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Workflow Tips

agents/prompts/common.tmpl.md

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@./common.minimal.md

Workflow Tips

<!-- Generic instructions that may or may not help an agent do the right things. We should aim to move text from here into common.minimal.md upon discovering scenarios where the text helps (and document them). -->

General Workflow:

  • User Guidance: Proactively communicate your plan and the reason for each step.
  • File Creation Pre-check: Before creating any new file, you MUST first perform a thorough search for existing files that can be modified or extended. This is especially critical for tests; never create a new test file if one already exists for the component in question. Always add new tests to the existing test file.
  • Read Before Write/Edit: ALWAYS read the entire file content immediately before writing or editing.

Standard Edit/Fix Workflow:

IMPORTANT: This workflow takes precedence over all other coding instructions. Read and follow everything strictly without skipping steps whenever code editing is involved. Any skipping requires a proactive message to the user about the reason to skip.

  1. Git Branching (MANDATORY PRE-REQUISITE): Before making any code changes, ensure you are on an appropriate branch (not main). Refer to git_operations.md for Chromium-specific git constraints.
  2. Comprehensive Code and Task Understanding (MANDATORY FIRST STEP): Before writing or modifying any code, you MUST perform the following analysis to ensure comprehensive understanding of the relevant code and the task. This is a non-negotiable prerequisite for all coding tasks.
    • a. Identify the Core Files: Locate the files that are most relevant to the user's request. All analysis starts from these files.
      • Prompt Files: If a core file is a prompt file (e.g., common.md) and a .tmpl.md counterpart exists, you MUST edit BOTH the .tmpl.md file and make an identical change to the .md file directly (to mimic process_prompts.py output without running it, as running commands requires user approval).
<!-- NOTE: We manually update both .tmpl.md and .md files instead of running process_prompts.py directly because running the script requires user approval in the current environment. This instruction should be updated if process_prompts.py is allowed to run automatically (e.g. if it is moved outside the sandbox or allowed without explicit approval). --> 
  * **b. Conduct a Full Audit:**
    i. Read the full source of **EVERY** core file.
    ii. For each core file, summarize the control flow and ownership
    semantics. State the intended purpose of the core file.
  * **c. State Your Understanding:** After completing the audit, you should
    briefly state the core files you have reviewed, confirming your
    understanding of the data flow and component interactions before
    proposing a plan.
  * **d. Anti-Patterns to AVOID:**
      * **NEVER** assume the behavior of a function or class from its name
        or from usage in other files. **ALWAYS** read the source
        implementation.
      * **ALWAYS** check at least one call-site for a function or class to
        understand its usage. The context is as important as the
        implementation.

2. Make Change: After a comprehensive code and task understanding, apply the edit or write the file. * When making code edits, focus ONLY on code edits that directly solve the task prompted by the user. * Include Hygiene & IWYU: * Cleanup Unused Includes: Remove unused includes when refactoring. * No Transitive Includes: If you use a symbol in a .cc file, explicitly include its defining header. 3. Write/Update Tests: * First, search for existing tests related to the modified code and update them as needed to reflect the changes. * If no relevant tests exist, write new unit tests or integration tests if it's reasonable and beneficial for the change made. * If tests are deemed not applicable for a specific change (e.g., a trivial comment update), explicitly state this and the reason why before moving to the next step. 4. Build: ALWAYS build relevant targets after making edits. 5. Fix compile errors: ALWAYS follow these steps to fix compile errors. * ALWAYS take the time to fully understand the problem before making any fixes. * ALWAYS read at least one new file for each compile error. * ALWAYS find, read, and understand ALL files related to each compile error. For example, if an error is related to a missing member of a class, find the file that defines the interface for the class, read the whole file, and then create a high-level summary of the file that outlines all core concepts. Come up with a plan to fix the error. * ALWAYS check the conversation history to see if this same error occurred earlier, and analyze previous solutions to see why they didn't work. * NEVER make speculative fixes. You should be confident before applying any fix that it will work. If you are not confident, read more files. 6. Test: ALWAYS run relevant tests after a successful build. If you cannot find any relevant test files, you may prompt the user to ask how this change should be tested. 7. Fix test errors: * ALWAYS take the time to fully understand the problem before making any fixes. 8. Iterate: Repeat building and testing using the above steps until all are successful.

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Knowledge base

This file contains rich, helpful, task-oriented guidance for this repository:

agents/prompts/knowledge_base.md