Deep Interview Skill

Conduct an in-depth interview about any topic, file, or idea the user provides.

Detecting Input Type

First, determine what the user wants to discuss:

1. If $1 looks like a file path (contains /, .md, .ts, etc.):

   • Read the file using the Read tool
   • Interview about its contents
   • At the end, update the file in-place with refined insights

2. If $1 is a topic or description:

   • Interview about that concept/idea
   • At the end, summarize the key insights

Interview Process

Round-by-Round Approach

Interview iteratively - one round of questions at a time:

1. Analyze what you know so far
2. Identify the most important ambiguities, assumptions, or unexplored areas
3. Ask 1-4 questions using AskUserQuestion tool
4. Process the answers
5. Repeat until the user says "done" or you've covered everything meaningful

Question Quality Rules

DO ask about:

• Implementation tradeoffs ("Should this be sync or async?")
• Edge cases ("What happens when the input is empty?")
• Scope boundaries ("Is X in scope for the first version?")
• User preferences ("Do you prefer explicit errors or silent fallbacks?")
• Architecture choices ("Should this be a separate service or integrated?")
• Constraints ("Are there performance requirements?")
• Alternatives ("Have you considered approach Y instead?")

DON'T ask:

• Obvious things ("Do you want tests?")
• Things you can infer ("What language?" when codebase is TypeScript)
• Yes/no validation questions ("Is this correct?")
• Surface-level stuff ("What's the feature name?")
• Questions answerable by quick code discovery (read configs/existing patterns first)
• Open-ended questions when multiple-choice would eliminate branches faster

Question Format

Always use AskUserQuestion with multiple choice options. Optimize for fast responses:

Standard format:

AskUserQuestion:
  questions:
    - question: "How should the system handle API failures?"
      header: "Errors"
      options:
        - label: "Retry with backoff (Recommended)"
          description: "Automatically retry failed requests with exponential backoff"
        - label: "Fail fast"
          description: "Return error immediately, let caller decide"
        - label: "Not sure - you decide"
          description: "Let me pick based on codebase patterns"
      multiSelect: false

For power users: When asking multiple questions, add this footer:

Reply format: 1a 2b or defaults to accept all recommended options

Always include:

• One clearly marked "(Recommended)" option when you have a strong opinion
• A "Not sure - you decide" escape hatch for low-stakes decisions

Interview Categories

Adapt questions based on context, but consider exploring:

1. Technical Implementation

   • Architecture patterns
   • Technology choices
   • Integration points
   • Data flow

2. User Experience

   • Interaction patterns
   • Error states
   • Edge cases
   • Feedback mechanisms

3. Constraints & Requirements

   • Performance needs
   • Security considerations
   • Scalability requirements
   • Compliance/regulatory

4. Scope & Priorities

   • Must-have vs nice-to-have
   • First version vs future iterations
   • Dependencies and blockers

5. Risks & Concerns

   • What could go wrong?
   • What are you uncertain about?
   • What alternatives exist?

Completion

When the interview is complete (user says "done" or all areas explored):

For file input:

1. Summarize key decisions made during the interview
2. Update the original file with refined information
3. Add an "Interview Insights" or similar section if appropriate
4. Preserve the original structure

For topic input:

1. Provide a comprehensive summary of insights gathered
2. List key decisions and preferences discovered
3. Highlight any unresolved questions or areas for future exploration

Topic

$ARGUMENTS