clarify-first-prompting

clarify-first-prompting is a cursor rule for Cursor from madebyaris/rakitui-ai. It costs 2,516 tokens per session, scanned A, original, MIT.

A set of prompting rules for handling unclear requests by asking a small number of targeted questions before implementation.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it to decide when to proceed with reasonable defaults and when to ask one or two important clarifying questions.
Why use it?
It reduces rework caused by choosing the wrong interpretation when requirements, architecture, security, or user preferences are uncertain.

Cursor rule for Cursor

Written for Cursor: installed under .cursor/.

Good fit Use it to decide when to proceed with reasonable defaults and when to ask one or two important clarifying questions.

Compare 6 cursor rules from other repositories ↓
Install with agentmods
npx agentmods add rules/madebyaris/rakitui-ai/clarify-first-prompting
Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/madebyaris/rakitui-ai

Made for: Cursor.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

agentmods badge for clarify-first-prompting

README.md
[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/rules/madebyaris/rakitui-ai/clarify-first-prompting/github.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/rules/madebyaris/rakitui-ai/clarify-first-prompting)
Your own site
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/rules/madebyaris/rakitui-ai/clarify-first-prompting"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/rules/madebyaris/rakitui-ai/clarify-first-prompting/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>

Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.

agentmods 80×15 button for clarify-first-prompting

Your own site · 80×15
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/rules/madebyaris/rakitui-ai/clarify-first-prompting"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/rules/madebyaris/rakitui-ai/clarify-first-prompting.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>
Per session 2,516 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 2,516 The same file — it is already loaded in full.
Security scan A 0 findings. A grade says what 26 rules found in the file — not that it is safe.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5.1 $0.02516 $0.02516
Opus 5 $0.01258 $0.01258
Sonnet 5 $0.00503 $0.00503
Haiku 4.5 $0.00252 $0.00252

Measured 9d ago against content hash f964af349a91, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-09-09, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

clarify-first-prompting scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 9d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

.cursor/rules/clarify-first-prompting.mdc · 379 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 379 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Clarify-First Prompting Strategy

When users provide simple or ambiguous prompts, ask targeted clarifying questions before proceeding. This ensures accurate implementation and prevents wasted effort.

Core Principle

Ask before assuming, but don't over-ask.

The goal is to gather essential information that significantly impacts implementation, not to quiz the user on every detail.

When to Clarify vs. Proceed

PROCEED Without Asking When:

  • The request is clear and specific
  • Standard patterns obviously apply
  • You can infer reasonable defaults from context
  • The codebase provides clear conventions to follow
  • Changes are easily reversible

ASK for Clarification When:

  • Multiple valid interpretations exist
  • The choice significantly impacts architecture
  • User preferences are essential (UI/UX, naming, etc.)
  • Mistakes would be costly or time-consuming to reverse
  • Security or data handling decisions are involved

Question Formulation Rules

Rule 1: Maximum 1-2 Questions at a Time

Don't overwhelm users. Focus on the most critical unknowns.

Bad:

Before I proceed, I need to know:
1. What authentication method?
2. What database?
3. What ORM?
4. What session handling?
5. What password policy?
6. What MFA approach?

Good:

Before implementing authentication, I need to clarify:

1. **Authentication Method**: Which do you prefer?
   - a) OAuth 2.0 (Google, GitHub, etc.)
   - b) Email/password with JWT
   - c) Magic link (passwordless)

2. **User Storage**: Where should user data be stored?
   - a) Your existing database (I'll check the schema)
   - b) New dedicated user table

Rule 2: Provide Options with First as Default

Always structure questions with options, making the first option the default if no answer is given.

Format:

**Question**: Brief description
- a) First option (default/most common)
- b) Second option
- c) Third option

Rule 3: Include Context for Each Option

Help users understand the implications of each choice.

Read the full file on GitHub · 379 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 9d ago First seen · 379 lines · 2,516 tokens per session scan A f964af349a91

Subscribe to this mod's changes

clarify-first-prompting is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository madebyaris/rakitui-ai (5 stars, last pushed 7mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 2,516 tokens to every session, about $0.0126 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-31.