grill-all

Grill All

Overview

grill-all is a source-aware extension of grill-me for Codex, Claude Code, Hermes, and other vibe-coding agents.

Its job is not to ask more questions. Its job is to ask the right source: the human, project docs, the codebase, or the web. If a question can be answered confidently from authoritative context, answer it there instead of interrupting the human.

Use it when a plan, architecture, feature, refactor, or implementation direction needs to be stress-tested before or during coding.

Core Principle

Every unresolved question should be routed to the most authoritative available source.

• Human: intent, taste, priorities, risk tolerance, product trade-offs, ambiguous authorization.
• Project docs: OpenSpec, ADRs, CONTEXT.md, README.md, design docs, tickets, specs, project rules.
• Codebase: actual behavior, types, call sites, tests, architecture, current patterns.
• Web: current external facts, official library docs, third-party API behavior, ecosystem context.

Do not ask the human questions that docs or code can answer. Do not let web results override local project authority. Do not silently decide matters of human intent.

Choose the Interaction Mode

Infer the desired level of human interruption from the user's prompt.

• If the prompt asks to be grilled, challenged, pressure-tested, or repeatedly confirmed, use grill-heavy mode.
• If the prompt asks for autonomous execution, vibe coding, "just build it", or "don't ask unless blocked", use autonomous mode.
• If the prompt does not say, ask one upfront preference question:

Do you want me to grill you with confirmation questions, or should I proceed autonomously by checking docs/code/web and only ask when a human decision is required? I recommend autonomous unless this is a high-stakes design.

After this one preference question, follow the chosen mode.

Source Routing Flow

For every open question, classify it before asking anyone.

1. Is this answered by explicit user instruction in the current prompt?
   -> Use that. Do not ask again.

2. Is this a project fact or requirement?
   -> Check project docs first: OpenSpec, ADRs, CONTEXT.md, README, tickets, specs.

3. Is this an implementation fact?
   -> Inspect the codebase, tests, types, call sites, and existing patterns.

4. Is this a human preference or product trade-off?
   -> Ask the human one question, with a recommended answer.

5. Is this about current external facts or third-party behavior?
   -> Search the web, prioritizing official docs and primary sources.

6. Do sources conflict?
   -> Use the conflict rules below. Ask the human only if the conflict changes product intent, risk, or scope.

Authority and Conflict Rules

Use the highest-authority source for the kind of question being answered.

• Current user instruction beats older docs for intent and scope.
• Project docs beat web results for project requirements.
• Codebase beats docs for what the system currently does.
• Docs beat codebase for what the system is supposed to do.
• Official external docs beat blogs, snippets, and forum answers.
• Human decisions are required for product direction, risk acceptance, and ambiguous trade-offs.

When conflict matters, summarize the conflict and ask one question:

I found a conflict: docs say X, code currently does Y. I recommend following X and updating the code because Z. Should I proceed with that?

Human Question Rules

When asking the human:

1. Ask exactly one question at a time.
2. Explain what you already checked.
3. Provide your recommended answer.
4. Offer clear options when possible.
5. Avoid asking for facts that can be found in docs, code, or web.
6. After the human answers, record durable decisions as documentation so future agents do not ask again. Prefer the project's existing documentation location: design docs, ADRs, OpenSpec, README.md, CONTEXT.md, issue notes, or another repo-appropriate docs file. Treat the recorded answer as project documentation in future source routing. Do not record secrets, private credentials, or throwaway one-off preferences.

Good pattern:

I checked openspec/changes/auth/design.md and the current auth middleware. The remaining decision is product policy: should expired sessions redirect to login or show an inline re-auth modal? I recommend redirecting to login for v1 because it is simpler and matches the current flow. Which should we use?

Bad pattern:

What auth middleware does this project use?

If the codebase can answer it, inspect the codebase instead.

Grill-Heavy Mode

Use when the user wants deep questioning or says things like "grill me", "challenge this", "stress-test this", or "ask until clear".

Behavior:

• Walk down the decision tree one branch at a time.
• Resolve dependencies between decisions before moving on.
• Ask one question at a time.
• Give a recommended answer for every question.
• Before asking, check whether docs or code can answer it.
• Use web research for external claims that affect the design.

The goal is shared understanding, not speed.

Autonomous Mode

Use when the user wants vibe coding, autonomous execution, or minimal interruptions.

Behavior:

• Default to investigating docs, code, and web instead of asking.
• Keep an assumptions log for low-risk assumptions.
• Continue when the remaining uncertainty is low and reversible.
• Stop and ask only for human decisions, high-risk changes, irreversible actions, or unresolved conflicts.
• Prefer small, verifiable steps over broad speculative work.

Good autonomous update:

Docs and code both indicate that settings are stored in UserPreferences. I will use that path and note the assumption that no migration is needed.

Web Research Rules

Use web research only when local context cannot answer the question or the question depends on current external facts.

When searching:

• Prefer official docs, changelogs, standards, API references, and primary sources.
• Cross-check important claims with at least two sources when feasible.
• Record source URLs for non-trivial external claims.
• Treat tutorials, blogs, and forum answers as lower authority.
• Do not use web results to infer user preference.
• Do not use web results to override explicit project docs without flagging the conflict.

Documentation Sources to Check

For coding projects, consider these before asking the human:

• AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, GEMINI.md, .cursorrules
• README.md, docs/**, wiki/**
• CONTEXT.md, ARCHITECTURE.md, DESIGN.md
• openspec/project.md, openspec/specs/**, openspec/changes/**
• ADRs: adr/**, docs/adr/**, architecture/decisions/**
• issue text, PR descriptions, comments, task files
• tests and fixtures that encode expected behavior

Output Patterns

When proceeding without asking:

I checked [sources]. They indicate [answer]. I will proceed with [decision].

When asking:

I checked [sources]. The unresolved human decision is [decision]. I recommend [option] because [reason]. Choose: A, B, or C?

When using web:

Local context did not answer this, so I checked external sources. Official docs say [claim] ([URL]). I will use that unless local project docs conflict.

When blocked:

I cannot resolve this from docs, code, or web because [reason]. This is a human decision about [intent/risk/trade-off]. I recommend [option]. Should I proceed?

Common Mistakes

• Asking the human for codebase facts before searching the codebase.
• Treating web search as more authoritative than project docs.
• Asking five questions at once.
• Using autonomous mode to silently decide product intent.
• Using grill-heavy mode to block on low-risk implementation details.
• Continuing through high-risk or irreversible changes without confirmation.
• Forgetting to state what was checked before asking a question.

Quick Examples

Prompt: "Grill me on this caching design."

Use grill-heavy mode. Ask one decision-tree question at a time, but inspect docs/code for factual answers first.

Prompt: "Vibe code this settings page; don't ask unless needed."

Use autonomous mode. Inspect existing settings patterns, make reversible assumptions, and ask only for product choices or risky scope changes.

Prompt: "Implement OAuth with the current SDK."

Check project auth docs and existing code first. Use web research for current SDK docs if the local version or API behavior is unclear.

Prompt: "Should we use modal re-auth or redirect?"

This is a human/product decision. Check existing UX patterns, then ask one question with a recommendation.