---
name: knowz-ask
description: "Ask AI-powered questions against Knowz vaults. Use when the user asks about prior decisions, conventions, architecture, patterns, trade-offs, or wants an answer grounded in stored team knowledge."
---
<!-- Generated by knowz-mcp v0.11.1 -->

# /knowz-ask - Vault Q&A

Answer the user's question using Knowz vaults.

If `enterprise.json` exists in the project root, use its `brand` value instead of "Knowz" in user-facing text.

## Instructions

1. Read `knowz-vaults.md` from the project root if it exists.
   - If it does not exist, continue without vault routing and suggest `/knowz-setup` after the answer.
2. Parse the user's question.
3. Route to the best vaults using each vault's `When to query` rules.
   - One match -> query that vault.
   - Multiple matches -> query all matching vaults.
   - No match -> use the default vault when available.
4. Query directly from the current Codex agent. Do not assume helper reader agents.
   - One target vault -> call `mcp__knowz__ask_question` once with `vaultId`
   - Multiple target vaults -> issue one `mcp__knowz__ask_question` call per vault, in parallel when the runtime supports it, then synthesize agreements and conflicts
   - No specific vault -> call `mcp__knowz__ask_question` once without `vaultId` or against the default vault when known
   - Set `researchMode: true` for multi-part, comparative, architectural, or "why" questions; otherwise `false`
5. If the answer is still too thin, open the top cited items with `mcp__knowz__get_knowledge_item` before responding.
6. Answer naturally and mention which vaults informed the result when possible. Frame vault knowledge as **point-in-time and to be verified, not current fact** — for time-sensitive or code-specific answers, note the user should confirm against the live codebase/tests/docs, and prefer the live source when it conflicts with a vault entry.

If Knowz MCP tools are unavailable, report: "{brand} MCP not connected. Run /knowz-setup and restart Codex."