Every AI tool answers questions. This one helps you ask better ones.
Socratic is an AI-native app built on Anna that replaces the reflex of "ask AI for an answer" with something more valuable: a structured thinking workflow that helps you reason through decisions, plans, and problems properly.
When you're stuck on a decision or a complex problem, getting an instant answer from an AI isn't always what you need. What you actually need is to think it through — to surface your hidden assumptions, challenge your framing, and understand what you truly know versus what you've taken for granted.
Socratic is built for that exact moment.
- Describe your problem — paste in a decision, a plan, or a situation you're stuck on.
- AI asks, not answers — instead of giving you a solution, it asks you a sequence of probing questions using the Socratic method.
- Answer in a structured UI — your answers accumulate in a clean card stack, keeping the full thread visible.
- Assumptions get surfaced — at key points, the AI identifies hidden assumptions embedded in your own answers.
- You review each assumption — mark every surfaced assumption as Valid, False, or Unknown. The AI cannot know which assumptions hold for your situation — that human judgment is the entire point.
- Clarity map generated — once you've worked through the assumptions, the AI produces a structured summary: what you know, what you've assumed, and what remains genuinely uncertain.
Most AI tools optimize for giving you an answer fast. Socratic optimizes for giving you clarity. The human review step — validating your own assumptions — is not a UX feature. It is the core of the workflow. No AI can substitute for that judgment, and Socratic doesn't try to.
This is not a chatbot. It is a structured reasoning workflow built as an Anna App, where AI participates through tool calls, state, and human review gates — not just a text box.
Socratic is an Anna App — an AI-native app prototype built on the Anna runtime and developer platform.
Anna handles the platform layer: app runtime, tool calling, permissions, and human review flows. Socratic uses these primitives to wire together a multi-step AI workflow that no static page or plain chatbot could replicate.
- Tool calls drive each questioning and assumption-surfacing step
- Structured UI keeps the question/answer thread and assumption cards visible at all times
- Human review gates the assumption validation — AI surfaces, human decides
- State holds the evolving problem thread and clarity map across the session
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| App runtime | Anna (@anna-ai/cli ^0.1.27) |
| Frontend | HTML, CSS, JavaScript |
| AI workflow | Anna tools + skills |
| Dev server | anna-app dev |
Type in the decision or situation you're stuck on, or pick one of the example chips. Choose your session depth: Quick (3 rounds), Deep (5 rounds), or Thorough (7 rounds).
Hit Start thinking and the AI goes to work. It reads your problem and crafts the sharpest probing question it can — not a generic one, something specific to what you wrote.
The question appears with a round counter. Write your answer freely — the more honest and detailed, the better the assumptions the AI will surface.
Step 4 — Review the hidden assumption
After you submit, the AI extracts the single most important hidden assumption buried in your answer. You then decide: is it Valid, False, or Unsure? This judgment is yours — the AI cannot make it for you.
Steps 3–4 repeat for each round. Once all rounds are done, you're shown a completion screen and invited to generate your Clarity Map.
The AI produces a structured summary split into two sections: What you know (explicit facts from your answers) and What you've assumed (each assumption colour-coded by your validation). Copy it to your notes or clipboard.
- Node.js installed on your machine
- An Anna account — register at anna.partners
Install dependencies for both the root (Anna CLI) and the UI bundle (React + Vite):
npm i # installs Anna CLI at root
cd bundle && npm i # installs React, Vite, and UI deps
cd ..npm run loginThis authenticates your local CLI against the Anna platform at https://anna.partners. You must be logged in before running the dev server.
npm run devThis starts the Anna dev server. Open the URL shown in your terminal to interact with Socratic locally.
npm run whoami # confirms you're logged in
npm run doctor # checks your environment is healthy
npm run validate # validates your Anna App config strictlysocratic/
├── package.json # Project config and Anna CLI scripts
├── manifest.json # Anna App manifest (permissions, UI, executas)
├── README.md # You are here
├── bundle/ # Frontend UI (static SPA)
│ ├── index.html # Main UI entry point
│ ├── app.js # App logic
│ └── style.css # Styles
├── executas/ # Anna tool (executa) definitions
│ └── socratic-engine/ # Core questioning & assumption-surfacing tool
├── skills/ # Anna skill definitions
│ └── SKILL.md # Socratic coach skill
└── fixtures/ # Dev fixtures for local testing
└── happy-path.jsonl # Example session fixture
User describes problem
↓
AI asks first Socratic question
↓
User answers → answer added to card stack
↓
AI asks follow-up question (repeat 3–5 rounds)
↓
AI surfaces hidden assumptions from answers
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User reviews each assumption: Valid / False / Unknown
↓
AI generates Clarity Map
(What you know · What you've assumed · What's uncertain)
This project was built for the Anna AI-Native App Hackathon (deadline: Jun 22, 2025).
| Criterion | How Socratic addresses it |
|---|---|
| Usefulness | Solves a real thinking bottleneck — decisions and plans where you need clarity, not just an answer |
| Working demo | One focused loop: problem → questions → assumptions → clarity map |
| Meaningful use of AI | AI drives questioning and assumption surfacing via tool calls; does not just generate text |
| Fit with Anna | Human review is the product, not a UX layer — a perfect match for Anna's review primitives |
| Creativity | No other AI tool takes the Socratic method seriously as a structured workflow app |
Built by Ayush for the Anna AI-Native App Hackathon.
Socratic — because thinking clearly is the skill that compounds.