are prompts you’ll be able to retailer to your coding agent for straightforward entry. That is sometimes very helpful for prompts you employ repeatedly, comparable to:
- Create a launch pull request from the dev to the prod department
- Analyze these log teams, and inform me of any points
- Run pre-commit checks, push the code, and make a PR
These are all instructions I run each day. As a substitute of typing out the prompts every time or storing the prompts someplace, I can merely save them as slash instructions in Claude Code or Warp.
This offers me super-fast entry to my mostly used prompts, saving me a whole lot of time each day.
On this article, I’ll talk about slash instructions, what they’re, and why they’re so efficient. Moreover, I’ll cowl some particular instructions that I’ve saved and make the most of repeatedly.
Why you must use slash instructions
Slash instructions are merely easy-to-access prompts which can be tremendous helpful if you end up working a whole lot of repetitive prompts. I imagine that a whole lot of the prompts most programmers use can be repeated prompts. It could actually, for instance ,be:
- Creating pull requests
- Checking if the code is production-ready
- Writing documentation for a code base
These are all prompts you possible run frequently. If that’s the case, you must make these prompts into slash instructions. As a substitute of writing:
Verify if the code is manufacturing prepared, run pre-commit checks with black,
mypy and pytest, commit and push the code, and create PR and supply me
the url to the PR.You’ll be able to merely retailer this as a command and write:
/make-prWith the current developments of coding brokers, I discover myself writing much more code and thus making much more pull requests. I subsequently write this immediate wherever from 2 to 10 instances a day. The time writing out the immediate, subsequently, provides up rapidly, and I save a whole lot of time merely utilizing the slash command as a substitute.
An extra good thing about utilizing slash instructions is that your instructions can be constant. You’ll all the time be working the identical command, and always remember to jot down out elements of the command, for instance, forgetting to run pre-commit checks. That is additionally an enormous time-saver.
Easy methods to make slash instructions
You create slash instructions in numerous methods, relying on which software you might be utilizing. Nonetheless, I’ll present hyperlink to a few of the commonest coding agent instruments, and hyperlinks to their respective documentation about slash instructions:
Basically nonetheless, you’ll be able to merely immediate any coding software, give it a immediate and a reputation, and inform it to create the slash command for you.
You’ll be able to then use the command by typing, slash and the command title. For instance, to run the command make-pr you’d write the command beneath into your coding agent
/make-prA few of my slash instructions
On this part, I’ll describe among the slash instructions that I exploit each day. For every command, I’ll clarify why it’s helpful and tips on how to use it.
Create launch PR
A typical coding apply is to have 3 sorts of branches:
- Characteristic branches (private branches individuals use)
- A shared growth department
- A shared manufacturing department
If you’re utilizing this construction, you possible create launch PR’s from the event department to the manufacturing department. These PR’s sometimes observe a regular construction, highlighting the completely different adjustments which can be being merged in. For instance:
- Every change being added, and by whom
- Any helpful hyperlinks to documentation, Slack messages, or different related context
- A guidelines that have to be crammed out earlier than merging the code (high quality assurance, and so on.)
To create this, you sometimes immediate your coding agent to make a PR, with the specs from the bullet level checklist above. Nonetheless, this each takes time and will be inconsistent (as you may need small adjustments in your immediate each time you write it).
As a substitute, create a slash command like:
Create a launch PR from the dev department to the primary department. The PR ought to
embody:
- every change being added, and by whom
- hyperlinks to related context used for an of the adjustments (slack messages and so on)
- a guidelines of things that must be carried out earlier than merging, if related. For
instance: "carry out QA testing in dev department"Now you’ll be able to rapidly and constantly create launch PR’s to your repository.
Create new characteristic department PR
In all probability the commonest command I exploit it to create a brand new characteristic department PR. After I’ve applied a brand new characteristic, or fastened a bug, I’ve to do the next:
- Pull newest dev department, to verify I’m up to date
- Department off to a characteristic department, from the newly pulled dev department
- Run pre-commit checks on the brand new code
- Commit and push the code within the new characteristic department
- Create a PR from the characteristic department to the dev department
I run this a number of instances a day, and it’s thus manner quicker to run it as a slash command, such as you see beneath:
Given the adjustments, I now have to create a PR. Do the next:
- Pull the newest dev department
- Department off to a brand new characteristic department from the dev department
- Run pre-commit checks to verify my code is manufacturing prepared
- Commit and push the characteristic department
- Create a PR from the characteristic department to the primary departmentI usually additionally present the characteristic department title, as I exploit Linear department naming, to robotically replace the standing of my points, given the standing of my code (if it’s in a characteristic department, in dev, or in prod).
Generalize the information from a thread
One other command command I exploit it to generalize information from a thread. That is very helpful, as a result of I usually discover that brokers behave a bit in another way than desired, for instance in the way it implements a characteristic. Or the mannequin may lack some information that will be helpful to have in any future interplay.
Thus, I inform the mannequin to generalize the information from the thread the place I applied a brand new characteristic, or fastened a bug. I exploit a immediate like:
Generalize the information from this thread, saving all helpful, generalizable
information that's helpful for future coding on this repository. Retailer the
knowedge in AGENTS.mdI sometimes run this command after the final command which creates a brand new pull request from my characteristic department.
Manufacturing-ready code
I usually discover that asking my coding agent if the code is production-ready, is environment friendly at discovering bugs and different points. For some purpose, prompting the mannequin about manufacturing readiness, makes the mannequin mirror on its implementation, and uncover points it neglected earlier. I thus have a separate immediate I exploit to verify whether or not my immediate is production-ready:
Verify if the brand new code created on this department is manufacturing prepared. You must
search for any potential points when working this code in manufacturing, and
guarantee all exams and pre-commit checks run as anticipated. For those who detect any
points, present me a report concerning the points, their severity, and the way we will
resolve them.A Cursor instance
I additionally wish to spotlight a slash command instance that Cursor supplies in their documentation.
They for instance present a code assessment guidelines, which the mannequin can undergo to carry out code evaluations. That is very helpful to run evaluations after you create PR’s, however can be helpful to run as a pre-commit verify.
You’ll be able to see the code assessment slash command beneath:
# Code Overview Guidelines
## Overview
Complete guidelines for conducting thorough code evaluations to make sure high quality, safety, and maintainability.
## Overview Classes
### Performance
- [ ] Code does what it is alleged to do
- [ ] Edge circumstances are dealt with
- [ ] Error dealing with is acceptable
- [ ] No apparent bugs or logic errors
### Code High quality
- [ ] Code is readable and well-structured
- [ ] Features are small and centered
- [ ] Variable names are descriptive
- [ ] No code duplication
- [ ] Follows challenge conventions
### Safety
- [ ] No apparent safety vulnerabilities
- [ ] Enter validation is current
- [ ] Delicate information is dealt with correctly
- [ ] No hardcoded secrets and techniquesConclusion
On this article, I’ve mentioned slash instructions, and the way they will make you a more practical programmer. Slash instructions are merely prompts you retailer for straightforward entry, sometimes used for prompts you run on a repeated foundation. Utilizing slash instructions saves me a whole lot of time day by day. I urge you to consider repeated processes and prompts you employ in your day-to-day programming, and consider how one can convert it into slash instructions. I belive this mindset is extremely essential if you wish to grow to be a extra environment friendly. programmer.
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