feat(contract): STEP 2 CLARIFY, mid-run channel, how-to-ask

This commit is contained in:
Bastien Chanot
2026-09-16 22:12:13 +02:00
parent 0d52f3a888
commit a2978b6f23
2 changed files with 81 additions and 11 deletions
+72 -9
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@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@ subagents = execution + report only; gates and loop decisions live in the
main loop).
Run this in the ORCHESTRATOR MAIN LOOP, never in a subagent — STEP 2 may
talk to the human. Mandatory passage in every flow; questions are optional
and proportional — a complete request goes through silently.
talk to the human, at contract time (pass A) and again at the flow's PLAN
step (pass B). Questions follow the open choices, never a quota — a complete
request goes through silently.
## STEP 1 — CAPTURE (verbatim)
@@ -17,16 +18,51 @@ message). No paraphrase, no cleanup, no translation, no summarizing. This
section is IMMUTABLE for the life of the run — every later consumer
(planner, dev, verifier) reads THESE words, never a restatement.
## STEP 2 — AMBIGUITY CHECK (questions optional, proportional)
## STEP 2 — CLARIFY (ask, never guess)
Ask ONLY if one of these is missing AND not derivable from the repo:
Two passes, both in the main loop, both may talk to the human.
**Pass A — gaps.** Run here, against the request. Ask if one of these is
missing AND not derivable from the repo:
- a testable expected outcome
- an unambiguous scope (what is allowed to change)
- non-contradictory constraints
Complete request → ZERO questions, stay silent. Otherwise: max 3 questions,
one single batch (house rule: one question upfront, never mid-task). Never
ask what the repo can answer — verify paths/APIs/behavior yourself first.
**Pass B — open choices.** Defined here, run ONCE at the flow's PLAN step
(see "Where pass B fires" below), against the plan just written — that is
where choices become concrete. Enumerate every choice the run will settle
that the request leaves open; keep those in these classes:
1. VISIBLE — the user would see it in the result: placement, label, wording,
color, order, what a click does.
2. PUBLIC NAME — a name that outlives the run: command, flag, endpoint, env
var, a file the human will read.
3. SCOPE — "should X change too?", where the request does not name X.
NEVER ask class 4 — internal technical choices with no observable effect
(function decomposition, data shape, local naming, layout inside an
already-scoped zone). Those are delegated; asking them is the noise that
makes classes 1-3 ignorable. Never ask what the repo or the request already
answers — verify paths/APIs/behavior yourself first.
No question cap. Each pass asks what it finds, in ONE batch. A request that
leaves nothing open goes through silently. More than 5 open choices in pass B
= the request is under-specified: list them, say so, stop — do not fire a
questionnaire. "You decide" / "peu importe" is an answer: record it as
`A: delegated — <default taken>` and never re-ask it.
Pass B answers land in the contract's CLARIFICATIONS marked
`[gated <YYYY-MM-DD>]` — the contract is already on disk by then.
### Where pass B fires
| Flow | Pass B runs at | Against |
|------|----------------|---------|
| feat | STEP 1 PLAN, before 1b CHALLENGE | the PLAN checklist |
| bugfix | STEP 3 FIX PLAN, before 3b | the FIX PLAN |
| hotfix | STEP 1 LOCATE | the 1-2 target files' visible effect |
| ship-feature | STEP 2 PLAN, after the brainstorm | the plan, minus what the brainstorm settled |
| init-project | STEP 3 DESIGN, before VALIDATION GATE #1 | the DESIGN, minus what the interview and brainstorm settled |
| onboard | its STEP 3 interview, unchanged | scope, in one block |
## STEP 3 — DERIVE
@@ -85,7 +121,7 @@ Template:
<the user's exact words>
## CLARIFICATIONS
Q: <question> / A: <answer>
Q: <question> / A: <answer> (pass B and mid-run entries: [gated <YYYY-MM-DD>])
(or: none — request complete)
## ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
@@ -105,6 +141,33 @@ Q: <question> / A: <answer>
Print one line to the user, then continue the flow:
`CONTRACT: <path> — <n> criteria, scope <files|repo-wide>, <q> questions asked`
## MID-RUN CLARIFICATION (the channel executors halt into)
An executor cannot talk to the human. It halts with `NEED-DECISION`, the
exact question, the options it sees, and a `CLASS:` tag (visible |
public-name | scope | internal). `/hotfix`: the hotfixer keeps
`DONE | BLOCKED`; a BLOCKED carrying the tag follows the same routing instead
of escalating to `/bugfix`. The orchestrator re-reads the class — the tag is
a hint, not a verdict — then routes:
- visible / public-name / scope → ASK THE HUMAN, verbatim question and
options. Never decide these yourself, never spend a round-trip guessing.
- internal → decide here, note the decision, re-dispatch. The only case the
orchestrator settles alone; max 2 such round-trips → escalate.
Every answer, human or orchestrator, appends to the contract's
CLARIFICATIONS marked `[gated <YYYY-MM-DD>]` — the same micro-gate as scope
enrichment — and to the plan handed to the FRESH re-dispatched executor,
which reads the decision from disk, never from a transcript.
## HOW TO ASK (LRN-102)
The harness reliably renders only the turn's FINAL text; text printed before
a tool call may be swallowed. So:
- up to 4 questions → one `AskUserQuestion` call; option descriptions carry
the context; print nothing the user needs before the call.
- more than 4, or a list handed back for re-specification → plain text, end
the turn.
## Lifecycle
- **REQUEST**: immutable, for the life of the run. Never rewritten, never
@@ -134,7 +197,7 @@ Print one line to the user, then continue the flow:
| Flow | Weight |
|------|--------|
| hotfix | Silent autofill — criteria: "symptom gone; build/tests green"; scope = the 1-2 target files. Zero questions ever. |
| hotfix | Pass A silent autofill — criteria: "symptom gone; build/tests green"; scope = the 1-2 target files. Pass B runs at LOCATE against the 1-2 target files' visible effect; a typo fix asks nothing. |
| feat / bugfix | Proportional. bugfix: the DIAGNOSIS feeds the criteria (symptom reproduced-then-gone + regression test present). |
| ship-feature | Full. Design decisions approved at the validation gate append criteria `[gated <date>]` — the human validates the enriched contract, the verifier receives that version. |
| init-project | Full. The interviewer's PROJECT BRIEF pours into the contract (V1 features → criteria). |