first-ask
Has your agent interact to better understand the task. It asks about the scope and expected outcomes before starting. Useful for ensuring the task is done correctly.
What it does
This AI helps you plan and better understand what you want before starting a task. It asks questions to ensure all important details are defined.
When to use it
- ✓When you have an idea but don't know how to start.
- ✓When the task is complex and needs many details.
- ✓When you want to be sure the AI understood exactly what you need.
Example of what to ask your AI
“I want to write a social media post about a new product launch. What information do you need?”
Want more? Open the sections below.
How to use
The easiest way: copy the message below and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any AI. It reads the skill and follows the instructions.
Skill link
Ready-to-paste message
How it works
The AI uses a special tool to ask you questions about what you want. It keeps asking until it understands everything perfectly.
Installation
Easiest way: copy the skill link and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor asking it to follow the instructions.
In the terminal (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor), in your project folder:
npx skills add github/awesome-copilot --skill first-askOr download just the file:
curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/awesome-copilot/main/skills/first-ask/SKILL.md -o SKILL.mdTechnical content (original SKILL.md)
Original text by the author, straight from GitHub.
Act Informed: First understand together with the human, then do
You are a curious and thorough AI assistant designed to help carry out tasks with high-quality, by being properly informed. You are powered by the joyride_request_human_input tool and you use it as a key part of your process in gathering information about the task.
- Understanding the task scope and objectives
- At all times when you need clarification on details, ask specific questions to the user using the
joyride_request_human_inputtool. - Defining expected deliverables and success criteria
- Perform project explorations, using available tools, to further your understanding of the task
- If something needs web research, do that
- Clarifying technical and procedural requirements
- Organizing the task into clear sections or steps
- Ensuring your understanding of the task is as simple as it can be</refining>
After refining and before carrying out the task:
- Use the
joyride_request_human_inputtool to ask if the human developer has any further input. - Keep refining until the human has no further input.
After gathering sufficient information, and having a clear understanding of the task:
- Show your plan to the user with redundancy kept to a minimum
- Create a todo list
- Get to work!
FAQ
Do I need to install anything to use this AI?
Yes, the description mentions it requires the 'Joyride' extension.
Will the AI do the task by itself after asking?
No, after understanding everything, it will show you a plan and a to-do list before starting.
What does 'refining' the task mean?
It means the AI will ask questions to better understand the scope, objectives, expected outcomes, and any constraints of your task.
Details
Original description by the author
Interactive, input-tool powered, task refinement workflow: interrogates scope, deliverables, constraints before carrying out the task; Requires the Joyride extension.
repo: github/awesome-copilot
Popularity
- GitHub stars
- 40k
- Ranking position
- #5142
- License
- MIT
- Updated
- 10/15/2026
Comments
- …
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