asking-questions SKILL.md skillA
This file is byte-identical to the first copy the registry indexed. Same content hash, so the same checks give both the same grade.
asking-questions from oaustegard/claude-skills is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add oaustegard/claude-skills/asking-questions@v1.0.7Pins v1.0.7 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- oaustegard/claude-skills
- Path
plugins/knowledge-and-memory/skills/asking-questions/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 1
- Latest version
- v1.0.7, committed Jul 7, 2026
- Size
- 4,363 bytes
- Repository stars
- 158
- License
- MIT
Guidance for asking clarifying questions when user requests are ambiguous, have multiple valid approaches, or require critical decisions. Use when implementation choices exist that could significantly affect outcomes.
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
# Asking Questions
## Purpose
Ask clarifying questions when the answer materially changes what you'll build. This skill helps identify when to ask, how to structure questions effectively, and when to proceed autonomously.
## When to Use
Ask questions for:
1. **Ambiguous implementation choices** - Multiple valid technical approaches (middleware vs wrapper functions, library selection, architectural patterns)
2. **Missing critical context** - Specific information needed (database type, deployment platform, credential management)
3. **Potentially destructive actions** - Requests that could be interpreted dangerously ("clean up files" = delete vs archive)
4. **Scope clarification** - Vague terms like "refactor," "optimize," or "improve"
5. **Conflicting requirements** - Goals that may work against each other ("make it faster" + "add extensive logging")
6. **Technical trade-offs** - Solutions with different costs/benefits depending on priorities
## When NOT to Use
Don't ask when:
- **Request is clear and unambiguous** - One obvious implementation path
- **You can determine the answer from context** - Codebase patterns, project structure, existing conventions
…Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add oaustegard/claude-skills/asking-questions@sha256:6be138eeb6a9620aThe line at the top of this page pins the label v1.0.7, 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_p6bumu4tsps7q6lt)
4 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Jul 7, 2026.
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 (4363 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
oaustegard/claude-skills · 158 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-07 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_p6bumu4tsps7q6lt GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=oaustegard/claude-skills/asking-questions GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/6be138eeb6a9620a9f99cb17a0203ce96cd42eace395e45be27bb6d8e5de1442
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.
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