ase-task-grill · git:20260914.a549cab · 2026-09-14 · sha256 f7b8f6a9cd2c796f
ase-task-grill git:20260914.a549cabA
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---
name: ase-task-grill
argument-hint: "[--help|-h] [--rounds|-r <n>] [--focus|-f <section>[,...]] [--next|-n <option>[,...]] [<id>]"
description: >
Interview the user relentlessly about the task plan until reaching a
shared understanding, resolving each branch of the question decision
tree. Use when the user wants to stress-test a plan, get grilled on
their plan, or mentions "grill me" or "grill plan".
user-invocable: true
disable-model-invocation: false
effort: high
---
@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-control.md
@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-skill.md
@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-dialog.md
@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-getopt.md
<purpose name="ase-task-grill">
Iteratively Grill a Task Plan
</purpose>
<expand name="getopt"
arg1="ase-task-grill"
arg2="--rounds|-r=1 --focus|-f=(all|SPECIFICATION|SPEC|DESIGN|DES|VERIFICATION|VER)... --next|-n=(none|DONE|EDIT|IMPLEMENT|PREFLIGHT)... --int-reuse-task">
$ARGUMENTS
</expand>
<objective>
Interview the user relentlessly about every essential aspect of the
task plan until reaching a shared understanding.
</objective>
@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-format-task.md
@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-common-task.md
@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-common-grill.md
Procedure
---------
<define name="handoff-args">
Set <args>--int-reuse-task</args>.
<if condition="<getopt-option-next/> is not equal `none`">
Set <args><args/> --next <getopt-option-next/></args>
</if>
</define>
1. **Determine Task:**
1. Set <instruction><getopt-arguments/></instruction> initially, with any
leading and trailing whitespace stripped.
Inherit the always existing <ase-task-id/> from the current context.
Inherit the always existing <ase-session-id/> from the current context.
Do not output anything.
2. If <getopt-option-rounds/> is not a positive integer,
only output the following <template/> and then immediately
*STOP* processing the entire current skill:
<template>
⧉ **ASE**: ☻ skill: **ase-task-grill**, ▶ ERROR: invalid `--rounds` value: **<getopt-option-rounds/>**
</template>
3. Treat <getopt-option-focus/> as a comma-separated list of
*section tokens*. Trim and upper-case every token, then expand
the abbreviations `SPEC`, `DES`, and `VER` to `SPECIFICATION`,
`DESIGN`, and `VERIFICATION`, and expand the sentinel `ALL`
(the default) to `SPECIFICATION,DESIGN,VERIFICATION`. Set
<sections/> to the resulting list, *keeping the given order*.
The getopt parser validates only the *first* token, so you
*MUST* validate each token yourself: if any token is *empty*,
*not* one of the recognized sections or abbreviations, or
results in a section already present in <sections/>, bind
<token/> to that offending token, then only output the
following <template/> and immediately *STOP* processing the
entire current skill:
<template>
⧉ **ASE**: ☻ skill: **ase-task-grill**, ▶ ERROR: invalid `--focus` token: **<token/>**
</template>
Each section in <sections/> selects its *focus areas* of the
grilling: `SPECIFICATION` selects `DOMAIN` and `INTERFACE`,
`DESIGN` selects `ARCHITECTURE` and `IMPLEMENTATION`, and
`VERIFICATION` selects `REGRESSION` and `CONFIRMATION`. Do not
output anything.
4. React on task id:
<expand name="task-react-id" arg1="ase-task-grill"></expand>
2. **Determine Task Plan:**
1. Determine the current task plan content:
<expand name="task-load-content"></expand>
2. <if condition="<task-content/> is empty">
Complain and tell the user to use the `ase-code-resolve`,
`ase-code-refactor`, `ase-code-craft`, or `ase-task-edit` skills
first to create a task plan. Then immediately stop processing
this skill.
</if>
3. Determine the *grilling scope* of each section in <sections/>,
in order to grill an *already grilled* section again *only* where
questions are still *open*:
- If the `Tags:` frontmatter key of <task-content/> carries
the tag `grilled:<section/>` (with <section/> being the
*lower-case* name of the section) and the section contains
*no* bullet-point in checkbox state `[?]`, the section is
*already grilled* and nothing is open: *remove* it from
<sections/> and only output the following <template/>:
<template>
⧉ **ASE**: ◉ task: **<ase-task-id/>**, ▶ status: **section <section/> already grilled -- skipped**
</template>
- If the `Tags:` frontmatter key carries the tag
`grilled:<section/>` and the section contains *at least one*
bullet-point in checkbox state `[?]`, *restrict* the scope of
the section to *exactly* these `[?]` bullet-points, so the
grilling re-asks only the *still open* questions.
- Otherwise, the scope of the section is the *entire* section.
Independent of the scope, bullet-points in checkbox state `[-]`
(cancelled) or `[>]` (deferred) are *inert*: they are *never*
subject of a question and their checkbox is *never* changed.
<if condition="<sections/> is empty afterwards">
Skip the entire step 3 below -- the plan is *neither* updated
*nor* saved -- and continue directly with step 4.
</if>
3. **Iterate Over Task Plan Aspects:**
1. Understand what "grilling" is about:
<expand name="grill-understanding" arg1="the task plan in <task-content/>"></expand>
2. Perform <getopt-option-rounds/> grilling *rounds*, numbered
<m/> (1-<getopt-option-rounds/>). Each round starts *from
scratch* from *only* the *current* <task-content/> -- as
updated by all previous rounds -- and *forgets* all questions
and answers gathered in previous rounds.
For each round:
1. INITIALIZE ROUND:
Set <round-id/> to `GRILLING ROUND <m/>/<getopt-option-rounds/>`
if <getopt-option-rounds/> is greater than 1, or to
`GRILLING` otherwise (a single round needs no round
numbering). Then output only the following <template/>:
<template>
⧉ **ASE**: <round-id/>: *Relentless Interviewing Until Clarity*
</template>
2. DETERMINE QUESTIONS:
Determine the essential aspects <aspect-N/> (a one- or
two-word-long short identifier like `Foo` or `Bar-Baz`, also
serving as the topic hint) and the corresponding, very brief
but precise decision/question <question-N/> where a shared
understanding is required. Each question is chosen to
resolve the open points related to the above understanding
of grilling, by focusing *only* on the *Focus Areas*
selected by <sections/> -- the *themes* of the focused
sections, *within* the *grilling scope* of each section as
determined in step 2.3, while the *entire* <task-content/>
stays the context -- and checking the mentioned *Indicators*.
For a section restricted to its `[?]` bullet-points, derive
the questions from *exactly* these bullet-points only. Never
raise a question about a `[-]` or `[>]` bullet-point.
For each question, set <items-N/> to the bullet-points of
<task-content/> the question is about -- possibly *none*, if
the question concerns an aspect the plan does not cover yet.
For <question-N/> use the format `Shall...?` for
questions of focus area `DOMAIN`, `INTERFACE`, `REGRESSION`,
and `CONFIRMATION`, the format `Should...?` for questions of
focus area `ARCHITECTURE`, and the format `May...?` for
questions of focus area `IMPLEMENTATION`.
In every <question-N/>, encode all *literal aspects*
-- file and directory paths, identifiers, symbols, types,
commands, options, configuration keys, and literal values --
with backticks. Do not output anything.
3. DETERMINE CONTEXT:
For each question, determine its focus area
<context-N-focus/> from the mentioned *Focus Areas*.
<context-N-severity/>, describing how important this
question is.
4. SORT QUESTIONS:
Create a decisions/questions tree for the questions,
capturing the dependencies between the decisions. Then
*sort* the questions *primarily* by the order of their
sections in <sections/>, *secondarily*, within each section,
by descending focus area order -- `DOMAIN` before
`INTERFACE`, `ARCHITECTURE` before `IMPLEMENTATION`, and
`REGRESSION` before `CONFIRMATION` --
and *tertiarily*, within each focus area, by the decision
tree order, so that each decision is asked *after* the
decisions it depends on. Renumber <N/> according to this order,
starting at `1` in *every* round, independent of the
numbering of previous rounds. Truncate the list after a
maximum of 10 questions and set <n/> to the number of
remaining questions. Do not output anything.
5. For each question <question-N/> in the iteration cycle <N/>,
*one at a time*:
1. Output the following <template/>:
<template>
<ase-tpl-bullet-signal/> ASPECT <N/>/<n/> ▶ **<context-N-focus/>** (<context-N-severity/>) ▷ **<aspect-N/>**
</template>
2. Determine the answer alternatives:
1. Check the <task-content/> for the answer <answer-N-1/>,
which reflects the current plan.
2. Check the code base and your world knowledge and
use this information to find *up to three* grounded
alternative answers <answer-N-K/> (K={2,3,4}), so there
are between two and four answer options in total.
3. For each <answer-N-K/> (K={1,2,3,4}) determine
a 1-3 word label <answer-N-K-label/>, and an
ultra brief description <answer-N-K-description/>
of at most *10 words*. Prepend `⚑ ` to the
<answer-N-K-description/> which reflects the current
plan. Do not output anything.
3. In the following, you *MUST* *NOT* use your built-in
<user-dialog-tool/> tool! Instead, you *MUST* just show a
custom dialog according to the expanded `custom-dialog`
definition. You *MUST* closely follow this definition.
Let the user select the <answer-N/> out of the answer
alternatives <answer-N-K/> by raising a question with the
following custom dialog. Emit only the answer lines for
the alternatives <answer-N-K/> you actually determined in
the previous step (between two and four lines in total),
followed by the fixed `SKIP GRILLING` answer option:
<expand name="custom-dialog" arg1="--other">
<aspect-N/>: <question-N/>
<answer-N-1-label/>: <answer-N-1-description/>
<answer-N-2-label/>: <answer-N-2-description/>
[...]
SKIP GRILLING: skip all remaining grilling and continue with the plan update
</expand>
Check the <result/> and dispatch accordingly:
- If <result/> is `CANCEL`, only output the following
<template/> and then immediately *STOP* processing
the entire current skill, leaving the plan *untouched*:
<template>
⧉ **ASE**: ◉ task: **<ase-task-id/>**, ▶ status: **grilling stopped**
</template>
- If <result/> is `SKIP GRILLING`, ask no further
questions (the current question and all remaining
questions of this round stay *unanswered*),
continue with item 6 below (updating the plan with
the answers gathered so far), and after item 6 skip
all remaining rounds and continue with item 3.3
below.
- Otherwise, strip any leading `OTHER: ` prefix from
<result/> and set <answer-N/> to the remainder.
4. Output the following <template/>:
<template>
<ase-tpl-bullet-normal/> ASPECT <N/>/<n/> ▶ **<context-N-focus/>** (<context-N-severity/>) ▷ **<aspect-N/>**, ANSWER: **<answer-N/>**
</template>
6. Update <task-content/> based on all answers <answer-N/>
gathered in this round. Additionally, record the *open*
questions in the checkboxes of the body bullet-points,
changing *only* checkboxes in state `[ ]` or `[?]` and
leaving every `[/]`, `[x]`, `[-]`, and `[>]` checkbox
*untouched*:
- For each *answered* question, set the checkbox of every
bullet-point in <items-N/> to `[ ]`, as the question is
resolved now.
- For each *unanswered* question, set the checkbox of every
bullet-point in <items-N/> to `[?]`, as the question is
still open. If <items-N/> is *empty*, *add* a new `[?]`
bullet-point to the section of the question's focus area
<context-N-focus/>, with the corresponding <type/>, a
<summary/> derived from <aspect-N/>, and a <text/>
stating the open <question-N/>, so a later grilling can
re-ask it.
Do not output anything.
3. <if condition="the frontmatter of <task-content/> carries a `Created: <text/>` key">
Set <timestamp-created><text/></timestamp-created> (set
timestamp-created to extracted text).
</if>
4. For each section in <sections/>, *set* the tag
`grilled:<section/>` -- with <section/> being the *lower-case*
name of the section (`specification`, `design`, or
`verification`) -- in the `Tags:` frontmatter key of
<task-content/>: keep an already present identical tag as is,
otherwise append it, keeping all other already present tags
(including `grilled:` tags of other sections) and *creating*
the whole key at its position in the key order of the plan
<format/> if the plan carries none. A fully grilled plan hence
carries the tags `grilled:specification, grilled:design,
grilled:verification`.
5. <expand name="task-save-content" arg1="plan updated"></expand>
4. **Decide Next Step:**
1. *Determine next step*:
<expand name="task-next-select"
arg1="ase-task-grill"
arg2="DONE|EDIT|IMPLEMENT|PREFLIGHT">
Next Step: How would you like to proceed with the plan?
DONE: Stop processing.
EDIT: Hand off plan to editing.
PREFLIGHT: Hand off plan to pre-flighting.
IMPLEMENT: Hand off plan to implementation.
</expand>
2. Check the tool <result/> and dispatch accordingly:
- If <result/> is `DONE` or `CANCEL`:
Only output the following <template/> and then *STOP*,
without output of any further information.
<template>
⧉ **ASE**: ◉ task: **<ase-task-id/>**, ▶ status: **plan updated -- done**
</template>
- If <result/> is `EDIT`:
<expand name="handoff-args"/>
Only output the following <template/> and then call the
tool `Skill(skill: "ase:ase-task-edit", args: "<args/>")`
to invoke the `ase:ase-task-edit` skill in order to *edit*
the updated plan. Immediately stop processing the current
skill once the `Skill` tool was used.
<template>
⧉ **ASE**: ◉ task: **<ase-task-id/>**, ▶ status: **plan updated -- hand-off to edit**
</template>
- If <result/> is `PREFLIGHT`:
<expand name="handoff-args"/>
Only output the following <template/> and then call the
`Skill(skill: "ase:ase-task-preflight", args: "<args/>")` tool
to *apply* the plan.
<template>
⧉ **ASE**: ◉ task: **<ase-task-id/>**, ▶ status: **plan updated -- hand-off to pre-flight**
</template>
- If <result/> is `IMPLEMENT`:
<expand name="handoff-args"/>
Only output the following <template/> and then call the
`Skill(skill: "ase:ase-task-implement", args: "<args/>")` tool
to *apply* the plan.
<template>
⧉ **ASE**: ◉ task: **<ase-task-id/>**, ▶ status: **plan updated -- hand-off to implementation**
</template>