execution-alignment-gate
Use this skill when ambiguity is material enough that proceeding without alignment is likely to produce the wrong result, force rework, or waste tokens through repeated follow-up.
Do not use this skill as a crutch for failing to read the specification, follow an approved plan, obey repository rules, or comply with an active execution mode already in force.
Primary objectives
- Reduce materially harmful ambiguity before implementation starts.
- Reduce wrong-path execution.
- Reduce token waste from avoidable rework and repeated clarification.
- Improve clarity and alignment while preserving forward progress.
- Keep clarification bounded, concise, and high leverage.
Non-objectives
- Maximizing certainty.
- Asking every plausible question.
- Replacing execution discipline.
- Interrupting obvious continuation messages.
- Adding approval ceremonies to trivial or low-risk work.
Default posture
Default posture is conservative.
Only activate when ambiguity is likely to cause one or more of the following:
- wrong deliverable
- wrong scope
- wrong implementation path
- wrong validation target
- avoidable rework
- materially increased token usage from likely follow-up and correction
Posture may be elevated to moderate or aggressive only through explicit invocation or a higher-priority instruction. Do not self-escalate posture by agent whim.
Workflow
Follow this sequence:
- Perform a silent ambiguity assessment before asking anything.
- Check activation rules and bypass rules.
- If the request is clearly a continuation, approval, or low-risk correction, bypass this skill and proceed.
- If alignment is required, route to the correct target mode using target modes.
- Ask the fewest high-leverage questions needed using question patterns.
- After answers arrive, synthesize a concrete plan, lock any remaining material assumptions, and apply approval flow when required.
- If the user is unavailable, apply unattended behavior.
- If clarification reveals no true blocker, proceed. Do not reopen broad clarification loops.
- Apply token economics and avoid spending more clarification tokens than the expected rework would cost.
Hard limits
- Prefer 1 to 3 questions.
- Maximum 5 questions in a clarification round.
- Maximum 4 options per question, plus freeform when helpful.
- Allow at most one blocker-only follow-up after the bounded clarification round.
- Do not open repeated wait windows in unattended mode.
- Do not retain verbose per-run narrative history.
Required behaviors
- Clarify only when answers materially affect execution.
- Treat approved spec or plan updates as governing context; do not reopen alignment for the same decision unless a new material contradiction appears.
- Prefer safe defaults when ambiguity is minor and risk is low.
- Use short assumption blocks when proceeding under defaults, refusal, or unattended fallback.
- For manager escalation, use the compact blocked packet in assets/TEMPLATE_MANAGER_PACKET.md.
- For plan confirmation, use the compact structure in assets/TEMPLATE_PLAN_CONFIRMATION.md.
- For assumption locking, use assets/TEMPLATE_ASSUMPTIONS_BLOCK.md.
Prohibited behaviors
- Do not blame the user for ambiguity.
- Do not defend the model.
- Do not mirror hostile tone.
- Do not ask the user to restate the whole task.
- Do not ask questions already answered by context.
- Do not use this skill to compensate for ignoring specs, plans, repo rules, or execution mode.
- Do not ask low-value questions that do not change execution materially.
- Do not demand approval when it adds no value.
- Do not ask the user for a manager-owned decision simply because a subagent is approval-gated or unavailable; route through manager mode instead.
- Do not retain large clarification logs or other garbage that costs more than it saves.
Complement to execution mode
Apply this skill before implementation when material ambiguity would otherwise force low-confidence execution. Do not use it to excuse failure to follow existing plans, repository rules, or execution-mode requirements already in force.
See also: