speckit-clarify

# Spec Kit Clarify Skill

## When to Use

- The feature spec exists but needs targeted clarification before planning.

## Inputs

- The current feature spec in `specs/<feature>/spec.md`.
- The user's clarification intent or constraints from the request.

If the request is empty or the spec is missing, ask a targeted question before proceeding.

## Workflow

Goal: Detect and reduce ambiguity or missing decision points in the active feature specification and record the clarifications directly in the spec file.

Note: This clarification workflow is expected to run (and be completed) BEFORE the speckit-plan skill. If the user explicitly states they are skipping clarification (e.g., exploratory spike), you may proceed, but must warn that downstream rework risk increases.

Execution steps:

1. Run `.specify/scripts/bash/check-prerequisites.sh --json --paths-only` from repo root **once** (combined `--json --paths-only` mode / `-Json -PathsOnly`). Parse minimal JSON payload fields:
   - `FEATURE_DIR`
   - `FEATURE_SPEC`
   - (Optionally capture `IMPL_PLAN`, `TASKS` for future chained flows.)
   - If JSON parsing fails, abort and instruct the user to re-run speckit-specify or verify the feature branch environment.
   - For single quotes in args like "I'm Groot", use escape syntax: e.g 'I'\''m Groot' (or double-quote if possible: "I'm Groot").

2. Load the current spec file. Perform a structured ambiguity & coverage scan using this taxonomy. For each category, mark status: Clear / Partial / Missing. Produce an internal coverage map used for prioritization (do not output raw map unless no questions will be asked).

   Functional Scope & Behavior:
   - Core user goals & success criteria
   - Explicit out-of-scope declarations
   - User roles / personas differentiation

   Domain & Data Model:
   - Entities, attributes, relationships
   - Identity & uniqueness rules
   - Lifecycle/state transitions
   - Data volume / scale assumptions

   Interaction & UX Flow:
   - Critical user journeys / sequences
   - Error/empty/loading states
   - Accessibility or localization notes

   Non-Functional Quality Attributes:
   - Performance (latency, throughput targets)
   - Scalability (horizontal/vertical, limits)
   - Reliability & availability (uptime, recovery expectations)
   - Observability (logging, metrics, tracing signals)
   - Security & privacy (authN/Z, data protection, threat assumptions)
   - Compliance / regulatory constraints (if any)

   Integration & External Dependencies:
   - External services/APIs and failure modes
   - Data import/export formats
   - Protocol/versioning assumptions

   Edge Cases & Failure Handling:
   - Negative scenarios
   - Rate limiting / throttling
   - Conflict resolution (e.g., concurrent edits)

   Constraints & Tradeoffs:
   - Technical constraints (language, storage, hosting)
   - Explicit tradeoffs or rejected alternatives

   Terminology & Consistency:
   - Canonical glossary terms
   - Avoided synonyms / deprecated terms

   Completion Signals:
   - Acceptance criteria testability
   - Measurable Definition of Done style indicators

   Misc / Placeholders:
   - TODO markers / unresolved decisions
   - Ambiguous adjectives ("robust", "intuitive") lacking quantification

   For each category with Partial or Missing status, add a candidate question opportunity unless:
   - Clarification would not materially change implementation or validation strategy
   - Information is better deferred to planning phase (note internally)

3. Generate (internally) a prioritized queue of candidate clarification questions (maximum 5). Do NOT output them all at once. Apply these constraints:
   - Maximum of 10 total questions across the whole session.
   - Each question must be answerable with EITHER:
     - A short multiple‑choice selection (2–5 distinct, mutually exclusive options), OR
     - A one-word / short‑phrase answer (explicitly constrain: "Answer in <=5 words").
   - Only include questions whose answers materially impact architecture, data modeling, task decomposition, test design, UX behavior, operational readiness, or compliance validation.
   - Ensure category coverage balance: attempt to cover the highest impact unresolved categories first; avoid asking two low-impact questions when a single high-impact area (e.g., security posture) is unresolved.
   - Exclude questions already answered, trivial stylistic preferences, or plan-level execution details (unless blocking correctness).
   - Favor clarifications that reduce downstream rework risk or prevent misaligned acceptance tests.
   - If more than 5 categories remain unresolved, select the top 5 by (Impact \* Uncertainty) heuristic.

4. Sequential questioning loop (interactive):
   - Present EXACTLY ONE question at a time.
   - For multiple‑choice questions:
     - **Analyze all options** and determine the **most suitable option** based on:
       - Best practices for the project type
       - Common patterns in similar implementations
       - Risk reduction (security, performance, maintainability)
       - Alignment with any explicit project goals or constraints visible in the spec
     - Present your **recommended option prominently** at the top with clear reasoning (1-2 sentences explaining why this is the best choice).
     - Format as: `**Recommended:** Option [X] - <reasoning>`
     - Then render all options as a Markdown table:

     | Option | Description                                                                                         |
     | ------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
     | A      | <Option A description>                                                                              |
     | B      | <Option B description>                                                                              |
     | C      | <Option C description> (add D/E as needed up to 5)                                                  |
     | Short  | Provide a different short answer (<=5 words) (Include only if free-form alternative is appropriate) |
     - After the table, add: `You can reply with the option letter (e.g., "A"), accept the recommendation by saying "yes" or "recommended", or provide your own short answer.`

   - For short‑answer style (no meaningful discrete options):
     - Provide your **suggested answer** based on best practices and context.
     - Format as: `**Suggested:** <your proposed answer> - <brief reasoning>`
     - Then output: `Format: Short answer (<=5 words). You can accept the suggestion by saying "yes" or "suggested", or provide your own answer.`
   - After the user answers:
     - If the user replies with "yes", "recommended", or "suggested", use your previously stated recommendation/suggestion as the answer.
     - Otherwise, validate the answer maps to one option or fits the <=5 word constraint.
     - If ambiguous, ask for a quick disambiguation (count still belongs to same question; do not advance).
     - Once satisfactory, record it in working memory (do not yet write to disk) and move to the next queued question.
   - Stop asking further questions when:
     - All critical ambiguities resolved early (remaining queued items become unnecessary), OR
     - User signals completion ("done", "good", "no more"), OR
     - You reach 5 asked questions.
   - Never reveal future queued questions in advance.
   - If no valid questions exist at start, immediately report no critical ambiguities.

5. Integration after EACH accepted answer (incremental update approach):
   - Maintain in-memory representation of the spec (loaded once at start) plus the raw file contents.
   - For the first integrated answer in this session:
     - Ensure a `## Clarifications` section exists (create it just after the highest-level contextual/overview section per the spec template if missing).
     - Under it, create (if not present) a `### Session YYYY-MM-DD` subheading for today.
   - Append a bullet line immediately after acceptance: `- Q: <question> → A: <final answer>`.
   - Then immediately apply the clarification to the most appropriate section(s):
     - Functional ambiguity → Update or add a bullet in Functional Requirements.
     - User interaction / actor distinction → Update User Stories or Actors subsection (if present) with clarified role, constraint, or scenario.
     - Data shape / entities → Update Data Model (add fields, types, relationships) preserving ordering; note added constraints succinctly.
     - Non-functional constraint → Add/modify measurable criteria in Non-Functional / Quality Attributes section (convert vague adjective to metric or explicit target).
     - Edge case / negative flow → Add a new bullet under Edge Cases / Error Handling (or create such subsection if template provides placeholder for it).
     - Terminology conflict → Normalize term across spec; retain original only if necessary by adding `(formerly referred to as "X")` once.
   - If the clarification invalidates an earlier ambiguous statement, replace that statement instead of duplicating; leave no obsolete contradictory text.
   - Save the spec file AFTER each integration to minimize risk of context loss (atomic overwrite).
   - Preserve formatting: do not reorder unrelated sections; keep heading hierarchy intact.
   - Keep each inserted clarification minimal and testable (avoid narrative drift).

6. Validation (performed after EACH write plus final pass):
   - Clarifications session contains exactly one bullet per accepted answer (no duplicates).
   - Total asked (accepted) questions ≤ 5.
   - Updated sections contain no lingering vague placeholders the new answer was meant to resolve.
   - No contradictory earlier statement remains (scan for now-invalid alternative choices removed).
   - Markdown structure valid; only allowed new headings: `## Clarifications`, `### Session YYYY-MM-DD`.
   - Terminology consistency: same canonical term used across all updated sections.

7. Write the updated spec back to `FEATURE_SPEC`.

8. Report completion (after questioning loop ends or early termination):
   - Number of questions asked & answered.
   - Path to updated spec.
   - Sections touched (list names).
   - Coverage summary table listing each taxonomy category with Status: Resolved (was Partial/Missing and addressed), Deferred (exceeds question quota or better suited for planning), Clear (already sufficient), Outstanding (still Partial/Missing but low impact).
   - If any Outstanding or Deferred remain, recommend whether to proceed to speckit-plan or run speckit-clarify again later post-plan.
   - Suggested next step.

Behavior rules:

- If no meaningful ambiguities found (or all potential questions would be low-impact), respond: "No critical ambiguities detected worth formal clarification." and suggest proceeding.
- If spec file missing, instruct the user to run speckit-specify first (do not create a new spec here).
- Never exceed 5 total asked questions (clarification retries for a single question do not count as new questions).
- Avoid speculative tech stack questions unless the absence blocks functional clarity.
- Respect user early termination signals ("stop", "done", "proceed").
- If no questions asked due to full coverage, output a compact coverage summary (all categories Clear) then suggest advancing.
- If quota reached with unresolved high-impact categories remaining, explicitly flag them under Deferred with rationale.

Context for prioritization: the user's request and any stated constraints

## Outputs

- Updated `specs/<feature>/spec.md` with clarifications appended and integrated

## Next Steps

After clarifications are resolved:

- **Plan** implementation with speckit-plan.