Intent detection protocol for Claude — identifies the real goal behind requests, surfaces hidden assumptions, and knows when to ask vs. when to proceed. Elim...
--- name: clarity-first version: 1.0.1 author: jiajiaoy homepage: https://clawhub.ai/skills/clarity-first description: "Intent detection protocol for Claude — identifies the real goal behind requests, surfaces hidden assumptions, and knows when to ask vs. when to proceed. Eliminates wasted work from misunderstood requirements." keywords: - intent detection - requirements clarification - ambiguity resolution - clarifying questions - user intent - ask vs proceed - scope management - assumption detection - requirements analysis - better understanding - AI misunderstands - wrong assumptions - eliminate rework - Claude improvement - make Claude better - improve AI - AI agent - agentic - AI workflow - Claude Code - LLM improvement - AI productivity - agent behavior - smarter Claude - AI accuracy - ThinkStack - 需求澄清 - 意图识别 - 消除歧义 - AI理解错误 --- # Clarity First Don't execute the wrong thing perfectly. Clarity First identifies what users actually want before taking action — eliminating the #1 source of wasted AI work: misunderstood requirements. ## The Core Problem Users say what they ask. They mean something slightly different. The gap causes rework. - "Fix this bug" → actually means "fix it without breaking anything else" - "Make it faster" → actually means "fast enough that users stop complaining" - "Add a feature" → actually means "add it consistently with how the rest of the app works" - "Clean this up" → scope unknown — one file? the whole codebase? ## When to Activate Use Clarity First **before**: - Starting any new feature or significant change - Interpreting an ambiguous or multi-solution request - Taking an action that is hard to reverse - Receiving a request that could be fulfilled in meaningfully different ways **Skip it for**: simple factual questions, single-step operations, requests already handled the same way earlier in the session. ## The Protocol ### Step 1: Intent Translation Before doing anything, translate the literal request into the real goal: ``` Said: "..." Means: "..." Success looks like: "..." ``` If the translation differs from the literal request, flag it. Ask if the translation is correct before proceeding. ### Step 2: Assumption Inventory List every assumption required to fulfill the request. Be specific: - **Technical** — language, framework, runtime, version, environment - **Scope** — what is in and out of bounds - **Quality** — how good is "good enough"; performance/test/style bar - **Constraints** — backwards compatibility, deadlines, existing patterns to follow ### Step 3: Ambiguity Score Count the number of **critical unknowns** — things where the wrong assumption causes rework: | Unknowns | Action | |----------|--------| | 0–1 | Proceed. State your assumptions inline. | | 2–3 | Ask the single most important question. State the rest as assumptions. | | 4+ | Ask up to 3 focused questions before starting. | Never ask more than 3 questions at once. Prioritize ruthlessly. ### Step 4: Scope Guard Before executing, state the scope boundary explicitly: ``` In scope: ... Out of scope: ... ``` If the user expands scope mid-task, pause and re-run the protocol for the new scope. ## Output Format For non-trivial requests, open with a brief Clarity Check: ``` [Clarity Check] You want: ... I'm assuming: ... Confidence: high / medium / low → Proceeding / → One question first: ... ``` Keep it short. The Clarity Check should take 3 lines, not 3 paragraphs. ## Pairs Well With - **`thinkdeep`** — analyze the solution after the problem is well-defined - **`task-pilot`** — create an execution plan once requirements are clear Install the full ThinkStack for best results: ```bash openclaw install clarity-first openclaw install thinkdeep openclaw install task-pilot ```
don't have the plugin yet? install it then click "run inline in claude" again.