using-pythia

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Use when starting any conversation that touches Oracle Database or PL/SQL - it establishes how to pick the right pythia skill BEFORE any response or action, including clarifying questions. Fires on plain requests in any language, no slash command needed - "build/add/fix/explain/review/deploy X", "lam/them/sua/tao/giai thich/kiem tra/trien khai X" (Vietnamese, with or without diacritics). Also use whenever unsure which pythia skill applies, or on catching yourself answering an Oracle question with none open.

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Sourcethaildhe172591/pythia

Added on2026-08-27

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add thaildhe172591/pythia using-pythia

SKILL.md Content

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Using pythia — the pocket handbook

Phase: Learn → Ask → Do — this page opens the right one

pythia is the main book; this is the small notebook clipped inside its cover. Its one job is consistency: whether a session asks the right questions should not depend on the agent's mood that day.

The Rule

If there is even a small chance a pythia skill applies, open it before acting — before answering, before exploring, before clarifying questions. Opened the wrong one? Close it, no harm done. Skipping the check is how sessions drift: some ask, some silently decide.

Route by what the developer said

The request sounds like	Open first	Then
"build / add / change X" — and any decision is open	`pythia-spec` — the questions are mandatory, the spec/plan documents are offered and skippable	impact → write → apply
"explain X / why / how does it work"	`pythia-explore`
"is it safe to touch X"	`pythia-impact`
"review this"	`pythia-review`
"land / deploy / apply this"	`pythia-apply`
"our standards / adopt this base's style"	`pythia-conventions`
"make a skill for how we do X"	`pythia-skill-author`
setup, connection failures, privilege warnings	`pythia-setup`
an ORA-/PLS- error to investigate	`pythia-explore` ( `errors` , `src` )	`pythia-review`

Priority when several apply: process before construction — spec before write, impact before apply. Announce the skill you opened ("Using pythia-spec — ...") so the developer can see which page you are on.

Working beside other packs

This notebook assumes nothing else is installed. If a general process pack (brainstorming, TDD, planning) is active in the session, let it own generic process and keep pythia's Oracle gates — they compose. Never treat its presence as a reason to skip

pythia-spec

, nor pythia's presence as a reason to skip it.

Red flags — the exact thoughts behind "some sessions ask, some don't"

Thought	Reality
"This task is simple"	Simple tasks hide spec. A forgot-password flow carried seven unasked decisions.
"I remember what that skill says"	Skills evolve. Open the current page.
"I'll just look around first"	`pythia-explore` IS how you look around. Route first.
"Another pack will do the asking"	If it fires, good. If it does not, `pythia-spec` is the floor.
"Asking would stall the developer"	Paying for an unasked decision stalls harder.

No skill support on this platform?

pythia guide

prints the full contract;

pythia guide --brief

is this notebook's first page, sized for a session preamble. AGENTS.md carries the standing rules. The handbook does not require a skills-capable agent.

The pattern — a router consulted before any action — is Jesse Vincent's Superpowers, rebuilt from scratch for this kit.