Asking User Questions
Teaches an agent to interview you in structured rounds of well-formed questions instead of guessing
- Repository
- JetBrains/thinkrail
- Stars
- 7,089
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Files
- 1 file
What it does
This skill gives an AI agent a shared rulebook for asking the user questions through an ask_user_question tool. When a workflow reaches a point where a decision is needed, the agent groups the open questions into rounds, asks only ones whose answers actually change the outcome, looks up facts itself instead of asking for them, and offers recommended options with reasons. It also explains what to do when the user skips a question or the tool is unavailable. It is a set of guidelines for other workflow skills, not a standalone task.
Great for
- Developers building spec-driven or multi-step agent workflows who want consistent clarifying questions
- Teams using the thinkrail workflow family who need agents to stop assuming unstated requirements
- People who want an agent to ask fewer but sharper questions before making changes
Skip it if
- Simple one-off tasks where no decisions need the user's input, since the skill says zero rounds is correct then
- Anyone expecting it to perform an action or produce files on its own; it has no scripts and only shapes how questions are asked
- Hosts without an ask_user_question tool, where the skill falls back to plain chat questions and offers less structure
Try asking
- “Interview me in rounds before you start the checkout redesign, asking only what you can't look up yourself”
- “Before implementing this feature, ask me the open decisions with a recommended option for each”
- “Confirm your inferred understanding of the export format with a Looks right or adjust question”
Install in 3 steps
- 1
Download the skill
The ZIP contains the 1 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.
asking-user-questions.zip - 2
Add it to your agent
Claude Code (all projects)
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip asking-user-questions.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)
mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip asking-user-questions.zip -d .claude/skills/Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.
- 3
Ask for the task
No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.
Get better results
- Use it alongside a thinkrail workflow skill that names ask_user_question at its question steps, since this file alone does not say where answers are recorded
- Expect the agent to look up facts in the workspace or specs before asking you, and to ask only about decisions
- Answer with free text when an option does not fit; the tool adds that row automatically
What's inside
- SKILL.md
Redistributed unmodified from JetBrains/thinkrail under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-11-02. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.