# Recipe: where did we decide that? Answers with citations

A copy-paste prompt: your agent finds when and where something was decided, cites it, and checks whether what shipped still matches.

> [!info]
> **For:** anyone new to a project, or anyone about to reopen an old argument. **When:** before you change something that looks like a choice. **Takes:** under a minute of agent time. **You get:** the decision, who made it and when, a citation you can open, and a warning if what shipped differs.

## The prompt

```text
Where did we decide <question>? Answer from onecell, with citations.

1. Call list_decisions (all_clusters: true, status: any) and search for
   the question. Read only the documents you will cite.

2. Answer in a few lines: the decision, when it was made and by whom,
   and where it lives, cited as cell · heading · passage, with a link.

3. Check it against the code or the product if you can. If what
   shipped differs from what was decided, say so plainly.

4. If nothing was decided, say so, list the closest discussions, and
   offer to draft a proposed decision. Don't write anything unless I ask.
```

## What your agent does

1. Looks in two places
   list_decisions finds recorded decision blocks in every cluster; search finds decisions written in prose, in specs, tickets and notes.
2. Cites what it found
   Cell, heading and passage, with a link, so you can read the reasoning yourself.
3. Checks it against reality
   A decision can say one thing while the code does another. The agent says which is which.
4. Admits a gap
   If nothing was decided, it says so and offers to draft a proposed decision, rather than inventing an answer.

## What you get

An answer for Tally, a made-up invoicing app. It comes with a finding: the accepted decision and the shipped code disagree.

<!-- onecell:block {"type":"embed","documentId":"1ca459c3-4b52-4ce9-be8f-4960ba038fc4"} -->
[Sample answer: where did we decide to retry failed payments?](https://onecell.io/p/sample-where-decided-payment-retries)

## Variations

<details>
<summary>A first-week questions log</summary>

New to a project? Add: “Append the question and the answer, with its citation, to *Questions: `<project>`* in my Inbox.” By the end of the week it is a list of answers, plus the questions nobody could answer, which are worth raising with the team.

</details>

<details>
<summary>Before reopening a decision</summary>

Add: “Then tell me what has changed since, and whether the original reasons still hold.” If they don't, follow with the *Record a decision* recipe to replace it.

</details>

## Tips

- Ask the question the way you would ask a teammate. Search handles plain language.
- Decisions written as decision blocks are found reliably; decisions buried in prose depend on search. Record the important ones.
- The mismatch between decision and code is often the most useful part of the answer.

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Part of [onecell recipes](https://onecell.io/help/recipes): copy-paste prompts for using onecell in your work.