/can - Capability Check

Check if Claude, an agent, skill, tool, or system has a specific capability.

System Prompt

⚠️ EXECUTION DIRECTIVE: When the user invokes this command, you MUST:

1. IMMEDIATELY execute - no questions, no explanations first
2. Parse the query to identify subject and capability
3. Check capability against known features/tools/skills
4. Answer definitively with YES/NO plus explanation

DO NOT:

• Give vague "it depends" answers without specifics
• Skip execution even if query seems obvious

The user invoking the command IS the confirmation.

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Usage

/can <subject> <capability>

Query Patterns

Query Pattern	Purpose	Lookup Method
/can claude <action>	Check Claude capabilities	Built-in knowledge + tool list
/can agent <name> <action>	Check agent capabilities	Agent frontmatter tools: field
/can skill <name> <action>	Check skill capabilities	Skill SKILL.md documentation
/can this codebase <action>	Check project capabilities	Package.json, requirements.txt
/can <tool> <action>	Check tool capabilities	Tool documentation lookup

Execution Steps

Step 1: Parse Query

# Extract subject and capability
SUBJECT=$(echo "$QUERY" | awk '{print $1}')
CAPABILITY=$(echo "$QUERY" | cut -d' ' -f2-)

Step 2: Capability Lookup

# For Claude capabilities
if [ "$SUBJECT" = "claude" ]; then
  # Check against known tool list and features
  # Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob, WebFetch, WebSearch, Task, etc.
fi

# For agent capabilities
if [ "$SUBJECT" = "agent" ]; then
  AGENT_NAME=$(echo "$CAPABILITY" | awk '{print $1}')
  # Read agent file and check tools: field
  grep -A 10 "^tools:" "agents/$AGENT_NAME.md"
fi

# For skill capabilities
if [ "$SUBJECT" = "skill" ]; then
  SKILL_NAME=$(echo "$CAPABILITY" | awk '{print $1}')
  # Read skill and check documented features
  cat "skills/$SKILL_NAME/SKILL.md"
fi

Step 3: Respond with Answer

# Format: YES/NO + explanation + alternatives if NO

Response Format

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  /can: <query>                                                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  CAPABILITY CHECK                                               │
│  ────────────────                                               │
│                                                                 │
│  ✅ YES / ❌ NO                                                  │
│                                                                 │
│  Subject: <subject>                                             │
│  Capability: <capability>                                       │
│                                                                 │
│  Explanation:                                                   │
│  <detailed explanation of capability or limitation>             │
│                                                                 │
│  [If NO] Alternatives:                                          │
│    • <alternative approach 1>                                   │
│    • <alternative approach 2>                                   │
│                                                                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Source: <tool list | agent frontmatter | skill docs>           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Examples

Check Claude Capability

/can claude read PDFs

Output:

✅ YES
Claude can read PDF files using the Read tool. For PDFs over 10 pages,
use the `pages` parameter to specify page ranges (e.g., pages: "1-5").
Maximum 20 pages per request.

Check Agent Capability

/can agent devops-engineer deploy to kubernetes

Output:

✅ YES
The devops-engineer agent has Bash tool access and kubernetes-patterns
skill. It can execute kubectl commands and manage K8s deployments.
Tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob

Check Skill Capability

/can skill pptx create animations

Output:

❌ NO
The pptx skill converts HTML to PPTX via LibreOffice. Animations are
not preserved in this conversion workflow.

Alternatives:
  • Use Google Slides API for animation support
  • Create animations in PowerPoint post-generation

Check Codebase Capability

/can this codebase handle GraphQL

Output:

❌ NO (currently)
No GraphQL dependencies found in package.json or requirements.txt.

To add GraphQL:
  • Python: `pip install graphene-django`
  • JavaScript: `npm install @apollo/server`

Related Commands

Command	Purpose
/who <component>	Find who owns/maintains something
/what <component>	Discover what a component is
/which <task>	Find which agent/skill to use
/does <component> <action>	Verify if something does an action
/is <state>	Check current state

Success Output

✅ COMMAND COMPLETE: /can
Query: <query>
Answer: YES/NO
Subject: <subject>
Capability: <capability>

Completion Checklist

Before marking complete:

• Subject identified
• Capability parsed
• Definitive YES/NO given
• Explanation provided
• Alternatives offered (if NO)

Failure Indicators

This command has FAILED if:

• ❌ No query provided
• ❌ Subject not identifiable
• ❌ Vague "maybe" answer given
• ❌ No explanation provided

When NOT to Use

Do NOT use when:

• Need step-by-step instructions (use /how)
• Want recommendations (use /which)
• Need state verification (use /is)

Principles

This command embodies:

• #6 Clear, Understandable - Definitive YES/NO answers
• #9 Based on Facts - Uses actual tool/feature documentation
• #3 Complete Execution - Always provides explanation

Full Standard: CODITECT-STANDARD-AUTOMATION.md

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Version: 1.0.0 Created: 2026-02-04 Author: CODITECT Team Framework: 5W+H Question Framework