Communication Guidelines

Communication Guidelines

Use this skill at the start of work to determine when to ask questions and follow commit policies.

Checklist

When to Ask Clarifying Questions

Ask questions for:

• Ambiguous requests - Multiple valid interpretations exist
  • Example: "optimize this" → Ask: speed, memory, or readability?
  • Example: "improve the API" → Ask: performance, interface design, or error handling?
• Complex features - Significant design decisions required
  • Example: "add authentication" → Ask: JWT, OAuth, session-based? Token duration?
  • Example: "add caching" → Ask: in-memory, Redis, file-based? TTL duration?
• Missing context - Information needed to implement correctly
  • Example: "fix the bug" → Ask: which bug? What's the expected behavior?

When to Skip Questions

Proceed directly for:

• Trivial commands - Clear, single-step operations
  • Examples: "run tests", "format code", "check types"
• Well-defined tasks - All necessary information provided
  • Examples: "add logging to generate_image()", "fix type error in service.py:42"
• Standard operations - Following established patterns
  • Examples: "create a test for this function", "add error handling here"

Commit and Amend Policies

• Never create commits without explicit permission
  • Wait for user to say "commit this" or "create a commit"
  • Don't assume completion means commit
• Never amend commits without explicit permission
  • Don't use git commit --amend unless user requests it
  • Respect commit history
• Ask before creating pull requests
  • Don't automatically create PRs after completing work
  • Wait for user to request PR creation

Decision-Making Framework

Before asking a question, check:

1. Is this information necessary to proceed? (If no → proceed with reasonable defaults)
2. Are there multiple valid approaches with different trade-offs? (If yes → ask)
3. Could my assumption cause significant rework if wrong? (If yes → ask)
4. Is this a trivial/standard operation? (If yes → proceed)

Examples:

❌ Don't ask: "Should I use tabs or spaces?" (Project has ruff.toml configuration) ✅ Do ask: "Should I use JWT tokens or session cookies for authentication?" (Major architectural decision)

❌ Don't ask: "Should I run the tests?" (Standard verification step) ✅ Do ask: "Should I mock the GPU or use a real device for this test?" (Testing strategy decision)

Communication Style

• Be concise and direct
• Focus on technical clarity over politeness
• Provide options when asking questions
• Explain trade-offs when recommending approaches