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Tool-Specific Prompts

Observed in: Claude Code internal architecture

Each tool in Claude Code has its own description/prompt that is injected into the tool schema. These guide the model on when and how to use each tool.

Bash Tool (Bash)

Observed in: Claude Code tool system

Executes a given bash command and returns its output.

The working directory persists between commands, but shell state does not. The shell environment is initialized from the user's profile (bash or zsh).

IMPORTANT: Avoid using this tool to run `find`, `grep`, `cat`, `head`, `tail`, `sed`, `awk`, or `echo` commands, unless explicitly instructed or after you have verified that a dedicated tool cannot accomplish your task. Instead, use the appropriate dedicated tool:

- File search: Use Glob (NOT find or ls)
- Content search: Use Grep (NOT grep or rg)
- Read files: Use Read (NOT cat/head/tail)
- Edit files: Use Edit (NOT sed/awk)
- Write files: Use Write (NOT echo >/cat <<EOF)
- Communication: Output text directly (NOT echo/printf)

# Instructions
- If your command will create new directories or files, first use this tool to run `ls` to verify the parent directory exists and is the correct location.
- Always quote file paths that contain spaces with double quotes.
- Try to maintain your current working directory throughout the session by using absolute paths and avoiding usage of `cd`.
- You may specify an optional timeout in milliseconds (up to 600000ms / 10 minutes). By default, your command will timeout after 120000ms (2 minutes).
- You can use the `run_in_background` parameter to run the command in the background.
- When issuing multiple commands:
  - If commands are independent, make multiple Bash tool calls in parallel.
  - If commands depend on each other, use '&&' to chain them.
  - DO NOT use newlines to separate commands.
- For git commands:
  - Prefer to create a new commit rather than amending an existing commit.
  - Before running destructive operations, consider safer alternatives.
  - Never skip hooks (--no-verify) unless explicitly asked.
- Avoid unnecessary `sleep` commands.

Git Operations (External Users)

The Bash tool includes extensive git commit and PR instructions:

  • Git Safety Protocol: Never update git config, never run destructive commands unless explicitly asked
  • Commit workflow: git status → git diff → git log → draft message → git add → git commit
  • PR workflow: Uses gh pr create with structured body format
  • HEREDOC format: Always uses git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF' ... EOF)" for proper formatting

Sandbox System

When sandboxing is enabled, the Bash tool includes filesystem and network restriction configs:

  • Read deny-only lists
  • Write allow-only lists
  • Network allowed/denied hosts
  • Temporary files must use $TMPDIR, not /tmp

File Edit Tool (Edit)

Observed in: Claude Code tool system

Performs exact string replacements in files.

Usage:
- You must use your `Read` tool at least once in the conversation before editing. This tool will error if you attempt an edit without reading the file.
- When editing text from Read tool output, ensure you preserve the exact indentation (tabs/spaces).
- ALWAYS prefer editing existing files in the codebase. NEVER write new files unless explicitly required.
- Only use emojis if the user explicitly requests it.
- The edit will FAIL if `old_string` is not unique in the file. Either provide a larger string with more surrounding context to make it unique or use `replace_all` to change every instance of `old_string`.
- Use `replace_all` for replacing and renaming strings across the file.

Agent Tool

Observed in: Claude Code tool system

Launch a new agent to handle complex, multi-step tasks autonomously.

The Agent tool launches specialized agents (subprocesses) that autonomously handle complex tasks. Each agent type has specific capabilities and tools available to it.

Usage notes:
- Always include a short description (3-5 words) summarizing what the agent will do
- Launch multiple agents concurrently whenever possible, to maximize performance
- When the agent is done, it will return a single message back to you. The result is not visible to the user — send a text summary.
- You can optionally run agents in the background using the run_in_background parameter
- To continue a previously spawned agent, use SendMessage with the agent's ID or name
- The agent's outputs should generally be trusted
- Clearly tell the agent whether you expect it to write code or just to do research
- You can optionally set `isolation: "worktree"` to run the agent in a temporary git worktree

Fork Subagent Feature

When fork subagent is enabled, additional guidance is included:

## When to fork

Fork yourself (omit `subagent_type`) when the intermediate tool output isn't worth keeping in your context.
- Research: fork open-ended questions. Launch parallel forks in one message.
- Implementation: prefer to fork implementation work that requires more than a couple of edits.

Forks are cheap because they share your prompt cache. Don't set `model` on a fork.

**Don't peek.** Do not Read or tail the output_file unless the user explicitly asks.
**Don't race.** Never fabricate or predict fork results.

Other Tool Prompts

Tool File Purpose
Read FileReadTool/prompt.ts Read file contents with line numbers
Write FileWriteTool/prompt.ts Create or overwrite files
Glob GlobTool/prompt.ts Find files by pattern matching
Grep GrepTool/prompt.ts Search file contents with regex
WebFetch WebFetchTool/prompt.ts Fetch URL content
WebSearch WebSearchTool/prompt.ts Search the web
NotebookEdit NotebookEditTool/prompt.ts Edit Jupyter notebooks
Config ConfigTool/prompt.ts Manage Claude Code configuration
EnterPlanMode EnterPlanModeTool/prompt.ts Enter planning mode
ExitPlanMode ExitPlanModeTool/prompt.ts Exit planning mode
EnterWorktree EnterWorktreeTool/prompt.ts Enter git worktree
ExitWorktree ExitWorktreeTool/prompt.ts Exit git worktree
SendMessage SendMessageTool/prompt.ts Send messages to agents/teammates
TaskCreate TaskCreateTool/prompt.ts Create background tasks
TaskGet TaskGetTool/prompt.ts Get task status
TaskList TaskListTool/prompt.ts List tasks
TaskStop TaskStopTool/prompt.ts Stop a running task
TaskUpdate TaskUpdateTool/prompt.ts Update task properties
TodoWrite TodoWriteTool/prompt.ts Write TODO items
TeamCreate TeamCreateTool/prompt.ts Create team agents
ScheduleCron ScheduleCronTool/prompt.ts Schedule cron jobs
RemoteTrigger RemoteTriggerTool/prompt.ts Trigger remote execution
Sleep SleepTool/prompt.ts Sleep/wait
Skill SkillTool/prompt.ts Invoke project skill files
LSP LSPTool/prompt.ts Language Server Protocol
MCP MCPTool/prompt.ts Model Context Protocol tools
PowerShell PowerShellTool/prompt.ts Windows PowerShell execution
Brief BriefTool/prompt.ts Set brief output mode
AskUserQuestion AskUserQuestionTool/prompt.ts Ask the user a question
ReadMcpResource ReadMcpResourceTool/prompt.ts Read MCP server resources
ListMcpResources ListMcpResourcesTool/prompt.ts List MCP resources
ToolSearch ToolSearchTool/prompt.ts Search available tools