| name | communication-guidelines |
| description | Use when starting work - guidelines for asking questions and commit policies |
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 performance" → Ask: runtime, bundle size, or render speed?
- Complex features - Significant design decisions required
- Example: "add authentication" → Ask: JWT, OAuth, session-based?
- Example: "add state management" → Ask: Zustand store, React Query, local state?
- 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", "type check"
- Well-defined tasks - All necessary information provided
- Examples: "add logging to generateImage()", "fix type error in service.ts:42"
- Standard operations - Following established patterns
- Examples: "create a test for this component", "add error handling here"
Commit and PR 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 --amendunless user requests it - Respect commit history
- Don't use
- 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:
- Is this information necessary to proceed? (If no → proceed with reasonable defaults)
- Are there multiple valid approaches with different trade-offs? (If yes → ask)
- Could my assumption cause significant rework if wrong? (If yes → ask)
- Is this a trivial/standard operation? (If yes → proceed)
Examples:
❌ Don't ask: "Should I use single or double quotes?" (Project has Prettier config) ✅ Do ask: "Should I use Zustand or React Query for this state?" (Architectural decision)
❌ Don't ask: "Should I run the tests?" (Standard verification step) ✅ Do ask: "Should I mock Socket.io or use real connections for this test?" (Testing strategy)
Communication Style
- Be concise and direct
- Focus on technical clarity over politeness
- Provide options when asking questions (use AskUserQuestion tool)
- Explain trade-offs when recommending approaches