Ask Questions

This skill encodes how to ask users questions effectively. It is not invoked directly by the user — it is invoked by other skills whenever they need to collect information through interactive dialogue.

Which Tool to Use

Prefer a dedicated question/input tool when the runtime makes one available for the current turn, but do not fail just because that tool is unavailable.

Use this decision order:

1. Dedicated question tool available — use the runtime's native input-requesting tool.
   • Claude: use mcp__ide__askQuestion or ask_followup_question when available.
   • Codex Plan mode: use request_user_input when available.
   • Other agents: use the equivalent input-requesting tool for the runtime (for example, request_input, ask_user, or similar).
2. No dedicated tool, but the session is interactive — ask the question directly in chat, then stop and wait for the user's answer. Do not continue with assumptions after asking.
3. Headless/non-interactive session — do not ask the user. Return a blocker/ambiguity explaining what decision is needed, or follow the caller skill's headless fallback instructions if it defines one.

The goal is to explicitly pause for user input before continuing. A dedicated tool is preferred because it enforces the pause, but an interactive plain-chat question is the correct fallback when the runtime does not expose that tool.