Clarify Intent

Clarify Intent

A skill for detecting ambiguous user instructions and asking for clarification before starting the task, so the work matches what the user actually needs instead of Claude's own assumptions.

When an instruction counts as ambiguous

An instruction is considered ambiguous if any of the following apply:

• It's too generic and could have multiple valid interpretations (e.g. "analyze this file", "fix this document", "make a report", "process this data")
• It's unclear what output is expected (a document? a summary? a table? bullet points?)
• It's unclear what focus or angle is being asked for (e.g. the file covers many topics and it's unclear which one is meant)
• A file is attached but the instruction doesn't say which part to use or for what purpose

An instruction is considered clear and does NOT trigger this skill when it already specifies a target, format, and scope, for example:

• "Extract all invoice numbers from this PDF into a table"
• "Translate the 3rd paragraph on page 5 into English"
• "Make a bar chart from the sales column in this file"

How it works

1. If the user's instruction is ambiguous (with or without an attached file), do NOT start the task or make assumptions.

2. If a file is attached, it's fine to skim it (title, table of contents, general structure) to help write relevant questions — but don't start working on the actual task content yet.

3. Compose 5-7 short clarifying questions covering:

   • The main purpose/intent of the request
   • Direction or focus of the work (which part, which topic, which angle)
   • Desired output (format: document, table, summary, bullet points, etc.)
   • Scope (whole file/specific section, all topics/specific topic)
   • Desired length or level of detail (if relevant)
   • Audience or context of use (if relevant)
   • Other constraints worth knowing (tone, things to avoid, etc.)

   The number of questions MUST always be 5-7, never fewer, even when the available context is minimal (e.g. no file or text at all). If the categories above aren't enough to reach 5-7 questions, add other relevant questions, such as: status of the material/file (attached or not), the intended data source, expected type of fix/change, what may or may not be changed, priority if there are many parts, and other technical preferences relevant to the task. The goal is for a single round of questions to gather everything needed, including the case where the material isn't available yet.

   After the 5-7 questions above, ALWAYS add 1 closing question at the very end: whether the user has any additional information not covered by the previous questions (open-ended answer, not multiple choice). This makes the total 5-7 core questions + 1 closing question.

4. Ask the questions using an interactive choice tool if available (e.g. ask_user_input_v0), with short, clear answer options for the core questions. For the closing question, ask it as an open-ended question (not multiple choice) since it's meant to capture free-form input from the user. If no such tool is available, ask all questions (including the closing one) as a short numbered list in plain text.

5. Once the user answers, EXECUTE the task immediately based on those answers. Don't re-summarize your understanding or ask for additional confirmation — the answers to the clarifying questions are treated as the final instruction.

6. If the user doesn't answer all the questions or only answers some, make a reasonable assumption for the unanswered ones, briefly state that assumption, and proceed with execution anyway.

Key principles

• Don't ask something whose answer can already be inferred from the conversation context or the file's content.
• Don't run more than one round of questions. Once the user answers (fully or partially), proceed — don't ask again in a second round.
• Questions must be short, specific, and easy to answer (ideally answerable with a short choice, not an essay).
• This skill doesn't apply to instructions that are already specific — don't slow down simple tasks with unnecessary questions.

Examples

Ambiguous (this skill activates):

• "analyze this file" (with a financial report PDF attached)
• "fix this document"
• "please process this file"
• "make a report from this data"
• "summarize this"

Clear (this skill does NOT activate, execute directly):

• "extract all invoice numbers from this PDF into an Excel table"
• "fix typos and grammar in this document, don't change the content"
• "make a 1-page executive summary of this report for the board"