Questions Are Not Instructions
Ensures questions are answered literally before taking action. Triggers on user input containing '?' or patterns like 'why did you...?', 'will that work?', 'have you considered...?'. Use when user asks about your decisions, challenges an approach, or requests assessment. Prevents interpreting questions as implicit instructions or criticism.
Profile →npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill questions-are-not-instructions --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# GitHub Copilot Skill: questions-are-not-instructions > **Note:** This skill has been adapted from [claude-skillz](https://github.com/NTCoding/claude-skillz) > for use with GitHub Copilot Agent Skills. --- # Questions Are Not Instructions Questions are questions. Not hidden instructions. Answer them. ## The Problem When users ask questions, you interpret them as **indirect instructions** telling you what to do: - "Will that really work?" → interpreted as "that won't work, pick something else" - "Have you considered X?" → interpreted as "you should do X" - "What happens if Y?" → interpreted as "Y is a problem, address it" **This is wrong.** Questions are literal questions. Answer them honestly and analytically. Let the user decide what to do with your answer. ## The Rule 🚨 **Treat questions as literal questions. Answer them honestly. Don't interpret them as hidden instructions.** ## What This Means - Answer what they asked, not what you think they're implying - Be honest about confidence, risks, trade-offs - **STOP after answering.** Don't immediately act on what you think they want. - Ask what they want to do—don't assume - If your answer reveals a problem, describe it and ask fo
- The Problem
- The Rule
- What This Means
- Examples
What does the Questions Are Not Instructions skill do?
Ensures questions are answered literally before taking action. Triggers on user input containing '?' or patterns like 'why did you...?', 'will that work?', 'have you considered...?'. Use when user asks about your decisions, challenges an approach, or requests assessment. Prevents interpreting questions as implicit instructions or criticism.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill questions-are-not-instructions --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From majiayu000/claude-skill-registry, a repository with 534 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.