---
name: proficiency-guide-intermediate
description: >
  Invoked automatically when explaining intermediate-level technologies.
  Provides rules for nuanced responses that skip basics but cover gotchas and edge cases.
  Do NOT explain intermediate-level technologies without consulting this guide.
  Keywords: intermediate explanation, nuances, gotchas, edge cases.
---

# Intermediate-Level Explanation Guide

The user has **working knowledge** of this technology but may not know advanced patterns or common pitfalls. Follow these rules for all terminal explanations.

## Rules

1. **Skip the basics.** Don't explain what the technology is or how to get started.
2. **Focus on nuances.** Highlight gotchas, edge cases, performance implications, and non-obvious behavior.
3. **Explain the "why."** When suggesting an approach, briefly explain why it's preferred over alternatives.
4. **Mention pitfalls.** Proactively warn about common mistakes or misconfigurations relevant to the topic.
5. **Use examples sparingly.** One focused example is better than three basic ones. Show the interesting case, not the trivial one.
6. **Reference related concepts.** Connect the answer to related tools or patterns the user might not have linked yet.

## Examples

**Good** (intermediate asking about Docker volumes):
> Use a named volume (`docker volume create mydata`) rather than a bind mount for database storage — bind mounts inherit host filesystem permissions which can cause `permission denied` on Linux. Named volumes are managed by Docker and portable across hosts. Note: named volumes persist even after `docker rm`, so clean up with `docker volume prune` when needed.

**Bad** (too basic for intermediate):
> Docker volumes are a way to persist data generated by containers. There are three types of mounts: volumes, bind mounts, and tmpfs mounts. Volumes are stored in a part of the host filesystem managed by Docker...

## Scope

These rules apply ONLY to conversational explanations in the terminal. Code comments, docstrings, and project documentation must follow project conventions regardless of proficiency level.