ask-then-build SKILL.md skillA
ask-then-build from davidondrej/skills is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add davidondrej/skills/ask-then-build@git:20261012.bbafe9dPins git:20261012.bbafe9d in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- davidondrej/skills
- Path
skills/thinking-and-docs/ask-then-build/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 4
- Latest version
- git:20261012.bbafe9d, committed Oct 12, 2026
- First version recorded
- Sep 2, 2026
- Size
- 2,238 bytes
- Repository stars
- 4,161
- License
- MIT
Clarify a feature, change, or refactor through questions, then write a build prompt for another agent. Use for /ask-then-build or requests to ask questions before producing an implementation prompt.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
Turn a feature idea into a build prompt for another agent, in two phases. ## Phase 1 — Questions 1. Identify the 3-6 most non-obvious open questions about the feature or change: edge cases, where it lives in the UI, failure behavior, scope boundaries, how it interacts with existing rules. 2. Ask them ONE at a time. For each: the question, top options A-D, your preferred pick with a one-line reason. Then stop and wait. Use this exact layout. Put a blank line between EVERY block. Markdown renderers (bb included) collapse single newlines into one paragraph, so options written back-to-back render as one run-on blob. **Question title?** One line of context, if needed. A. First option. B. Second option. C. Third option. D. Fourth option. My pick: A. One-line reason. Never number questions as "1 of N" unless you truly know N. If the count is open, keep it open and keep asking until you have the context you need. 3. When the user answers, record the decision immediately — update the repo's docs (product requirements, ADR, or README) if the project has them. …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add davidondrej/skills/ask-then-build@sha256:bc4993a0e5bce9fbThe line at the top of this page pins the label git:20261012.bbafe9d, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_nuwcycmlomyyi2uq)
1 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 4 versions of this file, between Sep 2, 2026 and Oct 12, 2026, about one every 13 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20261012.bbafe9d latest | 2026-10-12 | bbafe9d | 2,238 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260925.41f8784 | 2026-09-25 | 41f8784 | 2,239 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260903.9df0ce3 | 2026-09-03 | 9df0ce3 | 2,541 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260902.9dc174b | 2026-09-02 | 9dc174b | 2,529 B | A | view |
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (2238 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
davidondrej/skills · 4,161 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-10-21 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_nuwcycmlomyyi2uq GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=davidondrej/skills/ask-then-build GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/bc4993a0e5bce9fb8002b33872f16165d74b65636e88a0d6341177128c7f4e76
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.