ask what to do with them (write spec, create tasks, document).