binance-api/.claude/commands/clarify.md

---

description: Identify underspecified areas in the current feature spec by asking up to 5 highly targeted clarification questions and encoding answers back into the spec.

The user input to you can be provided directly by the agent or as a command argument - you MUST consider it before proceeding with the prompt (if not empty).

User input:

$ARGUMENTS

Goal: Detect and reduce ambiguity or missing decision points in the active feature specification and record the clarifications directly in the spec file.

Note: This clarification workflow is expected to run (and be completed) BEFORE invoking /plan. If the user explicitly states they are skipping clarification (e.g., exploratory spike), you may proceed, but must warn that downstream rework risk increases.

Execution steps:

1. Run .specify/scripts/bash/check-prerequisites.sh --json --paths-only from repo root once (combined --json --paths-only mode / -Json -PathsOnly). Parse minimal JSON payload fields:

   • FEATURE_DIR
   • FEATURE_SPEC
   • (Optionally capture IMPL_PLAN, TASKS for future chained flows.)
   • If JSON parsing fails, abort and instruct user to re-run /specify or verify feature branch environment.

2. Load the current spec file. Perform a structured ambiguity & coverage scan using this taxonomy. For each category, mark status: Clear / Partial / Missing. Produce an internal coverage map used for prioritization (do not output raw map unless no questions will be asked).

Functional Scope & Behavior:

• Core user goals & success criteria
• Explicit out-of-scope declarations
• User roles / personas differentiation

Domain & Data Model:

• Entities, attributes, relationships
• Identity & uniqueness rules
• Lifecycle/state transitions
• Data volume / scale assumptions

Interaction & UX Flow:

• Critical user journeys / sequences
• Error/empty/loading states
• Accessibility or localization notes

Non-Functional Quality Attributes:

• Performance (latency, throughput targets)
• Scalability (horizontal/vertical, limits)
• Reliability & availability (uptime, recovery expectations)
• Observability (logging, metrics, tracing signals)
• Security & privacy (authN/Z, data protection, threat assumptions)
• Compliance / regulatory constraints (if any)

Integration & External Dependencies:

• External services/APIs and failure modes
• Data import/export formats
• Protocol/versioning assumptions

Edge Cases & Failure Handling:

• Negative scenarios
• Rate limiting / throttling
• Conflict resolution (e.g., concurrent edits)

Constraints & Tradeoffs:

• Technical constraints (language, storage, hosting)
• Explicit tradeoffs or rejected alternatives

Terminology & Consistency:

• Canonical glossary terms
• Avoided synonyms / deprecated terms

Completion Signals:

• Acceptance criteria testability
• Measurable Definition of Done style indicators

Misc / Placeholders:

• TODO markers / unresolved decisions
• Ambiguous adjectives ("robust", "intuitive") lacking quantification

For each category with Partial or Missing status, add a candidate question opportunity unless:

• Clarification would not materially change implementation or validation strategy
• Information is better deferred to planning phase (note internally)

1. Generate (internally) a prioritized queue of candidate clarification questions (maximum 5). Do NOT output them all at once. Apply these constraints:

   • Maximum of 5 total questions across the whole session.
   • Each question must be answerable with EITHER:
     • A short multiple‑choice selection (2–5 distinct, mutually exclusive options), OR
     • A one-word / short‑phrase answer (explicitly constrain: "Answer in <=5 words").
   • Only include questions whose answers materially impact architecture, data modeling, task decomposition, test design, UX behavior, operational readiness, or compliance validation.
   • Ensure category coverage balance: attempt to cover the highest impact unresolved categories first; avoid asking two low-impact questions when a single high-impact area (e.g., security posture) is unresolved.
   • Exclude questions already answered, trivial stylistic preferences, or plan-level execution details (unless blocking correctness).
   • Favor clarifications that reduce downstream rework risk or prevent misaligned acceptance tests.
   • If more than 5 categories remain unresolved, select the top 5 by (Impact * Uncertainty) heuristic.

2. Sequential questioning loop (interactive):

   • Present EXACTLY ONE question at a time.
   • For multiple‑choice questions render options as a Markdown table:

   | Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | A | | | B | | | C | | (add D/E as needed up to 5) | Short | Provide a different short answer (<=5 words) | (Include only if free-form alternative is appropriate)

   • For short‑answer style (no meaningful discrete options), output a single line after the question: Format: Short answer (<=5 words).
   • After the user answers:
     • Validate the answer maps to one option or fits the <=5 word constraint.
     • If ambiguous, ask for a quick disambiguation (count still belongs to same question; do not advance).
     • Once satisfactory, record it in working memory (do not yet write to disk) and move to the next queued question.
   • Stop asking further questions when:
     • All critical ambiguities resolved early (remaining queued items become unnecessary), OR
     • User signals completion ("done", "good", "no more"), OR
     • You reach 5 asked questions.
   • Never reveal future queued questions in advance.
   • If no valid questions exist at start, immediately report no critical ambiguities.

3. Integration after EACH accepted answer (incremental update approach):

   • Maintain in-memory representation of the spec (loaded once at start) plus the raw file contents.
   • For the first integrated answer in this session:
     • Ensure a ## Clarifications section exists (create it just after the highest-level contextual/overview section per the spec template if missing).
     • Under it, create (if not present) a ### Session YYYY-MM-DD subheading for today.
   • Append a bullet line immediately after acceptance: - Q: <question> → A: <final answer>.
   • Then immediately apply the clarification to the most appropriate section(s):
     • Functional ambiguity → Update or add a bullet in Functional Requirements.
     • User interaction / actor distinction → Update User Stories or Actors subsection (if present) with clarified role, constraint, or scenario.
     • Data shape / entities → Update Data Model (add fields, types, relationships) preserving ordering; note added constraints succinctly.
     • Non-functional constraint → Add/modify measurable criteria in Non-Functional / Quality Attributes section (convert vague adjective to metric or explicit target).
     • Edge case / negative flow → Add a new bullet under Edge Cases / Error Handling (or create such subsection if template provides placeholder for it).
     • Terminology conflict → Normalize term across spec; retain original only if necessary by adding (formerly referred to as "X") once.
   • If the clarification invalidates an earlier ambiguous statement, replace that statement instead of duplicating; leave no obsolete contradictory text.
   • Save the spec file AFTER each integration to minimize risk of context loss (atomic overwrite).
   • Preserve formatting: do not reorder unrelated sections; keep heading hierarchy intact.
   • Keep each inserted clarification minimal and testable (avoid narrative drift).

4. Validation (performed after EACH write plus final pass):

   • Clarifications session contains exactly one bullet per accepted answer (no duplicates).
   • Total asked (accepted) questions ≤ 5.
   • Updated sections contain no lingering vague placeholders the new answer was meant to resolve.
   • No contradictory earlier statement remains (scan for now-invalid alternative choices removed).
   • Markdown structure valid; only allowed new headings: ## Clarifications, ### Session YYYY-MM-DD.
   • Terminology consistency: same canonical term used across all updated sections.

5. Write the updated spec back to FEATURE_SPEC.

6. Report completion (after questioning loop ends or early termination):

   • Number of questions asked & answered.
   • Path to updated spec.
   • Sections touched (list names).
   • Coverage summary table listing each taxonomy category with Status: Resolved (was Partial/Missing and addressed), Deferred (exceeds question quota or better suited for planning), Clear (already sufficient), Outstanding (still Partial/Missing but low impact).
   • If any Outstanding or Deferred remain, recommend whether to proceed to /plan or run /clarify again later post-plan.
   • Suggested next command.

Behavior rules:

• If no meaningful ambiguities found (or all potential questions would be low-impact), respond: "No critical ambiguities detected worth formal clarification." and suggest proceeding.
• If spec file missing, instruct user to run /specify first (do not create a new spec here).
• Never exceed 5 total asked questions (clarification retries for a single question do not count as new questions).
• Avoid speculative tech stack questions unless the absence blocks functional clarity.
• Respect user early termination signals ("stop", "done", "proceed").
  • If no questions asked due to full coverage, output a compact coverage summary (all categories Clear) then suggest advancing.
  • If quota reached with unresolved high-impact categories remaining, explicitly flag them under Deferred with rationale.

Context for prioritization: $ARGUMENTS