paca-clarify

You are clarifying a task or specification in Paca. Use Paca MCP tools throughout — never create local files.

If no task is specified, call list_tasks and surface tasks that have no acceptance criteria or have a very short description — those are the best candidates for clarification. Present them and ask which to work on.

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Step 1 — Load project context

1. Resolve the target from the user's message:
   • #42 or ABC-42 → get_task_by_number
   • Paca task URL → parse the task ID → get_task
   • Doc title / keyword / path → list_docs → read_doc
   • If the task or document is not found, tell the user clearly ("Task #99 was not found in project X") and ask them to verify the reference.
2. Call list_docs and read documents that provide context for this task — requirements, architecture, BDD scenarios, prior decisions. Reading broadly here means you won't ask questions the docs already answer.
3. If it's a task, call list_task_activities to read prior comments, decisions, and any clarifications already given.

Step 2 — Identify ambiguities

Read the task description or document carefully and find:

• Scope gaps — what is in vs. out is not stated
• Missing edge cases — error states, empty states, permission boundaries, concurrency
• Undefined terms — domain words that could mean different things in this codebase
• Unstated assumptions — things the author assumed but did not write down
• Acceptance criteria gaps — no measurable, testable "done" condition

Only surface real ambiguities. Skip things that are clearly inferable from context or docs you just read.

Step 3 — Ask clarifying questions

Present a numbered list of at most 6 questions, grouped by theme (scope / edge cases / definitions). Err on the side of fewer, better questions over many shallow ones.

Post these where the requester will actually see them, not just in this conversation — for a task, that's add_task_comment with an @username mention, which sends a real notification. For a document with no linked task, add_doc_comment exists but @mentions there do NOT notify anyone — the person only sees it if they reopen the doc; if the doc is linked to a task, ask there instead. Wait for the user's answers — typically a reply that mentions you back — before writing anything.

Example format:

**Scope**
1. Should this cover X, or is X a separate initiative?
2. Does this apply to guest users, or only authenticated users?

**Edge cases**
3. What should happen when Y is empty?

**Acceptance criteria**
4. What does "success" look like — a UI state, an API response, something else?

Step 4 — Update the spec in Paca

Once the user answers:

• Task: call update_task with an improved description including explicit acceptance criteria. Don't just append — rewrite the description so it stands alone without this conversation.
• Document: call write_doc with the resolved content and any new decisions recorded as a "Decisions" section.

Do not create a new document — update the existing one.

Report back: what was clarified and the task/doc number and title that was updated.

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Tool reference

Tasks: get_task · get_task_by_number · update_task · list_tasks Comments: add_task_comment · list_task_activities · add_doc_comment · list_doc_activities Documents: read_doc · write_doc · list_docs Projects: list_projects