0.74.0-alpha · core 2026-10-17

Conditional options declare --needs-note. An option that needs text names the needed piece in the option itself, so an expectant pick ("Adjust the list") can no longer end in prose with nowhere to put the answer. The ask contract carries the flag; the tool path (ask_user_question), which has no such flag, resolves elaboration with an immediate follow-up question instead.
Option documents: one verb, self-sufficient options. Picks compose with notes, and each option says enough on its own to be acted on.
Stage-gate options carry destination and recommendation, so a gate's choices describe where they lead rather than only what they are.

Question copy reads as the answers a person gives, in realtime, with the committed text normalised (em/en dashes to hyphens).
Humans are addressed by outcome and title, and the premise is verified before the question is asked.
A split intent points at the formal question.
Preselect slices the human already named instead of re-deriving it.
The decider's language is the Stelow vocabulary, so a stage name is a stage name on every surface.
ask-patterns.md stays host-agnostic: it names the stelow CLI, which a host wraps, never a host-specific invocation.