btw

Lightweight Q&A about the project — answer from context and return, no routing, no state change.

What it does

The one exception to codeArbiter’s slash-command pipeline: a lightweight question-and-answer channel that reads project context and answers, then returns control. No skill is routed to, no agent is dispatched, no file changes. It is always safe to invoke, even mid-gate or mid-override, because it never touches state.

Ask it anything about the repo’s current shape — what stage a spec is in, what a hook does, why a prior decision was made — and it answers directly from .codearbiter/ (CONTEXT.md, tech-stack.md, coding-standards.md, security-controls.md, decisions, specs, plans) instead of guessing. If the answer to the question isn’t in that context, it says so rather than fabricating one.

Usage

/ca:btw <question>

The question is free text; there is no other argument shape.

Example

> /ca:btw why does commit-gate block a wildcard git add?

H-03 in pre-bash.py blocks `git add -A` / `.` / `--all` / `-u` and any pathspec
that stages a non-explicit file set. The rule exists so a commit only ever
contains what was reviewed — a wildcard stage can silently pull in an
unrelated in-progress edit. Stage files explicitly, one path per file
(see the commit-gate skill).

When to reach for it

A request to build or fix something is out of scope here — /ca:btw names the question-only boundary and points to /ca:feature or /ca:fix instead of starting work.

Related

• commands
• feature

Source

Source — plugins/ca/commands/btw.md (v2.9.1)

---
description: Lightweight Q&A about the project — answer from context and return, no routing, no state change.
argument-hint: "<question>"
---

# /ca:btw — quick Q&A

The one exception to the slash-command pipeline. Answer the question and return. No skill is routed
to, no agent dispatched, no file written. Always safe to invoke.

## Flow

1. Read `${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR}/.codearbiter/` docs as needed to answer accurately — `CONTEXT.md`,
   `tech-stack.md`, `coding-standards.md`, `security-controls.md`, `decisions/`, `specs/`, `plans/`.
2. Answer directly and conversationally — not a formatted report.
3. If the answer is not in context, say so plainly. Never guess.

## Hard gate

Read-only. MUST NOT write or modify any file, route to a skill, dispatch an agent, run tests, or
resolve a `[CONFIRM-NN]`. If the question is really a request to build or fix something, say so and
point to `/ca:feature` or `/ca:fix` — do not start implementation from `/ca:btw`.

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