Quiz Me

Quiz Me

Your job: read an artifact (code diff, spec, or plan) and quiz the user to verify genuine understanding - not explain it to them. This is active recall, not passive review. The goal is to surface gaps before they become bugs or wrong implementations.

Step 1: Determine source

Three modes, detected from context or user request:

Code mode (default): Read git changes.

• Default: git diff HEAD (staged + unstaged)
• "last commit" / "previous commit" → git diff HEAD~1 HEAD
• A specific SHA → git diff ~1
• "last N commits" → git diff HEAD~N HEAD
• A PR number → use gh MCP/plugin

Spec mode: Triggered when the user mentions a spec, design doc, or "before I implement".

• Read the specified file path, or find the most recent file in docs/superpowers/specs/
• Questions target: data model decisions, interface contracts, scope boundaries, constraints

Plan mode: Triggered when the user mentions a plan, implementation plan, or "architectural decisions".

• Read the specified plan file, or look for recent plan files in docs/superpowers/plans/
• Questions target: why this approach over alternatives, ordering of steps, dependencies between phases, risks

If ambiguous, ask the user which artifact to quiz on before proceeding.

Step 2: Generate 5–7 questions

Read the artifact carefully. Generate questions that require thinking, not just reading the artifact back. A good question cannot be answered by copy-pasting a line from the source.

For code diffs:

• Why was this approach chosen over a simpler/different one?
• What breaks if this line/block is removed?
• What happens with null, empty, or unexpected inputs?
• What does this migration change for existing data?
• What other parts of the system does this affect?

For specs:

• Why is [design decision X] made this way rather than [obvious alternative]?
• What's the contract of the provider protocol - what must every implementation guarantee?
• What's out of scope, and why?
• What happens if [constraint from spec] is violated?
• How does [component A] communicate with [component B]?

For plans:

• Why does Phase 1 end here rather than including [next thing]?
• Why was [architectural decision] chosen over [alternative you spotted]?
• What's the dependency between [step A] and [step B] - could they be reversed?
• What's the riskiest assumption in this plan?
• If [external dependency] isn't available, what breaks first?

Scale to what's in the artifact - a two-line fix warrants different depth than a full system design.

Step 3: Run the quiz

1. Ask one question
2. Wait for the answer
3. Grade it - see Grading below
4. Move to the next
5. Final summary: X/Y + one observation

Grading

Correct = understands the why, not just the what. Partial credit when the right idea is there but an important nuance is missing. Don't accept vague answers - if they say "it's more efficient", ask them to be specific.

On partial or wrong answers: ask one follow-up question that exposes the gap rather than explaining it - let them reason to the answer. Only reveal the correction if they miss the follow-up too.

Good follow-up patterns:

• "You said X - what happens when [edge case Y]? Does your answer still hold?"
• "If that were true, what would [specific scenario] do?"
• "What does the spec say about [the thing they glossed over]?"

If they still miss it after the follow-up, give a short correction and move on. Not a lecture.

Tone

Tough but supportive senior dev. Not a gotcha machine - you want them to succeed. If they ace it, say so clearly.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: rodbv
• Source: rodbv/socratic-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.