Huddle

Async clarification skill for Claude Code. When Claude needs many answers, spawn a sub-agent that opens your preferred editor with a Q&A markdown form. Answer inline, save+close, sub-agent validates and returns a structured bundle to the main thread.

Standalone — no dependency on caveman or any other skill.

Requirements

• Node.js ≥ 18 (Claude Code already ships with Node)
• A text editor: VSCode, Sublime, Cursor, Zed, Neovim, Vim, Nano, etc. Auto-detected on first run.

Install

Option A — as a Claude Code plugin (recommended)

Plugins auto-register hooks and pre-allow internal Bash patterns, so you won't be prompted for permission on every node call inside the skill.

claude plugins install vladcioaba/huddle-skill

After install, restart Claude Code (or run claude plugins list to confirm).

Option B — as a bare skill (symlink)

git clone https://github.com/vladcioaba/huddle-skill.git ~/code/huddle
ln -s ~/code/huddle ~/.claude/skills/huddle

Or symlink from wherever the source lives:

ln -s /path/to/huddle ~/.claude/skills/huddle

Restart Claude Code so the skill registry refreshes. Note: bare-skill installs will prompt for Bash permission on each internal node call unless you add the patterns from .claude-plugin/plugin.json (permissions.allow) to your ~/.claude/settings.json manually.

First run

/huddle-setup

Detects installed editors, asks which to use, validates, writes config.json. Idempotent — re-run anytime.

Slash commands

Command	Effect
/huddle	Spawn an editor session for current ambiguities (planned)
/huddle-setup	Pick editor (first-run or re-config)
/huddle-show-config	Print current config
/huddle-set-editor <cmd>	Manual editor override
/huddle-enable	Auto-trigger on (editor for big clarifications)
/huddle-disable	Auto-trigger off (always inline terminal)
/huddle-threshold <N>	Question count cutoff
/huddle-force editor|inline|off	Override threshold logic

Statusline badge

Show [HUDDLE] in the Claude Code statusline (like the [CAVEMAN] badge) so you know the skill is active and how many sessions are open.

States:

• [HUDDLE] (blue) — skill configured, idle (no live forms)
• [HUDDLE:N] (yellow) — N forms open and waiting for the user to fill

Add the following to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "bash $HOME/.claude/skills/huddle/hooks/huddle-statusline.sh"
  }
}

To chain with the caveman badge (recommended if both plugins are installed):

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "HUDDLE_STATUSLINE_CHAIN_CAVEMAN=1 bash $HOME/.claude/skills/huddle/hooks/huddle-statusline.sh"
  }
}

Renders [CAVEMAN] [HUDDLE] side by side. The script auto-locates caveman under ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/ or ~/.claude/plugins/cache/.

On native Windows (no WSL/Git Bash), use the PowerShell variant:

{
  "statusLine": {
    "type": "command",
    "command": "pwsh -NoProfile -File %USERPROFILE%\\.claude\\skills\\huddle\\hooks\\huddle-statusline.ps1"
  }
}

Auto-trigger logic

Before asking 2+ clarifying questions, main Claude consults:

node ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-$HOME/.claude/skills/huddle}/lib/setup.js auto decide <question_count> <total_chars>
→ "editor" | "inline" | "disabled"

Defaults: 4+ questions OR 800+ total chars → editor; else inline.

Question schema

{
  "qid": "Q1",
  "question": "Use JWT or session tokens?",
  "context": "existing infra uses JWT",
  "assumed": "JWT",
  "panel": "text"
}

panel defaults to text. Future planned: checkbox, radio, image_picker, diagram — drop new files in lib/panels/<type>.js and register.

Config

~/.claude/skills/huddle/config.json — written by /huddle-setup. Gitignored. Schema documented in SKILL.md.

Status

Component	Status
Editor probe + first-run setup	✓ shipped
Auto-trigger toggles	✓ shipped
Template + parser + validator	✓ shipped
Panel registry + text panel	✓ shipped
Slash commands	✓ 7 shipped
Sync /huddle runner	planned
Async background spawn	planned
Assumption snapshot + merge	planned
Hooks (Stop / SessionStart)	planned
Other panels (checkbox, image, diagram)	planned

Cross-platform

All code is Node.js (no bash, no jq). Tested on macOS. Designed for Linux + Windows (native or WSL). Editor probe checks PATH + macOS app bundles + Windows Program Files.