discuss

/mb discuss

Run a structured 5-phase interview that turns a fuzzy idea into an EARS-validated context/<topic>.md. The output feeds mb-traceability-gen.sh REQ → Plan → Test matrix and is read by /mb plan to link stages to requirements.

When to use

Before creating a non-trivial plan (/mb plan feature/refactor/...). Skip for trivial fixes — the overhead isn't justified.

Arguments

• <topic> — short slug (kebab-case). Becomes the filename: .memory-bank/context/<topic>.md.

Workflow

Pre-flight

1. Resolve the skill bundle root once and invoke every bundled helper through it:

SKILL_DIR="${MB_SKILLS_ROOT:-$HOME/.claude/skills/memory-bank}"   # memory-bank skill bundle root
[ -f "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/mb-interview-artifact-check.sh" ] || {
  echo "mb: skill bundle not found at $SKILL_DIR — set MB_SKILLS_ROOT" >&2; exit 2; }

This is the same resolution every other command file uses (commands/mb.md, commands/agree.md). Two ways of getting it wrong, both of which silently disable the mandatory close gate:

• Never derive the root from $0. In an executable-Markdown snippet $0 is the shell, not this file, so $(dirname "$0")/.. resolves to the parent of the user's current directory — a path that either has no scripts/ (exit 127, gate never runs) or belongs to somebody else (a planted scripts/mb-interview-artifact-check.sh answers the gate with exit 0).
• Never call a bundled script by a bare relative path (bash scripts/mb-…): the working directory during /mb discuss is the user's project, with the same two outcomes.

The existence check is part of the contract, not a nicety: an unresolvable bundle must stop the command loudly instead of letting a later helper call fail open.

1. Resolve the active Memory Bank through $SKILL_DIR/scripts/_lib.sh::mb_resolve_path and use the resolved path as MB_PATH in every later step — the bank may be local (.memory-bank/), a global bank registered via /mb init --storage=global, or legacy. Never hardcode .memory-bank/: a project on a registered global bank has no local directory and would be refused although its bank is active. Refuse only when the resolver returns nothing (suggest /mb init).
2. Compute CONTEXT_FILE = $MB_PATH/context/<topic>.md.
3. If CONTEXT_FILE exists → ask AskUserQuestion: continue editing / overwrite / cancel.