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Tell Dont Ask

Category: Engineering  ·  Sub-category: code-quality  ·  Last updated:
type:review
Use when reviewing or refactoring code that queries object state and makes decisions outside the object that owns the data. Moves behavior to the responsible object to improve encapsulation. Trigger for getter misuse, Feature Envy, Tell Don't Ask, encapsulation improvements, or moving responsibility into domain objects.
Security AStatic scan found no risk patternsHow grading works ›

From the source SKILL.md

Tell the object what you want done; do not ask for its state and make the decision elsewhere.

What this skill does

Tell Dont Ask is a community-contributed Claude Code skill in the code-quality sub-category. It ships as a SKILL.md file that Claude Code auto-discovers under ~/.claude/skills/tell-dont-ask/ and loads when your prompt matches the skill's trigger.

When to invoke it: Use when reviewing or refactoring code that queries object state and makes decisions outside the object that owns the data. Moves behavior to the responsible object to improve encapsulation.

Who uses this skill

The Tell Dont Ask Claude Code skill is built for software engineers, backend developers, full-stack teams, and technical leads building and maintaining production systems. It's part of ClaudSkills (also referred to as Claude Skills or Claude Code Skills) — the open community-curated registry of 153,000+ SKILL.md files for Anthropic's Claude Code agent and the wider Claude ecosystem (Claude API, Claude Agent SDK).

How to install

Free

Manual install (2 steps)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/tell-dont-ask
curl -L https://claudskills.com/skills/tell-dont-ask/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/tell-dont-ask/SKILL.md

Or just download SKILL.md directly and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/tell-dont-ask/. Claude Code auto-discovers it on next session.

Skills live at ~/.claude/skills/tell-dont-ask/SKILL.md on macOS/Linux, or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\tell-dont-ask\SKILL.md on Windows. See the full install guide for step-by-step instructions.

Telegram

📱 Install from your phone or desktop Telegram

Open @claudskills_bot on Telegram, tap Open Desktop App, and the desktop app installs this skill for you. Or share the bot link with a colleague — they get the same one-tap install. Learn more →

Pro

One-click install via the desktop app

The ClaudSkills desktop app installs any skill directly into ~/.claude/skills/ with one click — no terminal required. Pro starts at $9/mo or $149 lifetime.

Pro

For the full experience including quality scoring and one-click install features for each skill — upgrade to Pro.

See pricing → Download desktop app

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Tell Dont Ask Claude Code skill?
Install via the ClaudSkills desktop app (one click) or copy SKILL.md from the source repository to ~/.claude/skills/tell-dont-ask/SKILL.md and restart Claude Code. Both flows are detailed at claudskills.com/install/.
What does the Tell Dont Ask skill do?
Use when reviewing or refactoring code that queries object state and makes decisions outside the object that owns the data. Moves behavior to the responsible object to improve encapsulation. Trigger for getter misuse, Feature Envy, Tell Don't Ask, encapsulation improvements, or moving responsibility into domain objects.
Is this skill free to install?
Yes. ClaudSkills is an open registry — every skill keeps its source repository's license, and manual install via copy is free. ClaudSkills Pro ($9/mo, $79/yr, or $149 one-time) adds one-click install via the desktop app and a multi-signal Quality Score.
When should I use the Tell Dont Ask skill?
Use Tell Dont Ask when your Claude Code task falls under the Engineering category — specifically in the code quality area. Claude Code auto-discovers installed skills and invokes the right one based on the task description, so you can also ask Claude directly (e.g. "use Tell Dont Ask" or describe the task and let Claude pick). Browse related skills at /category/engineering/.
What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Tell Dont Ask skill fit in?
A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Tell Dont Ask is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the Engineering category. Learn more at /learn/what-is-a-claude-skill/.

Attribution & license

Cite this skill

If you reference this skill in a blog post, paper, or documentation, you can cite it as:

APA
amadeus-dlc. (2026). Tell Dont Ask [Claude Code skill]. ClaudSkills. https://claudskills.com/skills/tell-dont-ask/
BibTeX
@misc{tell-dont-ask-2026,
  author    = {amadeus-dlc},
  title     = {Tell Dont Ask [Claude Code skill]},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {ClaudSkills},
  url       = {https://claudskills.com/skills/tell-dont-ask/}
}

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Security scan

Grade A · scanned 2026-07-18 — free static scan against the OWASP Agentic Skills Top 10.

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