AskUserQuestion auto-resolves without user input when invoked from nested Skill calls

[ishwar46]

GSD Version

1.22.4

Runtime

Claude Code (Opus 4.6), macOS Darwin 25.3.0

What happened?

When /gsd:plan-phase detects a missing CONTEXT.md and invokes /gsd:discuss-phase via the Skill tool (nested Skill call), all subsequent AskUserQuestion calls auto-resolve immediately with empty answers. The user never sees the question UI — Claude proceeds as if the user answered and picks defaults/recommended options silently.

This happened during a Phase 26 planning session. The plan-phase workflow called Skill(skill="gsd:discuss-phase", args="26"), which loaded the discuss-phase workflow. The discuss-phase workflow then called ~15 AskUserQuestion calls — every single one returned instantly with empty responses like:

User has answered your questions: "Question text here"=""

Claude interpreted these empty responses as selecting the "(Recommended)" option each time and proceeded through the entire discussion without the user answering a single question.

What did you expect?

Every AskUserQuestion call should pause execution and display the question UI to the user, regardless of whether it was invoked from a top-level skill or a nested skill call. The user should be able to see the options and select their answer before Claude continues.

Steps to reproduce

1. Have a phase with no CONTEXT.md (e.g., run /gsd:add-phase Some new feature)
2. Run /gsd:plan-phase <N> for that phase
3. Plan-phase detects missing CONTEXT.md and asks "Continue without context or run discuss-phase first?"
4. Select "Run discuss-phase first"
5. Plan-phase invokes Skill(skill="gsd:discuss-phase", args="<N>")
6. Discuss-phase loads and starts calling AskUserQuestion with gray area selections
7. Bug: All AskUserQuestion calls auto-resolve with empty answers — user never sees them

Workaround: Running /gsd:discuss-phase <N> as a standalone command (not nested from plan-phase) works correctly — all questions display and the user can answer them.

Relevant logs or error messages

⏺ User answered Claude's questions:
  ⎿

⏺ Core + conditions table — good separation. Next question.

⏺ User answered Claude's questions:
  ⎿

⏺ Key-value rows — flexible and extensible.

⏺ User answered Claude's questions:
  ⎿

⏺ Slug as FK — no migration pain.

Every AskUserQuestion result shows empty answer (⎿ with nothing after it), but Claude continues as if an answer was given. This pattern repeated for all ~15 questions in the discuss-phase workflow.

[dzanang]

Happened to me as well, same as OP

[bvolger]

Has been reported a few times, it's a bug introduced in Claude Code 2.1.63. It has been resolved in Claude Code 2.1.69. You can either revert to 2.1.62 or upgrade to >= 2.1.69

anthropics/claude-code#29674

[trek-e]

This is the same root cause as #803 and #844 — the AskUserQuestion auto-resolve bug in Claude Code when invoked from nested Skill calls. This was fixed in Claude Code 2.1.69:

Fixed interactive tools (e.g., AskUserQuestion) being silently auto-allowed when listed in a skill's allowed-tools, bypassing the permission prompt and running with empty answers

The workaround (running discuss-phase as a standalone command) confirms it's a nesting issue in CC, not GSD. This issue should be closable.

[trek-e]

Status: Claude Code platform issue

AskUserQuestion auto-resolving in nested Skill calls is a Claude Code runtime behavior, not a GSD bug. See also #803, #844.

Workaround: Run /gsd:discuss-phase as a standalone command instead of letting plan-phase invoke it as a nested Skill.

[trek-e]

Investigation

This is a Claude Code runtime behavior, not a GSD bug. When plan-phase invokes discuss-phase via a nested Skill call (Skill(skill="gsd:discuss-phase", args="N")), the inner skill's AskUserQuestion calls auto-resolve with empty answers.

Root cause: Claude Code's Skill tool runs commands in a subcontext. The AskUserQuestion API within nested subcontexts may not correctly propagate the interactive prompt back to the top-level TUI — it resolves immediately with an empty response instead of blocking for user input.

This is confirmed by the workaround: Running /gsd:discuss-phase as a standalone command (not nested) works correctly — all questions display and the user can answer them.

What GSD can do (mitigation):
The plan-phase workflow already handles the case where CONTEXT.md is missing by asking "Continue without context or run discuss-phase first?" If the user selects "Run discuss-phase", instead of invoking it as a nested Skill call, the workflow could:

1. Display a message: "Run /gsd:discuss-phase N first, then re-run /gsd:plan-phase N"
2. Exit gracefully instead of nesting

This avoids the nested Skill bug entirely. However, the underlying fix belongs in Claude Code's Skill/AskUserQuestion interaction handling.

[trek-e]

PR #1140 prevents nested Skill calls that break AskUserQuestion. The plan-phase workflow now explicitly exits with a display message when 'Run discuss-phase first' is selected, instead of risking a nested invocation.