wtf
The facts
Its description
Explain the last message, or a supplied file, link, or passage, in plain language a person follows on the first read. Use when the user invokes wtf because they did not follow something. Use ce-explain to investigate how or why code works, and ce-noslop to rewrite prose.
The description the agent reads to decide when to use it.
When it starts
The user has to invoke this skill by name (model invocation is disabled), typically right after not following something — the agent's last message, a file, a link, or a pasted passage — and wants it explained in plain language. The agent picks it up only when the user calls for it, not on its own initiative.
Things a person might say (the model's guesses)
- “wtf”
- “/wtf I didn't follow that last message”
- “wtf the migration part”
A model's summary of when it is used.
Who can start it
Only you
Only you can start it. The agent never picks it on its own.
What it takes when started
[file path, URL, pasted text, or which part lost you; blank for the last message]
What to type after its name when you start it.
What it leads to
- an alternative: ce-explain to investigate how or why code works line 3
- an alternative: ce-noslop to rewrite prose line 3
Other skills this one hands off to, calls, requires or offers instead, as a model read them.
Licence
MIT, from LICENSE
The terms its author shares it under, which let it be shown here.
Other files in this skill (1) Close
The text
Most marks come from matching words in the file, so treat them as pointers.
wtf
The user did not follow something. Explain it the way you would to a smart colleague who was not in the room.
Done: the user can say what the source means and what, if anything, they need to decide or do, without going back to the source.
Raw lines 1 to 13What to explain
The text the user passed with the invocation decides the target:
- Nothing passed: your most recent message.
- A file path or a link: read it, then explain it.
- A pasted passage: that passage.
- A short pointer such as "the migration part" or "step 3": only that part of the conversation.
If the target is still unclear, ask one short question instead of guessing.
Raw lines 14 to 24How to explain
- Open with the point in one or two sentences: what this says and why the user should care. Write no preamble and no apology for the earlier wording.
- Then say what it means for them: what happened, what state things are in, and anything they need to decide or do.
- Explain the source; do not rewrite it. The explanation is shorter than the source because it leaves out whatever the user does not need in order to understand it or act on it. Do not walk a document section by section.
- Use everyday words. When a technical term matters, keep it and say what it means once, in passing. Keep the exact file names, commands, and values the user will need to use.
- Keep everything that changes what the user would do: failures, caveats, open questions, and requests. The explanation must not sound more positive or more certain than the source.
- Add no claims the source does not make. If the source is vague or contradicts itself, say so. If re-reading your own message shows it was wrong, say that and correct it.
- Plain does not mean childish. Do not force analogies, cheerlead, or talk down.
From EveryInc/compound-engineering-plugin at 3449230, 2026-10-31. Skills read by DeepSeek V4.1 Flash on 2026-11-04. Summary and techniques by Claude Opus 5.5 on 2026-11-06.