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Copilot AI commented Jan 31, 2026

Plan: Update Safe Output Prompt for Noop Tool

  • Explore repository structure and locate safe output prompt
  • Find noop tool definition in safe_outputs_tools.json
  • Locate prompt generation in unified_prompt_step.go
  • Update safe output prompt text to include noop instruction
  • Review the updated prompt text for clarity
  • Run tests to validate changes
  • Run fmt, lint and build checks before committing
  • Address review feedback: clarify instruction to specify "no other safe output tool calls during this workflow execution"

Changes Made

Initial Change (commit 0e9e1af)

Updated the builtin safe output prompt text in pkg/workflow/unified_prompt_step.go to include instruction about using the "noop" tool.

Updated Change (this commit)

Addressed feedback from @pelikhan: Clarified that the noop tool should only be called if no other safe output tool calls were made during the entire workflow execution.

Before:

Note: If you have no other safe output actions to perform, call the "noop" tool to provide a status message indicating completion or that no actions are needed.

After:

Note: If you made no other safe output tool calls during this workflow execution, call the "noop" tool to provide a status message indicating completion or that no actions were needed.

The updated instruction is more precise and removes ambiguity about when the noop tool should be used.

Original prompt

Update the builtin safe output prompt text that gets injected in the prompt and add a single sentence to tell the agent that it should call the "noop" tool if it had no other safe output to create. Basically, "nothing to do".


💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Update builtin safe output prompt text and add noop tool instruction Add noop tool guidance to safe output prompt Jan 31, 2026
Copilot AI requested a review from pelikhan January 31, 2026 16:24

**Critical**: Tool calls write structured data that downstream jobs process. Without tool calls, follow-up actions will be skipped.

**Note**: If you have no other safe output actions to perform, call the "noop" tool to provide a status message indicating completion or that no actions are needed.
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@copilot only needed if no safe outputs calls were made

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Updated the instruction to clarify this. Changed from "If you have no other safe output actions to perform" to "If you made no other safe output tool calls during this workflow execution" to make it explicit that noop should only be called when zero safe output calls were made. (5804c04)

…s were made

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI requested a review from pelikhan January 31, 2026 16:31
@pelikhan pelikhan marked this pull request as ready for review January 31, 2026 16:31
@pelikhan pelikhan merged commit 3993058 into main Jan 31, 2026
1 check passed
@pelikhan pelikhan deleted the copilot/update-safe-output-prompt-text branch January 31, 2026 16:32
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2 participants