thaildhe172591 Using pythia — the pocket handbook
Phase: Learn → Ask → Do — this page opens the right one
pythia is the main book; this is the small notebook clipped inside its cover. Its one job is consistency: whether a session asks the right questions should not depend on the agent's mood that day.
The Rule
If there is even a small chance a pythia skill applies, open it before acting — before answering, before exploring, before clarifying questions. Opened the wrong one? Close it, no harm done. Skipping the check is how sessions drift: some ask, some silently decide.
Route by what the developer said
| The request sounds like | Open first | Then |
|---|---|---|
| "build / add / change X" — and any decision is open | pythia-spec — the questions are mandatory, the spec/plan documents are offered and skippable |
impact → write → apply |
| "explain X / why / how does it work" | pythia-explore |
|
| "is it safe to touch X" | pythia-impact |
|
| "review this" | pythia-review |
|
| "land / deploy / apply this" | pythia-apply |
|
| "our standards / adopt this base's style" | pythia-conventions |
|
| "make a skill for how we do X" | pythia-skill-author |
|
| setup, connection failures, privilege warnings | pythia-setup |
|
| an ORA-/PLS- error to investigate | pythia-explore (errors, src) |
pythia-review |
Priority when several apply: process before construction — spec before write, impact before apply. Announce the skill you opened ("Using pythia-spec — ...") so the developer can see which page you are on.
Working beside other packs
This notebook assumes nothing else is installed. If a general process pack
(brainstorming, TDD, planning) is active in the session, let it own generic
process and keep pythia's Oracle gates — they compose. Never treat its
presence as a reason to skip pythia-spec, nor pythia's presence as a
reason to skip it.
Red flags — the exact thoughts behind "some sessions ask, some don't"
| Thought | Reality |
|---|---|
| "This task is simple" | Simple tasks hide spec. A forgot-password flow carried seven unasked decisions. |
| "I remember what that skill says" | Skills evolve. Open the current page. |
| "I'll just look around first" | pythia-explore IS how you look around. Route first. |
| "Another pack will do the asking" | If it fires, good. If it does not, pythia-spec is the floor. |
| "Asking would stall the developer" | Paying for an unasked decision stalls harder. |
No skill support on this platform?
pythia guide prints the full contract; pythia guide --brief is this
notebook's first page, sized for a session preamble. AGENTS.md carries the
standing rules. The handbook does not require a skills-capable agent.
The pattern — a router consulted before any action — is Jesse Vincent's Superpowers, rebuilt from scratch for this kit.