Interactive Command Patterns

Interactive Command Patterns

Comprehensive guide to creating commands that gather user feedback and make decisions through the AskUserQuestion tool.

Overview

Some commands need user input that doesn't work well with simple arguments. For example:

• Choosing between multiple complex options with trade-offs
• Selecting multiple items from a list
• Making decisions that require explanation
• Gathering preferences or configuration interactively

For these cases, use the AskUserQuestion tool within command execution rather than relying on command arguments.

When to Use AskUserQuestion

Use AskUserQuestion When:

1. Multiple choice decisions with explanations needed
2. Complex options that require context to choose
3. Multi-select scenarios (choosing multiple items)
4. Preference gathering for configuration
5. Interactive workflows that adapt based on answers

Use Command Arguments When:

1. Simple values (file paths, numbers, names)
2. Known inputs user already has
3. Scriptable workflows that should be automatable
4. Fast invocations where prompting would slow down

AskUserQuestion Basics

Tool Parameters

{
  questions: [
    {
      question: "Which authentication method should we use?",
      header: "Auth method",  // Short label (max 12 chars)
      multiSelect: false,     // true for multiple selection
      options: [
        {
          label: "OAuth 2.0",
          description: "Industry standard, supports multiple providers"
        },
        {
          label: "JWT",
          description: "Stateless, good for APIs"
        },
        {
          label: "Session",
          description: "Traditional, server-side state"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Key points:

• Users can always choose "Other" to provide custom input (automatic)
• multiSelect: true allows selecting multiple options
• Options should be 2-4 choices (not more)
• Can ask 1-4 questions per tool call

Command Pattern for User Interaction

Basic Interactive Command

---
description: Interactive setup command
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion, Write
---

# Interactive Plugin Setup

This command will guide you through configuring the plugin with a series of questions.

## Step 1: Gather Configuration

Use the AskUserQuestion tool to ask:

**Question 1 - Deployment target:**
- header: "Deploy to"
- question: "Which deployment platform will you use?"
- options:
  - AWS (Amazon Web Services with ECS/EKS)
  - GCP (Google Cloud with GKE)
  - Azure (Microsoft Azure with AKS)
  - Local (Docker on local machine)

**Question 2 - Environment strategy:**
- header: "Environments"
- question: "How many environments do you need?"
- options:
  - Single (Just production)
  - Standard (Dev, Staging, Production)
  - Complete (Dev, QA, Staging, Production)

**Question 3 - Features to enable:**
- header: "Features"
- question: "Which features do you want to enable?"
- multiSelect: true
- options:
  - Auto-scaling (Automatic resource scaling)
  - Monitoring (Health checks and metrics)
  - CI/CD (Automated deployment pipeline)
  - Backups (Automated database backups)

## Step 2: Process Answers

Based on the answers received from AskUserQuestion:

1. Parse the deployment target choice
2. Set up environment-specific configuration
3. Enable selected features
4. Generate configuration files

## Step 3: Generate Configuration

Create `.claude/plugin-name.local.md` with:

\`\`\`yaml
---
deployment_target: [answer from Q1]
environments: [answer from Q2]
features:
  auto_scaling: [true if selected in Q3]
  monitoring: [true if selected in Q3]
  ci_cd: [true if selected in Q3]
  backups: [true if selected in Q3]
---

# Plugin Configuration

Generated: [timestamp]
Target: [deployment_target]
Environments: [environments]
\`\`\`

## Step 4: Confirm and Next Steps

Confirm configuration created and guide user on next steps.

Multi-Stage Interactive Workflow

---
description: Multi-stage interactive workflow
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion, Read, Write, Bash
---

# Multi-Stage Deployment Setup

This command walks through deployment setup in stages, adapting based on your answers.

## Stage 1: Basic Configuration

Use AskUserQuestion to ask about deployment basics.

Based on answers, determine which additional questions to ask.

## Stage 2: Advanced Options (Conditional)

If user selected "Advanced" deployment in Stage 1:

Use AskUserQuestion to ask about:
- Load balancing strategy
- Caching configuration
- Security hardening options

If user selected "Simple" deployment:
- Skip advanced questions
- Use sensible defaults

## Stage 3: Confirmation

Show summary of all selections.

Use AskUserQuestion for final confirmation:
- header: "Confirm"
- question: "Does this configuration look correct?"
- options:
  - Yes (Proceed with setup)
  - No (Start over)
  - Modify (Let me adjust specific settings)

If "Modify", ask which specific setting to change.

## Stage 4: Execute Setup

Based on confirmed configuration, execute setup steps.

Interactive Question Design

Question Structure

Good questions:

Question: "Which database should we use for this project?"
Header: "Database"
Options:
  - PostgreSQL (Relational, ACID compliant, best for complex queries)
  - MongoDB (Document store, flexible schema, best for rapid iteration)
  - Redis (In-memory, fast, best for caching and sessions)

Poor questions:

Question: "Database?"  // Too vague
Header: "DB"  // Unclear abbreviation
Options:
  - Option 1  // Not descriptive
  - Option 2

Option Design Best Practices

Clear labels:

• Use 1-5 words
• Specific and descriptive
• No jargon without context

Helpful descriptions:

• Explain what the option means
• Mention key benefits or trade-offs
• Help user make informed decision
• Keep to 1-2 sentences

Appropriate number:

• 2-4 options per question
• Don't overwhelm with too many choices
• Group related options
• "Other" automatically provided

Multi-Select Questions

When to use multiSelect:

Use AskUserQuestion for enabling features:

Question: "Which features do you want to enable?"
Header: "Features"
multiSelect: true  // Allow selecting multiple
Options:
  - Logging (Detailed operation logs)
  - Metrics (Performance monitoring)
  - Alerts (Error notifications)
  - Backups (Automatic backups)

User can select any combination: none, some, or all.

When NOT to use multiSelect:

Question: "Which authentication method?"
multiSelect: false  // Only one auth method makes sense

Mutually exclusive choices should not use multiSelect.

Command Patterns with AskUserQuestion

Pattern 1: Simple Yes/No Decision

---
description: Command with confirmation
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion, Bash
---

# Destructive Operation

This operation will delete all cached data.

Use AskUserQuestion to confirm:

Question: "This will delete all cached data. Are you sure?"
Header: "Confirm"
Options:
  - Yes (Proceed with deletion)
  - No (Cancel operation)

If user selects "Yes":
  Execute deletion
  Report completion

If user selects "No":
  Cancel operation
  Exit without changes

Pattern 2: Multiple Configuration Questions

---
description: Multi-question configuration
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion, Write
---

# Project Configuration Setup

Gather configuration through multiple questions.

Use AskUserQuestion with multiple questions in one call:

**Question 1:**
- question: "Which programming language?"
- header: "Language"
- options: Python, TypeScript, Go, Rust

**Question 2:**
- question: "Which test framework?"
- header: "Testing"
- options: Jest, PyTest, Go Test, Cargo Test
  (Adapt based on language from Q1)

**Question 3:**
- question: "Which CI/CD platform?"
- header: "CI/CD"
- options: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, CircleCI

**Question 4:**
- question: "Which features do you need?"
- header: "Features"
- multiSelect: true
- options: Linting, Type checking, Code coverage, Security scanning

Process all answers together to generate cohesive configuration.

Pattern 3: Conditional Question Flow

---
description: Conditional interactive workflow
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion, Read, Write
---

# Adaptive Configuration

## Question 1: Deployment Complexity

Use AskUserQuestion:

Question: "How complex is your deployment?"
Header: "Complexity"
Options:
  - Simple (Single server, straightforward)
  - Standard (Multiple servers, load balancing)
  - Complex (Microservices, orchestration)

## Conditional Questions Based on Answer

If answer is "Simple":
  - No additional questions
  - Use minimal configuration

If answer is "Standard":
  - Ask about load balancing strategy
  - Ask about scaling policy

If answer is "Complex":
  - Ask about orchestration platform (Kubernetes, Docker Swarm)
  - Ask about service mesh (Istio, Linkerd, None)
  - Ask about monitoring (Prometheus, Datadog, CloudWatch)
  - Ask about logging aggregation

## Process Conditional Answers

Generate configuration appropriate for selected complexity level.

Pattern 4: Iterative Collection

---
description: Collect multiple items iteratively
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion, Write
---

# Collect Team Members

We'll collect team member information for the project.

## Question: How many team members?

Use AskUserQuestion:

Question: "How many team members should we set up?"
Header: "Team size"
Options:
  - 2 people
  - 3 people
  - 4 people
  - 6 people

## Iterate Through Team Members

For each team member (1 to N based on answer):

Use AskUserQuestion for member details:

Question: "What role for team member [number]?"
Header: "Role"
Options:
  - Frontend Developer
  - Backend Developer
  - DevOps Engineer
  - QA Engineer
  - Designer

Store each member's information.

## Generate Team Configuration

After collecting all N members, create team configuration file with all members and their roles.

Pattern 5: Dependency Selection

---
description: Select dependencies with multi-select
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion
---

# Configure Project Dependencies

## Question: Required Libraries

Use AskUserQuestion with multiSelect:

Question: "Which libraries does your project need?"
Header: "Dependencies"
multiSelect: true
Options:
  - React (UI framework)
  - Express (Web server)
  - TypeORM (Database ORM)
  - Jest (Testing framework)
  - Axios (HTTP client)

User can select any combination.

## Process Selections

For each selected library:
- Add to package.json dependencies
- Generate sample configuration
- Create usage examples
- Update documentation

Best Practices for Interactive Commands

Question Design

1. Clear and specific: Question should be unambiguous
2. Concise header: Max 12 characters for clean display
3. Helpful options: Labels are clear, descriptions explain trade-offs
4. Appropriate count: 2-4 options per question, 1-4 questions per call
5. Logical order: Questions flow naturally

Error Handling

# Handle AskUserQuestion Responses

After calling AskUserQuestion, verify answers received:

If answers are empty or invalid:
  Something went wrong gathering responses.

  Please try again or provide configuration manually:
  [Show alternative approach]

  Exit.

If answers look correct:
  Process as expected

Progressive Disclosure

# Start Simple, Get Detailed as Needed

## Question 1: Setup Type

Use AskUserQuestion:

Question: "How would you like to set up?"
Header: "Setup type"
Options:
  - Quick (Use recommended defaults)
  - Custom (Configure all options)
  - Guided (Step-by-step with explanations)

If "Quick":
  Apply defaults, minimal questions

If "Custom":
  Ask all available configuration questions

If "Guided":
  Ask questions with extra explanation
  Provide recommendations along the way

Multi-Select Guidelines

Good multi-select use:

Question: "Which features do you want to enable?"
multiSelect: true
Options:
  - Logging
  - Metrics
  - Alerts
  - Backups

Reason: User might want any combination

Bad multi-select use:

Question: "Which database engine?"
multiSelect: true  // ❌ Should be single-select

Reason: Can only use one database engine

Advanced Patterns

Validation Loop

---
description: Interactive with validation
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion, Bash
---

# Setup with Validation

## Gather Configuration

Use AskUserQuestion to collect settings.

## Validate Configuration

Check if configuration is valid:
- Required dependencies available?
- Settings compatible with each other?
- No conflicts detected?

If validation fails:
  Show validation errors

  Use AskUserQuestion to ask:

  Question: "Configuration has issues. What would you like to do?"
  Header: "Next step"
  Options:
    - Fix (Adjust settings to resolve issues)
    - Override (Proceed despite warnings)
    - Cancel (Abort setup)

  Based on answer, retry or proceed or exit.

Build Configuration Incrementally

---
description: Incremental configuration builder
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion, Write, Read
---

# Incremental Setup

## Phase 1: Core Settings

Use AskUserQuestion for core settings.

Save to `.claude/config-partial.yml`

## Phase 2: Review Core Settings

Show user the core settings:

Based on these core settings, you need to configure:
- [Setting A] (because you chose [X])
- [Setting B] (because you chose [Y])

Ready to continue?

## Phase 3: Detailed Settings

Use AskUserQuestion for settings based on Phase 1 answers.

Merge with core settings.

## Phase 4: Final Review

Present complete configuration.

Use AskUserQuestion for confirmation:

Question: "Is this configuration correct?"
Options:
  - Yes (Save and apply)
  - No (Start over)
  - Modify (Edit specific settings)

Dynamic Options Based on Context

---
description: Context-aware questions
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion, Bash, Read
---

# Context-Aware Setup

## Detect Current State

Check existing configuration:
- Current language: !`detect-language.sh`
- Existing frameworks: !`detect-frameworks.sh`
- Available tools: !`check-tools.sh`

## Ask Context-Appropriate Questions

Based on detected language, ask relevant questions.

If language is TypeScript:

  Use AskUserQuestion:

  Question: "Which TypeScript features should we enable?"
  Options:
    - Strict Mode (Maximum type safety)
    - Decorators (Experimental decorator support)
    - Path Mapping (Module path aliases)

If language is Python:

  Use AskUserQuestion:

  Question: "Which Python tools should we configure?"
  Options:
    - Type Hints (mypy for type checking)
    - Black (Code formatting)
    - Pylint (Linting and style)

Questions adapt to project context.

Real-World Example: Multi-Agent Swarm Launch

From multi-agent-swarm plugin:

---
description: Launch multi-agent swarm
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion, Read, Write, Bash
---

# Launch Multi-Agent Swarm

## Interactive Mode (No Task List Provided)

If user didn't provide task list file, help create one interactively.

### Question 1: Agent Count

Use AskUserQuestion:

Question: "How many agents should we launch?"
Header: "Agent count"
Options:
  - 2 agents (Best for simple projects)
  - 3 agents (Good for medium projects)
  - 4 agents (Standard team size)
  - 6 agents (Large projects)
  - 8 agents (Complex multi-component projects)

### Question 2: Task Definition Approach

Use AskUserQuestion:

Question: "How would you like to define tasks?"
Header: "Task setup"
Options:
  - File (I have a task list file ready)
  - Guided (Help me create tasks interactively)
  - Custom (Other approach)

If "File":
  Ask for file path
  Validate file exists and has correct format

If "Guided":
  Enter iterative task creation mode (see below)

### Question 3: Coordination Mode

Use AskUserQuestion:

Question: "How should agents coordinate?"
Header: "Coordination"
Options:
  - Team Leader (One agent coordinates others)
  - Collaborative (Agents coordinate as peers)
  - Autonomous (Independent work, minimal coordination)

### Iterative Task Creation (If "Guided" Selected)

For each agent (1 to N from Question 1):

**Question A: Agent Name**
Question: "What should we call agent [number]?"
Header: "Agent name"
Options:
  - auth-agent
  - api-agent
  - ui-agent
  - db-agent
  (Provide relevant suggestions based on common patterns)

**Question B: Task Type**
Question: "What task for [agent-name]?"
Header: "Task type"
Options:
  - Authentication (User auth, JWT, OAuth)
  - API Endpoints (REST/GraphQL APIs)
  - UI Components (Frontend components)
  - Database (Schema, migrations, queries)
  - Testing (Test suites and coverage)
  - Documentation (Docs, README, guides)

**Question C: Dependencies**
Question: "What does [agent-name] depend on?"
Header: "Dependencies"
multiSelect: true
Options:
  - [List of previously defined agents]
  - No dependencies

**Question D: Base Branch**
Question: "Which base branch for PR?"
Header: "PR base"
Options:
  - main
  - staging
  - develop

Store all task information for each agent.

### Generate Task List File

After collecting all agent task details:

1. Ask for project name
2. Generate task list in proper format
3. Save to `.daisy/swarm/tasks.md`
4. Show user the file path
5. Proceed with launch using generated task list

Best Practices

Question Writing

1. Be specific: "Which database?" not "Choose option?"
2. Explain trade-offs: Describe pros/cons in option descriptions
3. Provide context: Question text should stand alone
4. Guide decisions: Help user make informed choice
5. Keep concise: Header max 12 chars, descriptions 1-2 sentences

Option Design

1. Meaningful labels: Specific, clear names
2. Informative descriptions: Explain what each option does
3. Show trade-offs: Help user understand implications
4. Consistent detail: All options equally explained
5. 2-4 options: Not too few, not too many

Flow Design

1. Logical order: Questions flow naturally
2. Build on previous: Later questions use earlier answers
3. Minimize questions: Ask only what's needed
4. Group related: Ask related questions together
5. Show progress: Indicate where in flow

User Experience

1. Set expectations: Tell user what to expect
2. Explain why: Help user understand purpose
3. Provide defaults: Suggest recommended options
4. Allow escape: Let user cancel or restart
5. Confirm actions: Summarize before executing

Common Patterns

Pattern: Feature Selection

Use AskUserQuestion:

Question: "Which features do you need?"
Header: "Features"
multiSelect: true
Options:
  - Authentication
  - Authorization
  - Rate Limiting
  - Caching

Pattern: Environment Configuration

Use AskUserQuestion:

Question: "Which environment is this?"
Header: "Environment"
Options:
  - Development (Local development)
  - Staging (Pre-production testing)
  - Production (Live environment)

Pattern: Priority Selection

Use AskUserQuestion:

Question: "What's the priority for this task?"
Header: "Priority"
Options:
  - Critical (Must be done immediately)
  - High (Important, do soon)
  - Medium (Standard priority)
  - Low (Nice to have)

Pattern: Scope Selection

Use AskUserQuestion:

Question: "What scope should we analyze?"
Header: "Scope"
Options:
  - Current file (Just this file)
  - Current directory (All files in directory)
  - Entire project (Full codebase scan)

Combining Arguments and Questions

Use Both Appropriately

Arguments for known values:

---
argument-hint: [project-name]
allowed-tools: AskUserQuestion, Write
---

Setup for project: $1

Now gather additional configuration...

Use AskUserQuestion for options that require explanation.

Questions for complex choices:

Project name from argument: $1

Now use AskUserQuestion to choose:
- Architecture pattern
- Technology stack
- Deployment strategy

These require explanation, so questions work better than arguments.

Troubleshooting

Questions not appearing:

• Verify AskUserQuestion in allowed-tools
• Check question format is correct
• Ensure options array has 2-4 items

User can't make selection:

• Check option labels are clear
• Verify descriptions are helpful
• Consider if too many options
• Ensure multiSelect setting is correct

Flow feels confusing:

• Reduce number of questions
• Group related questions
• Add explanation between stages
• Show progress through workflow

With AskUserQuestion, commands become interactive wizards that guide users through complex decisions while maintaining the clarity that simple arguments provide for straightforward inputs.