cmdop instructions

An instruction is a named system prompt fragment that injects into chat. Use it for company tone, sandbox boundaries, role-play personas, or “always answer in JSON”.

List


cmdop instructions list

Output:


NAME             ACTIVE   DESCRIPTION
default          *        Default operator persona
concise-ops               Short answers, no preamble
sandbox                   Refuse anything that touches production
auditor                   Read-only, log every step

Show


cmdop instructions show concise-ops

Prints the rendered system prompt fragment.

Set the active preset


cmdop instructions set concise-ops

The chosen preset is injected into every new chat session until you clear or change it.

Clear (return to default)


cmdop instructions clear

Show the default


cmdop instructions default

Prints what the default preset looks like — useful when you’re authoring your own and want a starting point.

Where presets live

Presets are loaded from three sources, in order of precedence:

Workspace — synced from the cabinet
Global — ~/.cmdop/instructions/<name>.md
Builtin — shipped with cmdop

Each .md file is the prompt body; the file name is the preset name.

Pairing with —debug-prompt

To see how an instruction renders in a real chat:


cmdop instructions set sandbox
cmdop chat --debug-prompt 2> /tmp/sysprompt.txt
less /tmp/sysprompt.txt

The Identity section will reflect the active preset.

Authoring tips

Keep presets short. The default identity already tells the agent it is cmdop.
Use imperative tone (“Refuse…”, “Always…”). Preset content is appended, not replacing.
For one-off framing, prefer cmdop chat --instruction "<inline text>" over creating a preset.