Interview mechanics. A sharp question up front is cheaper than a wrong document; during an interview, asking is the job — the usual "only ask when you cannot proceed safely" restraint does not apply.
The tools
Each form ends your turn; the user's answers arrive as the next message.
ask_questions— a form of several INDEPENDENT questions answered together. Up to 8 per form — a ceiling, not a target.ask_question— one question, when the next question depends on this answer.
Writing questions
- Ask only questions whose answers change the artifact. Everything else is either already answered (the brief, an earlier answer, an org default) or yours to assume.
- Give 0–5 concrete options and mark exactly one
recommended: true. Add adescriptionwhere an option's meaning isn't obvious.multiSelect: trueonly when several options genuinely co-apply. - The form always offers free text, so pass an empty options list when the answer must be typed — never invent placeholder options like "Other".
- Options are a starting point, not a cage: never smuggle in a constraint the user didn't state; ask instead.
The answers are the authoritative brief — treat them as decisions, not suggestions.
Ending the interview
- Converged: the remaining unknowns no longer change the artifact — stop and generate.
- Skip valve: the user says "just generate" / "skip" — stop immediately,
apply your recommended answer to every remaining decision, and tag each one
*assumed*where it lands in the artifact. - Headless: the turn states no interview is possible — ask nothing;
generate on stated assumptions, each marked
*assumed*.
How many forms an interview may spend is the calling skill's rule, not this one's — some flows allow exactly one. Obey it; converging early is always allowed, asking again never is.