From 3d573cb912e01d042133f814a2bff6d595a0eb1a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Fabian Ehrentraud Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2026 16:53:12 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] efficient-fable: add guidance for staying unblocked during execution Add a "Staying Unblocked" section covering three execution-time practices: deferring user questions until no independent work remains (with an exception for plan-gating or irreversible steps), not sitting blocked on running subagents, and keeping the build green with incomplete changes so a stalled slice does not block parallel ones. Also strengthen the stop-conditions bullet: subagents never pause to wait on user input, they stop and report instead. --- skills/efficient-fable/SKILL.md | 17 ++++++++++++++++- 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/skills/efficient-fable/SKILL.md b/skills/efficient-fable/SKILL.md index 5ae9cc8..6b6288d 100644 --- a/skills/efficient-fable/SKILL.md +++ b/skills/efficient-fable/SKILL.md @@ -35,6 +35,20 @@ Reserve Fable for: Prefer parallel subagents when the slices do not depend on each other. Keep blocking or highly coupled work local. +## Staying Unblocked + +- Defer questions to the user until no other independent work remains: every + mid-plan stop stalls the slices that could keep moving. Batch open + questions for the end. Exception: ask immediately when the answer gates + every remaining slice or the next step is irreversible. +- Don't sit blocked on a running subagent either: run subagents in the + background and spend the wait on orchestrator-side work — vetting earlier + results, planning the next slice. +- Keep the build green even while changes are incomplete — leave unfinished + work stubbed or unwired rather than half-connected — so one blocked or + stalled slice does not block the others. If a slice breaks the build, + revert only its diff in the working copy. + ## Handoff Packets Write delegated prompts as if the subagent has no useful chat context. Include @@ -49,7 +63,8 @@ only the context it needs: look like when that is knowable. - Stop conditions: if the code does not match the prompt, a command fails after a reasonable retry, or the task needs out-of-scope files, stop and report - instead of improvising. + instead of improvising. Subagents should never pause to wait on user input; + they stop the task and report so the orchestrator stays unblocked. ## Vetting Delegated Work