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@ammar-agent ammar-agent commented Oct 28, 2025

Fixes premature commitment issues in both todo_write and status_set tool descriptions.

Problem

Both tool descriptions contained prescriptive language that pressured agents to commit to narratives before validating outcomes:

todo_write issues:

  • "Use this for ALL complex, multi-step plans" - forced usage before validation
  • "Before finishing your response, ensure all todos are marked as completed" - pressured false completions
  • "Update frequently as work progresses" - created distraction from errors
  • Complex structural guidance about old/recent/current/immediate/far future work - added cognitive load

status_set issue:

  • "Set a final status before completing that reflects the outcome" - ambiguous timing allowed premature success claims

Changes

todo_write:

Removed:

  • ❌ "Use this for ALL complex, multi-step plans"
  • ❌ "Before finishing your response, ensure all todos are marked as completed"
  • ❌ "Update frequently"
  • ❌ Complex structural guidance

Added:

  • ✅ "The TODO list is displayed to the user at all times" - contextualizes importance
  • ✅ "If you hit the 7-item limit, summarize older completed items into one line" - brings back useful guidance without rigid structure
  • ✅ "If work fails or approach changes, update the list to reflect reality" - explicit permission to show failures
  • ✅ "Only mark tasks complete when they actually succeed" - clear expectation

Kept:

  • ONE in_progress at a time
  • Ordering (completed first, in_progress, pending last)
  • Tense guidelines (past/present progressive/imperative)

status_set:

Changed:

  • ✅ "Set a final status after completion, only claim success when certain (e.g., after confirming checks passed)"

This makes the sequencing explicit: do work → verify outcome → set final status.

Impact

Agents should:

  • Validate approach before creating TODOs
  • Update TODOs to reflect failures, not hide them
  • Only claim success after verifying outcomes
  • Focus on actual work rather than tool maintenance

Testing

No code logic changes - these are prompt/description updates. Will observe agent behavior in real use.

Generated with cmux

@ammario ammario merged commit 6f81504 into main Oct 29, 2025
13 checks passed
@ammario ammario deleted the fix-todo-write-prompt-cleanup branch October 29, 2025 00:22
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2 participants