github-spec-kit/templates/commands/clarify.md

---
description: Identify underspecified areas in the current feature spec by asking up to 5 highly targeted clarification questions and encoding answers back into the spec.
handoffs: 
  - label: Build Technical Plan
    agent: speckit.plan
    prompt: Create a plan for the spec. I am building with...
scripts:
   sh: scripts/bash/check-prerequisites.sh --json --paths-only
   ps: scripts/powershell/check-prerequisites.ps1 -Json -PathsOnly
---

## User Input

```text
$ARGUMENTS
```

You **MUST** consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).

## Pre-Execution Checks

**Check for extension hooks (before clarification)**:
- Check if `.specify/extensions.yml` exists in the project root.
- If it exists, read it and look for entries under the `hooks.before_clarify` key
- If the YAML cannot be parsed or is invalid, skip hook checking silently and continue normally
- Filter out hooks where `enabled` is explicitly `false`. Treat hooks without an `enabled` field as enabled by default.
- For each remaining hook, do **not** attempt to interpret or evaluate hook `condition` expressions:
  - If the hook has no `condition` field, or it is null/empty, treat the hook as executable
  - If the hook defines a non-empty `condition`, skip the hook and leave condition evaluation to the HookExecutor implementation
- For each executable hook, output the following based on its `optional` flag:
  - **Optional hook** (`optional: true`):
    ```
    ## Extension Hooks

    **Optional Pre-Hook**: {extension}
    Command: `/{command}`
    Description: {description}

    Prompt: {prompt}
    To execute: `/{command}`
    ```
  - **Mandatory hook** (`optional: false`):
    ```
    ## Extension Hooks

    **Automatic Pre-Hook**: {extension}
    Executing: `/{command}`
    EXECUTE_COMMAND: {command}

    Wait for the result of the hook command before proceeding to the Outline.
    ```
- If no hooks are registered or `.specify/extensions.yml` does not exist, skip silently

## Outline

Goal: Detect and reduce ambiguity or missing decision points in the active feature specification and record the clarifications directly in the spec file.

Note: This clarification workflow is expected to run (and be completed) BEFORE invoking `__SPECKIT_COMMAND_PLAN__`. If the user explicitly states they are skipping clarification (e.g., exploratory spike), you may proceed, but must warn that downstream rework risk increases.

Execution steps:

1. Run `{SCRIPT}` from repo root **once** (combined `--json --paths-only` mode / `-Json -PathsOnly`). Parse minimal JSON payload fields:
   - `FEATURE_DIR`
   - `FEATURE_SPEC`
   - (Optionally capture `IMPL_PLAN`, `TASKS` for future chained flows.)
   - If JSON parsing fails, abort and instruct user to re-run `__SPECKIT_COMMAND_SPECIFY__` or verify feature branch environment.
   - For single quotes in args like "I'm Groot", use escape syntax: e.g 'I'\''m Groot' (or double-quote if possible: "I'm Groot").

2. **IF EXISTS**: Load `/memory/constitution.md` for project principles and governance constraints.

3. Load the current spec file. Perform a structured ambiguity & coverage scan using this taxonomy. For each category, mark status: Clear / Partial / Missing. Produce an internal coverage map used for prioritization (do not output raw map unless no questions will be asked).

   Functional Scope & Behavior:
   - Core user goals & success criteria
   - Explicit out-of-scope declarations
   - User roles / personas differentiation

   Domain & Data Model:
   - Entities, attributes, relationships
   - Identity & uniqueness rules
   - Lifecycle/state transitions
   - Data volume / scale assumptions

   Interaction & UX Flow:
   - Critical user journeys / sequences
   - Error/empty/loading states
   - Accessibility or localization notes

   Non-Functional Quality Attributes:
   - Performance (latency, throughput targets)
   - Scalability (horizontal/vertical, limits)
   - Reliability & availability (uptime, recovery expectations)
   - Observability (logging, metrics, tracing signals)
   - Security & privacy (authN/Z, data protection, threat assumptions)
   - Compliance / regulatory constraints (if any)

   Integration & External Dependencies:
   - External services/APIs and failure modes
   - Data import/export formats
   - Protocol/versioning assumptions

   Edge Cases & Failure Handling:
   - Negative scenarios
   - Rate limiting / throttling
   - Conflict resolution (e.g., concurrent edits)

   Constraints & Tradeoffs:
   - Technical constraints (language, storage, hosting)
   - Explicit tradeoffs or rejected alternatives

   Terminology & Consistency:
   - Canonical glossary terms
   - Avoided synonyms / deprecated terms

   Completion Signals:
   - Acceptance criteria testability
   - Measurable Definition of Done style indicators

   Misc / Placeholders:
   - TODO markers / unresolved decisions
   - Ambiguous adjectives ("robust", "intuitive") lacking quantification

   For each category with Partial or Missing status, add a candidate question opportunity unless:
   - Clarification would not materially change implementation or validation strategy
   - Information is better deferred to planning phase (note internally)

4. Generate (internally) a prioritized queue of candidate clarification questions (maximum 5). Do NOT output them all at once. Apply these constraints:
    - Maximum of 5 total questions across the whole session.
    - Each question must be answerable with EITHER:
       - A short multiple‑choice selection (2–5 distinct, mutually exclusive options), OR
       - A one-word / short‑phrase answer (explicitly constrain: "Answer in <=5 words").
    - Only include questions whose answers materially impact architecture, data modeling, task decomposition, test design, UX behavior, operational readiness, or compliance validation.
    - Ensure category coverage balance: attempt to cover the highest impact unresolved categories first; avoid asking two low-impact questions when a single high-impact area (e.g., security posture) is unresolved.
    - Exclude questions already answered, trivial stylistic preferences, or plan-level execution details (unless blocking correctness).
    - Favor clarifications that reduce downstream rework risk or prevent misaligned acceptance tests.
    - If more than 5 categories remain unresolved, select the top 5 by (Impact * Uncertainty) heuristic.

5. Sequential questioning loop (interactive):
    - Present EXACTLY ONE question at a time.
    - For multiple‑choice questions:
       - **Analyze all options** and determine the **most suitable option** based on:
          - Best practices for the project type
          - Common patterns in similar implementations
          - Risk reduction (security, performance, maintainability)
          - Alignment with any explicit project goals or constraints visible in the spec
       - Present your **recommended option prominently** at the top with clear reasoning (1-2 sentences explaining why this is the best choice).
       - Format as: `**Recommended:** Option [X] - <reasoning>`
       - Then render all options as a Markdown table:

       | Option | Description |
       |--------|-------------|
       | A | <Option A description> |
       | B | <Option B description> |
       | C | <Option C description> (add D/E as needed up to 5) |
       | Short | Provide a different short answer (<=5 words) (Include only if free-form alternative is appropriate) |

       - After the table, add: `You can reply with the option letter (e.g., "A"), accept the recommendation by saying "yes" or "recommended", or provide your own short answer.`
    - For short‑answer style (no meaningful discrete options):
       - Provide your **suggested answer** based on best practices and context.
       - Format as: `**Suggested:** <your proposed answer> - <brief reasoning>`
       - Then output: `Format: Short answer (<=5 words). You can accept the suggestion by saying "yes" or "suggested", or provide your own answer.`
    - After the user answers:
       - If the user replies with "yes", "recommended", or "suggested", use your previously stated recommendation/suggestion as the answer.
       - Otherwise, validate the answer maps to one option or fits the <=5 word constraint.
       - If ambiguous, ask for a quick disambiguation (count still belongs to same question; do not advance).
       - Once satisfactory, record it in working memory (do not yet write to disk) and move to the next queued question.
    - Stop asking further questions when:
       - All critical ambiguities resolved early (remaining queued items become unnecessary), OR
       - User signals completion ("done", "good", "no more"), OR
       - You reach 5 asked questions.
    - Never reveal future queued questions in advance.
    - If no valid questions exist at start, immediately report no critical ambiguities.

6. Integration after EACH accepted answer (incremental update approach):
    - Maintain in-memory representation of the spec (loaded once at start) plus the raw file contents.
    - For the first integrated answer in this session:
       - Ensure a `## Clarifications` section exists (create it just after the highest-level contextual/overview section per the spec template if missing).
       - Under it, create (if not present) a `### Session YYYY-MM-DD` subheading for today.
    - Append a bullet line immediately after acceptance: `- Q: <question> → A: <final answer>`.
    - Then immediately apply the clarification to the most appropriate section(s):
       - Functional ambiguity → Update or add a bullet in Functional Requirements.
       - User interaction / actor distinction → Update User Stories or Actors subsection (if present) with clarified role, constraint, or scenario.
       - Data shape / entities → Update Data Model (add fields, types, relationships) preserving ordering; note added constraints succinctly.
       - Non-functional constraint → Add/modify measurable criteria in Success Criteria > Measurable Outcomes (convert vague adjective to metric or explicit target).
       - Edge case / negative flow → Add a new bullet under Edge Cases / Error Handling (or create such subsection if template provides placeholder for it).
       - Terminology conflict → Normalize term across spec; retain original only if necessary by adding `(formerly referred to as "X")` once.
    - If the clarification invalidates an earlier ambiguous statement, replace that statement instead of duplicating; leave no obsolete contradictory text.
    - Save the spec file AFTER each integration to minimize risk of context loss (atomic overwrite).
    - Preserve formatting: do not reorder unrelated sections; keep heading hierarchy intact.
    - Keep each inserted clarification minimal and testable (avoid narrative drift).

7. Validation (performed after EACH write plus final pass):
   - Clarifications session contains exactly one bullet per accepted answer (no duplicates).
   - Total asked (accepted) questions ≤ 5.
   - Updated sections contain no lingering vague placeholders the new answer was meant to resolve.
   - No contradictory earlier statement remains (scan for now-invalid alternative choices removed).
   - Markdown structure valid; only allowed new headings: `## Clarifications`, `### Session YYYY-MM-DD`.
   - Terminology consistency: same canonical term used across all updated sections.

8. Write the updated spec back to `FEATURE_SPEC`.

9. **Re-validate Spec Quality Checklist** (if it exists):
   - Check if `FEATURE_DIR/checklists/requirements.md` exists.
   - If it does NOT exist, skip this step silently.
   - If it exists:
     1. Read the checklist file.
     2. Identify all GitHub task-list checkbox lines — lines matching `- [ ]`, `- [x]`, or `- [X]` (case-insensitive, tolerant of leading whitespace for nested items) outside of code fences. Ignore all other content (headings, notes, non-checkbox bullets, metadata).
     3. For each checkbox line, record its current marker state (checked or unchecked) and item text into a before-snapshot list.
     4. Re-evaluate each checkbox item against the **updated** spec (the version just saved in step 7).
     5. For each checkbox item, update only if the checked/unchecked state actually changes:
        - If the item now passes and was unchecked: change `[ ]` to `[x]`.
        - If the item now fails and was checked: change `[x]`/`[X]` to `[ ]`.
        - If the state is unchanged: leave the marker as-is (preserve existing case to avoid cosmetic diffs).
     6. Save the updated checklist file. **Only toggle the `[ ]`/`[x]` marker portion of checkbox lines whose state changed.** All other file content — headings, metadata, notes, line ordering, whitespace — must remain unchanged to avoid noisy diffs.
     7. Compare the before-snapshot with the current state to compute three lists for the Completion Report:
        - **Newly passing**: items that changed from unchecked to checked.
        - **Regressions**: items that changed from checked to unchecked.
        - **Still unchecked**: items that remain unchecked.
     8. Record the before/after pass counts as checked/total checkbox items (e.g., "12/16 → 15/16 items passing").

Behavior rules:

- If no meaningful ambiguities found (or all potential questions would be low-impact), respond: "No critical ambiguities detected worth formal clarification." and suggest proceeding.
- If spec file missing, instruct user to run `__SPECKIT_COMMAND_SPECIFY__` first (do not create a new spec here).
- Never exceed 5 total asked questions (clarification retries for a single question do not count as new questions).
- Avoid speculative tech stack questions unless the absence blocks functional clarity.
- Respect user early termination signals ("stop", "done", "proceed").
- If no questions asked due to full coverage, output a compact coverage summary (all categories Clear) then suggest advancing.
- If quota reached with unresolved high-impact categories remaining, explicitly flag them under Deferred with rationale.

Context for prioritization: {ARGS}

## Mandatory Post-Execution Hooks

**You MUST complete this section before reporting completion to the user.**

Check if `.specify/extensions.yml` exists in the project root.
- If it does not exist, or no hooks are registered under `hooks.after_clarify`, skip to the Completion Report.
- If it exists, read it and look for entries under the `hooks.after_clarify` key.
- If the YAML cannot be parsed or is invalid, skip hook checking silently and continue to the Completion Report.
- Filter out hooks where `enabled` is explicitly `false`. Treat hooks without an `enabled` field as enabled by default.
- For each remaining hook, do **not** attempt to interpret or evaluate hook `condition` expressions:
  - If the hook has no `condition` field, or it is null/empty, treat the hook as executable
  - If the hook defines a non-empty `condition`, skip the hook and leave condition evaluation to the HookExecutor implementation
- For each executable hook, output the following based on its `optional` flag:
  - **Mandatory hook** (`optional: false`) — **You MUST emit `EXECUTE_COMMAND:` for each mandatory hook**:
    ```
    ## Extension Hooks

    **Automatic Hook**: {extension}
    Executing: `/{command}`
    EXECUTE_COMMAND: {command}
    ```
  - **Optional hook** (`optional: true`):
    ```
    ## Extension Hooks

    **Optional Hook**: {extension}
    Command: `/{command}`
    Description: {description}

    Prompt: {prompt}
    To execute: `/{command}`
    ```

## Completion Report

Report completion (after questioning loop ends or early termination):
- Number of questions asked & answered.
- Path to updated spec.
- Sections touched (list names).
- Spec quality checklist status (if `FEATURE_DIR/checklists/requirements.md` was re-validated): show before/after pass counts (e.g., "Spec Quality Checklist: 12/16 → 15/16 items passing") and list any items that changed state — both newly checked (unchecked → checked) and any regressions (checked → unchecked). If any items remain unchecked, list them as areas needing attention.
- Coverage summary table listing each taxonomy category with Status: Resolved (was Partial/Missing and addressed), Deferred (exceeds question quota or better suited for planning), Clear (already sufficient), Outstanding (still Partial/Missing but low impact).
- If any Outstanding or Deferred remain, recommend whether to proceed to `__SPECKIT_COMMAND_PLAN__` or run `__SPECKIT_COMMAND_CLARIFY__` again later post-plan.
- Suggested next command.

## Done When

- [ ] Spec ambiguities identified and clarifications integrated into spec file
- [ ] Spec quality checklist re-validated against updated spec (if `FEATURE_DIR/checklists/requirements.md` exists)
- [ ] Extension hooks dispatched or skipped according to the rules in Mandatory Post-Execution Hooks above
- [ ] Completion reported to user with questions answered, sections touched, checklist status, and coverage summary