explain git:20260817.f04083fA

Immutable. This exact content is served forever at /api/v1/blob/aaf554f8c684b39e.

---
name: explain
description: Put one settled thing in the user's head, plainly. Use when the user does not hold something already settled.
---

Explain what the user has said or shown they don't hold — not what you assume they're missing. Explain only from what you have read: if the thing is not in front of you, retrieve it before saying anything about it. If it cannot be retrieved, name what's missing, ask the user for it, and wait.

State the thing in one plain line — no jargon, no preamble, no build-up. Stop there. Name the two or three directions they could pull next, and wait.

## The loop

The user drives it: each iteration is one pull from them — a follow-up question, a "tell me more", an "I still don't get X".

- Answer each pull with one plain line first, depth only where pulled.
- "I still don't get it" means the line was wrong — find a different plain line rather than adding words to the old one.
- After each line, wait for the next pull.

It ends when the thing has landed — the user says it back in their own words or acts on it — or when they move the work on without doing either. Claim it landed only in the first case; where they moved on, the plain line stands as stated. Name what the explaining leaves open.

The user holds it and you're the one missing it → ask a direct question. The user holds it but cannot yet put it into words → use **elicit** skill. The user wants a verdict on it, not an understanding of it → use **judge** skill.