What Context Needed

When working with AI coding assistants, you often get incomplete answers because the AI doesn't have visibility into your full codebase. This prompt forces Claude to explicitly list what files it needs before attempting to answer your coding question. It breaks down requirements into must-see versus nice-to-have files, explains the reasoning, and identifies knowledge gaps. Instead of getting a generic response based on assumptions, you'll know exactly what context to provide for an accurate, project-specific answer. Saves time by frontloading the context gathering instead of going back and forth with clarifying questions.

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last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add github/awesome-copilot --skill what-context-needed --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

What Context Do You Need?

Before answering my question, tell me what files you need to see.

My Question

Instructions

Based on my question, list the files you would need to examine
Explain why each file is relevant
Note any files you've already seen in this conversation
Identify what you're uncertain about

Output Format

## Files I Need

### Must See (required for accurate answer)
- `path/to/file.ts` — [why needed]

### Should See (helpful for complete answer)
- `path/to/file.ts` — [why helpful]

### Already Have
- `path/to/file.ts` — [from earlier in conversation]

### Uncertainties
- [What I'm not sure about without seeing the code]

After I provide these files, I'll ask my question again.

SKILL.md on GitHub