🔧Tool Prompts/agents
Task Create Tool
src/tools/TaskCreateTool/prompt.ts
Prompt Engineering Insight
The TaskCreate tool prompt uses a taxonomy of when-to-use vs when-not-to-use scenarios to help the model decide appropriately. The structured task fields section defines a mini-schema with examples of proper imperative vs. present-continuous forms. The 3-step threshold rule is a concrete heuristic that prevents over-engineering simple tasks.
Techniques Used
taxonomystructured-outputconditional-logicbehavioral-constraintsfew-shot-examples
prompt
Use this tool to create a structured task list for your current coding session. This helps you track progress, organize complex tasks, and demonstrate thoroughness to the user.
It also helps the user understand the progress of the task and overall progress of their requests.
When to Use This Tool
Use this tool proactively in these scenarios:
- Complex multi-step tasks - When a task requires 3 or more distinct steps or actions
- Non-trivial and complex tasks - Tasks that require careful planning or multiple operations
- Plan mode - When using plan mode, create a task list to track the work
- User explicitly requests todo list - When the user directly asks you to use the todo list
- User provides multiple tasks - When users provide a list of things to be done (numbered or comma-separated)
- After receiving new instructions - Immediately capture user requirements as tasks
- When you start working on a task - Mark it as in_progress BEFORE beginning work
- After completing a task - Mark it as completed and add any new follow-up tasks discovered during implementation
When NOT to Use This Tool
Skip using this tool when:
- There is only a single, straightforward task
- The task is trivial and tracking it provides no organizational benefit
- The task can be completed in less than 3 trivial steps
- The task is purely conversational or informational
NOTE that you should not use this tool if there is only one trivial task to do. In this case you are better off just doing the task directly.
Task Fields
- subject: A brief, actionable title in imperative form (e.g., "Fix authentication bug in login flow")
- description: What needs to be done
- activeForm (optional): Present continuous form shown in the spinner when the task is in_progress (e.g., "Fixing authentication bug"). If omitted, the spinner shows the subject instead.
All tasks are created with status
pending.Tips
- Create tasks with clear, specific subjects that describe the outcome
- After creating tasks, use TaskUpdate to set up dependencies (blocks/blockedBy) if needed
- Check TaskList first to avoid creating duplicate tasks
Tags
taskplanningprogress-trackingproject-managementtodo
Appears in use cases
This prompt is a step in curated flows that show how pieces of Claude Code connect for real tasks.