/cs:grill-markdown-html — Pre-conversion grill

Walk the user through 5 forcing questions before routing to the converter. One question per turn, with a recommended answer and a canon citation. The user must answer Q1 before Q2 is asked. Never bundle.

$ARGUMENTS

The 5 questions (Matt Pocock grill-with-docs pattern)

Q1/5 — Purpose

What decision does this HTML drive — is the reader skimming, deciding, or presenting?

Recommended: name it first; density follows from purpose.

Canon: Shihipar (Claude Code HTML output essay) — "match output format to consumption context"; Tufte, Visual Display of Quantitative Information, ch. 1.

If the user shrugs, ask once: "Skimming → minimal layout. Deciding → sticky TOC + search. Presenting → slide deck."

Q2/5 — Line count threshold

Is the input markdown ≥ 100 lines?

Recommended: yes — below that, keep it as markdown. Run wc -l <file>.md to confirm.

Canon: Shihipar — markdown still wins under 100 lines.

If under 100 lines, refuse the conversion. Do NOT proceed.

Q3/5 — Design-system onboarded?

Has the design-system been onboarded?

Recommended: yes, globally. Run python3 markdown-html/skills/design-system/scripts/onboard.py (or --defaults for zero-touch) if not.

Canon: research-ops onboarding pattern (research-ops/CLAUDE.md §8); WCAG 2.2 §1.4.3.

Check via:

python3 markdown-html/skills/design-system/scripts/config_loader.py --status

If setup_completed: false, surface onboarding. Do NOT proceed without it.

Q4/5 — Output path

Where does the output save, and will it overwrite anything?

Recommended: the configured default_output_dir with --on-collision suffix (the default, which generates -2, -3, … instead of overwriting).

Canon: Matt Pocock handoff skill — never silently overwrite a working artifact.

Resolve via:

python3 markdown-html/skills/markdown-html-orchestrator/scripts/output_path_resolver.py \
    --input "$ARGUMENTS" --doctype <verdict>

Q5/5 — Doctype confidence

Document type confidence — silent-route, or one clarifying question?

Recommended: silent-route only when silent_route_allowed: true in the classifier output. Otherwise, ask one clarifying question and recommend the winner.

Canon: research-ops two-signal threshold (research-ops/skills/research-ops-skills/SKILL.md §"Routing logic").

Classify via:

python3 markdown-html/skills/markdown-html-orchestrator/scripts/doctype_classifier.py \
    --input "$ARGUMENTS" --output human

Discipline

One question per turn. Don't bundle Q1+Q2 in the same message. Wait for the answer.
Always recommend an answer. Never ask an open question.
Always cite the canon. The recommendation must reference the source.
Refuse, don't override. If Q2 or Q3 fails, the conversion does not proceed. The grill protects against silent-failure.
Walk depth-first. Finish all 5 questions for THIS conversion before starting a different one.

After Q5, hand off to /cs:markdown-html <path> to actually run the conversion with the confirmed answers in hand.

Cs Grill Markdown HTML