Task Clarify

Task Intake and Clarification

Purpose

Transform ambiguous user requests into structured, actionable task specifications with clear parameters, constraints, and success criteria.

Scope

What This Skill Does

• Parse user intent from natural language requests
• Identify missing information and ask clarifying questions
• Define search parameters (platform, keywords, scope, time range)
• Establish interaction rules (tone, identity, forbidden topics)
• Create structured task specification for downstream skills
• Confirm understanding with user before execution

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Execute any app operations (no tapping, scrolling, typing)
• Perform searches or browse content
• Generate comment content (use comment-composition-and-tone-control)
• Extract article content (use full-article-extraction)

Inputs

Required

Optional

Outputs

Task Specification Format

task_spec:
  task_id: string           # Unique identifier
  task_type: enum           # search | browse | comment | extract | monitor
  created_at: timestamp

  target:
    platform: string        # threads | instagram | wechat | weibo | ...
    accounts: list          # Specific accounts to follow (optional)
    keywords: list          # Search terms with variants
    scope: enum             # posts | comments | articles | all
    time_range: string      # last_24h | last_week | last_month | all_time

  constraints:
    max_items: int          # Maximum items to process
    max_scrolls: int        # Maximum scroll rounds
    max_time_minutes: int   # Time budget
    language: string        # Expected content language

  interaction:
    mode: enum              # read_only | comment_allowed
    tone: string            # neutral | supportive | professional | casual
    identity: string        # How agent should present itself
    forbidden_topics: list  # Topics to avoid

  output:
    format: enum            # summary | json | markdown | report
    save_to_file: boolean
    include_screenshots: boolean

  status: enum              # draft | confirmed | in_progress | completed

Primary Workflow

Step 1: Parse Initial Request

Extract from user message:

• Action verb (search, find, browse, comment, extract, monitor)
• Target platform (explicit or implied)
• Subject/topic/keyword
• Any stated constraints

User: "Help me find what people are saying about AI agents on Threads"

Parsed:
- Action: search + read comments
- Platform: Threads
- Keywords: ["AI agents"]
- Scope: posts + comments

Step 2: Identify Missing Information

Check for gaps using this checklist:

Step 3: Generate Clarifying Questions

If critical information is missing, ask ONE focused question at a time:

Good: "Should I search on Threads, Instagram, or both?"
Bad: "What platform, keywords, time range, and output format do you want?"

Priority order for questions:

1. Platform (if unclear)
2. Primary keyword (if missing)
3. Interaction mode (if user mentioned commenting)
4. Output format (if user needs specific deliverable)

Step 4: Expand Keywords

Generate keyword variants for robust search:

original: "AI agents"
variants:
  - "AI agents"
  - "AI agent"
  - "artificial intelligence agents"
  - "LLM agents"
  - "autonomous agents"
  - synonyms in target language if non-English

Step 5: Apply Sensible Defaults

For unspecified parameters:

Step 6: Confirm with User

Present the task specification in user's language:

I'll search Threads for posts about "AI agents" and related terms.

Plan:
- Browse up to 10 posts
- Read comments on each post
- Report sentiment and key opinions
- Time limit: 15 minutes

Should I proceed, or would you like to adjust anything?

Step 7: Output Structured Spec

After confirmation, output the YAML specification for downstream skills.

Heuristics

Platform Detection

Intent Classification

Urgency Signals

Failure Modes & Recovery

1. Platform Ambiguity

Symptom: User doesn't specify which social platform.

Recovery:

• Check if context implies platform (e.g., "公众号" → WeChat)
• Ask: "Which platform should I search? (Threads / Instagram / WeChat / ...)"

2. Keyword Too Vague

Symptom: User gives very broad topic like "technology".

Recovery:

• Ask for specifics: "Could you narrow down what aspect of technology? (e.g., AI, smartphones, startups)"
• Suggest popular related terms

3. Conflicting Requirements

Symptom: User wants quick results but also comprehensive coverage.

Recovery:

• Explain trade-off: "A thorough search may take 15+ minutes. Should I do a quick scan (5 posts) or comprehensive review (20+ posts)?"

4. Unsupported Platform

Symptom: User requests platform not in our capability set.

Recovery:

• List supported platforms
• Suggest alternative: "I can't access LinkedIn directly. Would you like to try a similar search on X/Twitter instead?"

5. Language Mismatch

Symptom: User asks in English but wants Chinese content.

Recovery:

• Confirm: "You want to search for Chinese-language posts about [topic], correct?"
• Generate keywords in target language

6. Scope Creep

Symptom: User keeps adding requirements during clarification.

Recovery:

• Summarize current scope
• Offer to split into phases: "I can start with the search now, then we can do the commenting as a follow-up task."

Tooling (MCP)

This skill does NOT use MCP tools directly.

It produces specifications consumed by:

• iterative-search-and-triage (search/browse tasks)
• full-article-extraction (extract tasks)
• comment-posting-workflow (comment tasks)
• patrol (monitor tasks)

Examples

Example 1: Simple Search Request

User: "What are people saying about Claude on Threads?"

Clarification: None needed - platform and keyword are clear.

Output:

task_spec:
  task_id: ts_001
  task_type: search

  target:
    platform: threads
    keywords: ["Claude", "Claude AI", "Anthropic Claude"]
    scope: posts
    time_range: last_week

  constraints:
    max_items: 10
    max_scrolls: 5
    max_time_minutes: 15

  interaction:
    mode: read_only

  output:
    format: summary
    save_to_file: false

  status: confirmed

Response to User: "I'll search Threads for posts about 'Claude' and report what people are saying. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Proceed?"

Example 2: Comment Request (Needs Clarification)

User: "I want to join discussions about AI safety and add my perspective."

Clarification Needed:

• Platform
• Tone/identity for commenting

Agent asks: "Which platform would you like to comment on? And what tone should I use - professional, casual, or neutral?"

User: "Threads, professional tone. I'm a researcher."

Output:

task_spec:
  task_id: ts_002
  task_type: comment

  target:
    platform: threads
    keywords: ["AI safety", "AI alignment", "responsible AI"]
    scope: posts

  interaction:
    mode: comment_allowed
    tone: professional
    identity: "AI safety researcher"
    forbidden_topics: []

  output:
    format: report
    include_screenshots: true

  status: confirmed

Example 3: WeChat Public Account Browsing

User: "帮我看看这几个公众号的最新文章：36氪、机器之心、量子位"

Parsed:

• Platform: WeChat
• Action: browse specific accounts
• Output: article summaries

Output:

task_spec:
  task_id: ts_003
  task_type: extract

  target:
    platform: wechat
    accounts: ["36氪", "机器之心", "量子位"]
    scope: articles
    time_range: latest

  constraints:
    max_items: 3  # Latest article from each account

  output:
    format: markdown
    save_to_file: true

  status: confirmed

Response to User (in Chinese): "我會瀏覽這三個公眾號的最新文章，並為您提取完整內容。預計需要 10-15 分鐘。開始嗎？"

Example 4: Insufficient Information

User: "Search for trending topics"

Problem: No platform, no specific topic.

Agent asks: "I'd be happy to search for trending topics. Could you tell me:

1. Which platform? (Threads, Instagram, Weibo, etc.)
2. Any specific area of interest? (tech, entertainment, news, etc.)"

This skill does NOT proceed until minimum requirements are met.

Key Reminders

1. Never execute app operations - This skill only produces specifications
2. One question at a time - Don't overwhelm users with multiple questions
3. Use sensible defaults - Don't ask about every parameter
4. Confirm before execution - Always summarize the plan
5. Match user's language - Respond in the language they used
6. Keep specifications complete - All downstream skills should have what they need