Preflight

Preflight: Scope Clarifier

Adapted from the superpowers brainstorming skill by Jesse Wolfe. Same core principle: ask before acting. Scoped here to clarifying analysis intent rather than designing features.

Preflight resolves ambiguous scope before a deep-* skill runs its agents. It asks the minimum questions needed to proceed confidently — no more.

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When to Invoke

A calling skill should invoke preflight when one or more of the following are true:

• No specific files, paths, or artifacts are mentioned in the conversation
• The topic could span 3+ unrelated domains
• The user's intent is unclear (review? verify? research? explore?)
• The conversation is a fresh session with no prior context
• The artifact type is ambiguous (code? document? design? financial data?)

If the calling skill can determine scope from context, skip preflight — don't ask unnecessary questions.

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Execution Instructions

Step 1: Determine Missing Signals

Preflight is typically called by a deep-* skill after the context skill has already run. When that is the case, context_report.missing_signals is passed in — use it directly and skip re-detection:

# If called with context_report.missing_signals (preferred):
missing_signals: [from context_report]   # e.g. ["artifact", "intent"]
# → Ask only about these. Skip questions for signals not in the list.

# If called without context_report (standalone):
# → Run signal detection below.

Standalone signal detection (only when context_report is not available):

Analyze the conversation for these signals:

signal_check:
  artifact_identified: true | false    # specific files/paths/topics mentioned?
  intent_clear: true | false           # review? verify? research? explore?
  domains_detectable: true | false     # can domains be inferred from context?
  scope_bounded: true | false          # is the scope narrow enough to proceed?

If all four are true → skip preflight entirely, return scope_clarification directly from context.

If any are false → ask about the missing signals, one question per message.

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Step 2: Ask Clarifying Questions

Rules (from superpowers brainstorming — apply here too):

• One question at a time — never bundle questions in one message
• Multiple choice preferred — easier to answer than open-ended
• Maximum 3 questions total — if still unclear after 3, make reasonable assumptions and proceed
• Stop asking when scope is clear — don't ask questions whose answers you can infer

Question priority order (ask in this order if needed):

Q1 — What to analyze (if artifact_identified: false):

"What should I analyze? For example: specific files or directories, a topic you've been working on, or something else?"

Q2 — Intent (if intent_clear: false):

"What kind of analysis are you looking for?" Options: Review (improvement suggestions) / Audit (compliance check) / Verify (risk check) / Research (background investigation) / Explore (map and understand)

Q3 — Domain focus (if domains_detectable: false and artifact is ambiguous):

"Any particular areas to focus on?" Options: (generate from domain-registry signals based on what's known so far)

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Step 3: Synthesize and Return

After questions are answered (or if no questions were needed), produce:

scope_clarification:
  artifact: ""              # files, paths, topics, or description of what to analyze
  intent: ""                # review | audit | verify | research | explore
  domains: []               # inferred domains (from domain-registry signals)
  constraints: []           # any explicit constraints or focus areas mentioned
  confidence: high | medium # high = all signals present, medium = some inferred
  questions_asked: 0        # number of clarifying questions asked (0–3)
  assumptions: []           # any assumptions made when answers were incomplete

Return this block inline in the conversation. The calling skill reads it and proceeds.

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Integration with Calling Skills

Calling skills invoke preflight at their Step 1 (before spawning agents):

If context is sparse → invoke preflight → receive scope_clarification → use as input to domain-registry selection and agent prompts

Preflight does NOT:

• Spawn review agents
• Write output files
• Produce verdicts
• Replace the calling skill's own context analysis for clear conversations

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Key Principles

• Minimum viable questions — ask only what's needed to unblock the calling skill
• Never block on perfect clarity — 3 questions max, then proceed with assumptions
• Conversation-aware — always check the full conversation before asking; never ask what you can infer
• No design docs, no plans — this is a clarifier, not a brainstorming session