Realign todo and agentmode harness default prompt strings with current .NET#707
Realign todo and agentmode harness default prompt strings with current .NET#707PratikDhanave wants to merge 1 commit into
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Pull request overview
This PR updates the Go harness’s built-in system prompt strings for the Todo and AgentMode context providers to stay aligned with the current .NET SDK “source of truth,” and extends the existing black-box tests to assert on key substrings to detect future drift.
Changes:
- Update
todoprovider default instructions to the current .NET structure (simple-vs-complex decision + “### General TODO Guidelines” heading). - Update
agentmodeexecute-mode description to the current .NET opener (“Determine the type of ask: …”) preceding the existing execute workflow steps. - Extend provider tests to assert the updated instruction text is present (and that obsolete phrasing is absent for execute-mode).
Reviewed changes
Copilot reviewed 4 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| agent/harness/todo/todo.go | Updates the Todo provider’s defaultInstructions template to match current .NET wording/structure. |
| agent/harness/todo/todo_test.go | Adds assertions ensuring the updated Todo default instructions contain key new headings/phrases. |
| agent/harness/agentmode/agentmode.go | Updates the execute-mode Description text to match current .NET wording. |
| agent/harness/agentmode/agentmode_test.go | Adds a test asserting the execute-mode description includes the new opener and omits the old phrasing. |
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| Name: "execute", | ||
| Description: `Use this mode when carrying out approved plans. Work autonomously using your best judgment — do not ask the user questions or wait for feedback. | ||
| Description: `Determine the type of ask: | ||
| 1. Simple question that doesn't require any further work to answer. | ||
| 2. Any other work, including complex user request that requires a multi-step process to satisfy. | ||
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This branch already includes the #621 change: commit 71edad1 ("harness/agentmode: remove extra hardcoded bullet from default instructions (#621)") is in this branch's history, and the current defaultInstructions no longer contains the "check the current mode after any user input" bullet or the hardcoded 'plan'/'execute' prose. TestDefaultInstructions_OmitExtraHardcodedBullet locks that removal, so there's no drift to reintroduce here.
| func TestDefaultInstructions_ExecuteModeDescription(t *testing.T) { | ||
| p := agentmode.New(agentmode.Config{}) | ||
| opts := sessionOpts() | ||
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| _, outOpts, err := invokeProvider(p, context.Background(), newMessages("hi"), opts...) | ||
| if err != nil { | ||
| t.Fatal(err) | ||
| } | ||
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| instructions := collectInstructions(outOpts) | ||
| if !strings.Contains(instructions, "Determine the type of ask:") { | ||
| t.Error("expected execute-mode instructions to contain 'Determine the type of ask:'") | ||
| } | ||
| if strings.Contains(instructions, "carrying out approved plans") { | ||
| t.Error("expected execute-mode instructions to no longer contain 'carrying out approved plans'") | ||
| } | ||
| } |
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The PR is actually based on a post-#621 version: #621 (commit 71edad1) is present in this branch's history, and both alignment updates are locked by tests — TestDefaultInstructions_OmitExtraHardcodedBullet asserts the extra bullet is gone, and TestDefaultInstructions_ExecuteModeDescription asserts the new execute-mode opener. go build/vet/test all pass, so there's no #621 regression or merge conflict to reconcile here.
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Update the todo provider default instructions to the reworked .NET TodoProvider text (numbered simple-vs-complex decision plus a General TODO Guidelines heading) and the agentmode execute-mode description to the current .NET AgentModeProvider text (Determine the type of ask 1/2 branch preceding the numbered process). These strings ship as the runtime system prompt via WithInstructions, so the prior drift changed agent behavior relative to .NET. Plan-mode text and the todos_* / mode_* tool descriptions already matched and are left untouched.
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Parity Review: ✅ No issuesThis PR aligns unexported Scope check: All modified identifiers ( Parity check: The PR explicitly copies the current .NET strings verbatim from No cross-repo consistency issues found. Warning Firewall blocked 1 domainThe following domain was blocked by the firewall during workflow execution:
network:
allowed:
- defaults
- "awmgmcpg"See Network Configuration for more information.
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What
Realign two harness context-provider default prompt strings with the current .NET implementation. Both ship as the runtime system prompt via
WithInstructions, so drift here changes agent behavior relative to the .NET SDK.agent/harness/todo/todo.go—defaultInstructionswas the old flat text. The current .NETTodoProvider.DefaultInstructionswas reworked into a numbered simple-vs-complex decision (1-3) plus a### General TODO Guidelinesheading. Copied verbatim. Thetodos_*tool bullets already matched and are unchanged.agent/harness/agentmode/agentmode.go— the execute-modeDescriptionbegan withUse this mode when carrying out approved plans.... The current .NETAgentModeProviderexecute description now begins withDetermine the type of ask:(1. simple question → answer directly; 2. other work → autonomous), preceding the same numbered 1-5 process. Copied verbatim. Plan-mode description and themode_*tool descriptions already matched and are untouched.Why
Cross-SDK parity. The .NET strings are the source of truth for the Go port's harness prompts; the previous strings predate the .NET rework. Same class of fix as the accepted #621, which realigned the top-level agentmode default instructions. Strings were fetched from
raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/agent-framework/mainand copied verbatim:dotnet/src/Microsoft.Agents.AI/Harness/Todo/TodoProvider.csdotnet/src/Microsoft.Agents.AI/Harness/AgentMode/AgentModeProvider.csTests
Extended the existing black-box table assertions in the canonical test files:
todo_test.go: default instructions contain### General TODO Guidelinesandjust complete the task directly.agentmode_test.go: default execute-mode instructions containDetermine the type of ask:and no longer containcarrying out approved plans.go build ./...,go vet, andgo test ./agent/harness/todo/... ./agent/harness/agentmode/...all pass.