Clarify

What it does

Example prompts

• “/clarify”

Requirements

• Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Read, Grep, Glob, Task, Write, AskUserQuestion

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1Record: Log original request + identify ambiguous parts
2. 2Question: AskUserQuestion (specific options, 2-3 rounds)
3. 3Escalation Check: Check escalation conditions (see below)
4. 4Create DRAFT: Write .dev/specs/{name}/DRAFT.md (minimal version — What, Why, Scope, Success Criteria)
5. 5Summary + Create PLAN: Before/After comparison → Write .dev/specs/{name}/PLAN.md
6. 6Present PLAN: Present the PLAN inline in the conversation (do NOT enter plan mode), then immediately call /implement. The plan file must…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 75a86fa. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:

  • Read
  • Grep
  • Glob
  • Task
  • Write
  • AskUserQuestion

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are markdown).

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Clarify loads about 1.3k tokens when it runs, and up to ~2.2k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 50 tokens; SKILL.md has 516 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~50

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~1.3k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~2.2k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from mag123c/toktrack at commit 75a86fa, republished under its MIT licence (© mag123c). 516 words, ~1,331 tokens.

name

clarify

description

Adaptive requirements clarification with auto-depth routing. Shallow (Q&A) for simple tasks, Deep (exploration + DRAFT + PLAN) for complex ones. Escalates automatically when ambiguity persists.

allowed-tools

Read, Grep, Glob, Task, Write, AskUserQuestion

required_context

.claude/ai-context/architecture.md, .claude/ai-context/conventions.md

/clarify → Measure complexity → Clear enough?
                                ├─ Yes → Present PLAN inline → /implement
                                └─ No  → Deeper clarify (explore, analyze, DRAFT...)
                                         → Re-measure → Repeat

## YYYY-MM-DD: {feature-name}
- **Decision**: What was decided
- **Reason**: Why this choice was made
- **Alternatives**: Options considered but not chosen
- **Reference**: .dev/specs/{feature-name}/PLAN.md (if exists)

© mag123c, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 6 other files (references) in .claude/skills/clarify of mag123c/toktrack.

• SKILL.md
• deep/DEEP.md
• references/checkpoint.md
• references/doc-roles.md
• references/provenance.md
• templates/DRAFT_TEMPLATE.md
• templates/PLAN_TEMPLATE.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 75a86fa