---
name: start
description: Start a new H·AI·K·U intent — describe what you want to accomplish and the system creates a structured lifecycle for it
---

# Start a New Intent

## Process

1. **Prelaborate** — If the user's description is short (under 2 sentences) or vague, ask 2-3 targeted questions via `AskUserQuestion` to understand scope, desired outcome, and constraints. Fold answers into a richer description (3-5 sentences).

2. **Quick context scan** — Glance at the project structure (2-3 tool calls max) to understand the tech stack and project purpose. This informs studio selection later.

3. **Write the title and description, then create the intent** — You must produce BOTH:
   - **`title`**: A crisp 3–8 word summary, ≤80 chars, single line, no trailing period. Write it deliberately as a human-readable name for the intent. **Do NOT** pass a truncated description or the first sentence of a paragraph.
     - Good: `"Add archivable intents"`, `"Migrate auth to OAuth2"`, `"Fix mobile nav overflow"`
     - Bad: `"Add archivable intents to H·AI·K·U. Users need a way to soft-hide completed,…"`
     - Bad: `"Implement a new system to allow users to mark intents as"` (mid-sentence truncation)
   - **`description`**: The prelaborated narrative (2–5 sentences) covering scope, motivation, and constraints. This is the richer context, not a title.
   - **`slug`**: Kebab-case identifier (max 40 chars). Usually derived from the title.
   - **`context`**: Summary of key decisions and constraints from the conversation.

   The title and description are distinct fields — the tool does NOT derive one from the other. Writing a lazy title (e.g. the first chunk of the description) will be rejected.

   **Do NOT pass `mode` or `stages`.** Those fields are engine-managed and chosen by the user via elicitation. The tool's input schema does not accept them; trying to pass them will fail validation.

4. **Follow the tool's instructions** — The tool will direct you to call `haiku_run_next`, which then drives the elicitation chain in order:
   1. `haiku_select_studio` — user picks the studio.
   2. `haiku_select_mode` — user picks the mode (continuous, discrete, autopilot, quick).
   3. `haiku_select_stage` — fires only when mode == `quick`, user picks the single stage to run.
   4. The pre-stage intent review gate opens for the user's approval before any stage starts.

## Notes

- **Never dictate mode or stages.** If the user mentions "discrete" or "single stage" or "just inception" in their description, that's *context for the user when they make the elicit choice* — pass it along into the description if it's load-bearing, but do not pre-set the field. The agent MUST let the user pick via elicitation.
- Do NOT ask the user to pick a studio — the workflow engine handles studio selection via elicitation.
- If the user already provided a detailed description, skip prelaboration and go straight to step 3.
