chore(instructions): recommend single commands over compound in system prompt#238
Merged
LeeCheneler merged 1 commit intomainfrom Mar 29, 2026
Merged
Conversation
…m prompt Update the system prompt tool usage guidance to recommend running single commands instead of compound commands (using &&, ;, etc.). Compound commands are more likely to require user approval because they don't match allowed command patterns, whereas single commands like `git status` match `git:*` and run without prompting. Includes example showing two parallel `run_command` calls vs one compound command. Closes #227
github-actions
Bot
added
the
chore
LeeCheneler
deleted the
chore/227-recommend-single-commands-over-compound
branch
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
1 participant
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
Summary
Update the system prompt tool usage guidance to recommend running single commands instead of compound commands (using &&, ;, etc.). Compound commands are more likely to require user approval because they don't match allowed command patterns, whereas single commands like
git statusmatchgit:*and run without prompting.GitHub Issue
Closes #227
What Changed
Added guidance in the "Use dedicated tools, not shell commands" section to prefer single
run_commandcalls over compound commands. Explains that single commands are more likely to match allowed command patterns and run without user approval. Includes a concrete example showing two parallelrun_commandcalls vs one compound command.Notes for Reviewers
The changes are limited to the tool usage guidance in src/instructions.ts. No functional changes to the codebase—only documentation updates to improve agent effectiveness.