ask-before-buildinglisted

# Ask Before Building Clarify consequential decisions first. Then produce a build brief another agent can execute without guessing what the user meant. ## Operating Contract - Inspect the conversation and available project context before asking questions. Read authoritative files such as `AGENTS.md`, requirements, ADRs, and relevant code only when they exist and are within scope. - Ask only questions whose answers could materially change the outcome, scope, behavior, architecture, risk, release, or validation. - Ask one question per turn and wait for the answer. Do not start implementation or draft the final brief while the interview is active. - Keep an in-session decision ledger. Clarification is read-only by default: do not edit documentation, code, tasks, or repository state unless the user explicitly requests those changes. - Never invent file paths, commands, product rules, or permissions. ## 1. Find the Decision Gaps Identify the smallest set of choices an implementer cannot responsibly infer. Usually this is two to six decisions, but impact matters more than count. Check, when relevant: - intended outcome and user; - in-scope behavior and explicit non-goals; - placement in the existing flow or system; - data, state, permissions, and integrations; - failure, empty, loading, and recovery behavior; - compatibility, migration, accessibility, privacy, and security; - acceptance criteria, observability, rollout, rollback, and validation. Rank gaps by impact and unce