fix(agents): address inline task prompts code review findings

package.json

@@ -7,10 +7,9 @@
 	"scripts": {
 		"dev": "node --env-file=.env --import tsx/esm --watch src/index.ts",
 		"dev:web": "cd web && npx vite",
-		"build": "tsc && npm run build:copy-yaml && npm run build:copy-system-prompts && npm run build:copy-task-templates",
+		"build": "tsc && npm run build:copy-yaml && npm run build:copy-system-prompts",
 		"build:copy-yaml": "mkdir -p dist/agents/definitions && cp src/agents/definitions/*.yaml dist/agents/definitions/",
 		"build:copy-system-prompts": "mkdir -p dist/agents/prompts && cp -r src/agents/prompts/templates dist/agents/prompts/",
-		"build:copy-task-templates": "mkdir -p dist/agents/prompts/task-templates && cp src/agents/prompts/task-templates/*.eta dist/agents/prompts/task-templates/",
 		"build:web": "cd web && npm run build",
 		"start": "node dist/index.js",
 		"test": "vitest run --project unit",

src/agents/definitions/debug.yaml

@@ -17,7 +17,10 @@ capabilities:
 
 strategies:
   contextPipeline: [directoryListing, contextFiles, squint, workItem]
-  taskPromptBuilder: workItem
+
+prompts:
+  taskPrompt: |
+    Analyze and process the work item with ID: <%= it.cardId %>. The work item data has been pre-loaded.
 
 backend:
   enableStopHooks: true

src/agents/definitions/email-joke.yaml

@@ -15,7 +15,25 @@ capabilities:
 
 strategies:
   contextPipeline: [prefetchedEmails]
-  taskPromptBuilder: emailJoke
+
+prompts:
+  taskPrompt: |
+    ## Your Task
+
+    Your initial email search has already been completed — see the **SearchEmails** result above.
+
+    For each email found:
+    1. Use **ReadEmail** to read the full content
+    2. Compose a friendly, funny response that relates to the email content
+    3. Use **ReplyToEmail** to send your joke response
+    4. Use **MarkEmailAsSeen** to mark the email as read (prevents re-processing)
+
+    Once all emails have been processed, call **Finish**.
+
+    <% if (it.senderEmail) { %>
+    ## Sender Filter
+    Only emails from **<%= it.senderEmail %>** were included in the search.
+    <% } %>
 
 backend:
   enableStopHooks: false

src/agents/definitions/implementation.yaml

@@ -20,7 +20,10 @@ capabilities:
 
 strategies:
   contextPipeline: [directoryListing, contextFiles, squint, workItem]
-  taskPromptBuilder: workItem
+
+prompts:
+  taskPrompt: |
+    Analyze and process the work item with ID: <%= it.cardId %>. The work item data has been pre-loaded.
 
 backend:
   enableStopHooks: true

src/agents/definitions/planning.yaml

@@ -17,7 +17,10 @@ capabilities:
 
 strategies:
   contextPipeline: [directoryListing, contextFiles, squint, workItem]
-  taskPromptBuilder: workItem
+
+prompts:
+  taskPrompt: |
+    Analyze and process the work item with ID: <%= it.cardId %>. The work item data has been pre-loaded.
 
 backend:
   enableStopHooks: false

src/agents/definitions/profiles.ts

@@ -13,7 +13,11 @@ import {
 	resolveEffectiveCapabilities,
 } from '../capabilities/resolver.js';
 import type { ContextInjection, ToolManifest } from '../contracts/index.js';
-import { type TaskPromptContext, renderTaskPrompt } from '../prompts/index.js';
+import {
+	buildTaskPromptContext,
+	renderInlineTaskPrompt,
+	validateTemplate,
+} from '../prompts/index.js';
 import { buildGadgetsForAgent } from '../shared/gadgets.js';
 import type { FetchContextParams, PreExecuteParams } from './contextSteps.js';
 import { resolveAgentDefinition } from './loader.js';
@@ -69,24 +73,6 @@ function resolveRegistry<T>(registry: Record<string, T>, key: string, label: str
 	return value;
 }
 
-/**
- * Extract all relevant fields from AgentInput into a flat context object
- * for Eta task prompt template rendering.
- */
-function buildTaskPromptContext(input: AgentInput): TaskPromptContext {
-	return {
-		cardId: input.cardId || 'unknown',
-		commentText: input.triggerCommentText as string | undefined,
-		commentAuthor: (input.triggerCommentAuthor as string) || 'unknown',
-		prNumber: input.prNumber,
-		prBranch: input.prBranch,
-		commentBody: input.triggerCommentBody as string | undefined,
-		commentPath: (input.triggerCommentPath as string) || undefined,
-		// Email-joke agent fields
-		senderEmail: input.senderEmail as string | undefined,
-	};
-}
-
 /**
  * Merge required and optional capabilities into a single list.
  * In runtime, we use all declared capabilities (validation happens separately).
@@ -114,8 +100,14 @@ function buildProfileFromDefinition(def: AgentDefinition, agentType: string): Ag
 	// Get context pipeline from strategies
 	const contextPipeline = def.strategies.contextPipeline;
 
-	// Task prompt template name (maps to .eta file)
-	const taskTemplateName = def.strategies.taskPromptBuilder;
+	// Get task prompt template from prompts (required by schema)
+	const taskPromptTemplate = def.prompts.taskPrompt;
+
+	// Validate Eta syntax early to catch errors at profile build time
+	const validationResult = validateTemplate(taskPromptTemplate);
+	if (!validationResult.valid) {
+		throw new Error(`Agent '${agentType}' has invalid taskPrompt: ${validationResult.error}`);
+	}
 
 	const profile: AgentProfile = {
 		filterTools: (allTools: ToolManifest[]) => {
@@ -137,7 +129,8 @@ function buildProfileFromDefinition(def: AgentDefinition, agentType: string): Ag
 			}
 			return injections;
 		},
-		buildTaskPrompt: (input) => renderTaskPrompt(taskTemplateName, buildTaskPromptContext(input)),
+		buildTaskPrompt: (input) =>
+			renderInlineTaskPrompt(taskPromptTemplate, buildTaskPromptContext(input)),
 		capabilities: def.capabilities,
 		getLlmistGadgets: (integrationChecker?: IntegrationChecker) => {
 			// Resolve effective capabilities based on integration availability

src/agents/definitions/respond-to-ci.yaml

@@ -20,7 +20,12 @@ capabilities:
 
 strategies:
   contextPipeline: [prContext, directoryListing, contextFiles, squint, workItem]
-  taskPromptBuilder: ci
+
+prompts:
+  taskPrompt: |
+    You are on the branch `<%= it.prBranch %>` for PR #<%= it.prNumber %>.
+
+    CI checks have failed. Analyze the failures and fix them.
 
 backend:
   enableStopHooks: true

src/agents/definitions/respond-to-planning-comment.yaml

@@ -17,7 +17,18 @@ capabilities:
 
 strategies:
   contextPipeline: [directoryListing, contextFiles, squint, workItem]
-  taskPromptBuilder: commentResponse
+
+prompts:
+  taskPrompt: |
+    A user (@<%= it.commentAuthor %>) mentioned you in a comment on work item <%= it.cardId %>.
+
+    Their comment:
+    ---
+    <%= it.commentText %>
+    ---
+
+    The work item data (title, description, checklists, attachments, comments) has been pre-loaded above.
+    Read the user's comment carefully and classify it: if they ask a question or request clarification, reply with a thorough answer via PostComment (do not modify the plan). If they request plan changes, make surgical, targeted updates. If the comment contains both a question and a change request, do both. Default to plan updates when intent is ambiguous.
 
 backend:
   enableStopHooks: false

src/agents/definitions/respond-to-pr-comment.yaml

@@ -19,10 +19,25 @@ capabilities:
 
 strategies:
   contextPipeline: [prContext, prConversation, directoryListing, contextFiles, squint]
-  taskPromptBuilder: prCommentResponse
   gadgetOptions:
     includeReviewComments: true
 
+prompts:
+  taskPrompt: |
+    You are on the branch `<%= it.prBranch %>` for PR #<%= it.prNumber %>.
+
+    A user commented on this PR and mentioned you. Respond to their comment.
+    <% if (it.commentPath) { -%>
+    File: <%= it.commentPath %>
+    <% } -%>
+
+    Their comment:
+    ---
+    <%= it.commentBody %>
+    ---
+
+    Read the comment carefully and respond accordingly. If they ask for code changes, make the changes, commit, and push. If they ask a question, reply with a PR comment. Default to surgical, targeted changes unless they clearly ask for something broader.
+
 backend:
   enableStopHooks: true
   needsGitHubToken: true

src/agents/definitions/respond-to-review.yaml

@@ -20,10 +20,25 @@ capabilities:
 
 strategies:
   contextPipeline: [prContext, prConversation, directoryListing, contextFiles, squint]
-  taskPromptBuilder: prCommentResponse
   gadgetOptions:
     includeReviewComments: true
 
+prompts:
+  taskPrompt: |
+    You are on the branch `<%= it.prBranch %>` for PR #<%= it.prNumber %>.
+
+    A user commented on this PR and mentioned you. Respond to their comment.
+    <% if (it.commentPath) { -%>
+    File: <%= it.commentPath %>
+    <% } -%>
+
+    Their comment:
+    ---
+    <%= it.commentBody %>
+    ---
+
+    Read the comment carefully and respond accordingly. If they ask for code changes, make the changes, commit, and push. If they ask a question, reply with a PR comment. Default to surgical, targeted changes unless they clearly ask for something broader.
+
 backend:
   enableStopHooks: true
   needsGitHubToken: true

src/agents/definitions/review.yaml

@@ -19,7 +19,12 @@ capabilities:
 
 strategies:
   contextPipeline: [prContext, contextFiles, squint]
-  taskPromptBuilder: review
+
+prompts:
+  taskPrompt: |
+    Review PR #<%= it.prNumber %>.
+
+    Examine the code changes carefully and submit your review using CreatePRReview.
 
 backend:
   enableStopHooks: false

src/agents/definitions/schema.ts

@@ -69,26 +69,16 @@ export const CONTEXT_STEP_NAMES = [
 	'prefetchedEmails',
 ] as const;
 
-export const TASK_PROMPT_BUILDER_NAMES = [
-	'workItem',
-	'commentResponse',
-	'review',
-	'ci',
-	'prCommentResponse',
-	'emailJoke',
-] as const;
-
 export const COMPACTION_NAMES = ['implementation', 'default'] as const;
 
 /**
  * Strategies schema - context and prompt configuration.
  * Note: gadgetBuilder removed - gadgets are now derived from capabilities.
+ * Note: taskPromptBuilder removed - task prompts are now stored in prompts.taskPrompt.
  */
 const StrategiesSchema = z.object({
 	/** Pipeline of context fetching steps */
 	contextPipeline: z.array(z.enum(CONTEXT_STEP_NAMES)),
-	/** Task prompt template name (maps to .eta file) */
-	taskPromptBuilder: z.enum(TASK_PROMPT_BUILDER_NAMES),
 	/** Optional gadget configuration for special cases */
 	gadgetOptions: GadgetOptionsSchema,
 });
@@ -112,12 +102,10 @@ const TrailingMessageSchema = z
 	})
 	.optional();
 
-const PromptsSchema = z
-	.object({
-		systemPrompt: z.string().optional(),
-		taskPrompt: z.string().optional(),
-	})
-	.optional();
+const PromptsSchema = z.object({
+	systemPrompt: z.string().optional(),
+	taskPrompt: z.string().min(1, 'taskPrompt is required and must be non-empty'),
+});
 
 /**
  * Complete agent definition schema.
@@ -145,7 +133,7 @@ export const AgentDefinitionSchema = z.object({
 	hint: z.string(),
 	/** Trailing message configuration */
 	trailingMessage: TrailingMessageSchema,
-	/** Custom prompts (optional) */
+	/** Custom prompts (taskPrompt required, systemPrompt optional) */
 	prompts: PromptsSchema,
 });
 

src/agents/definitions/splitting.yaml

@@ -18,7 +18,10 @@ capabilities:
 
 strategies:
   contextPipeline: [directoryListing, contextFiles, squint, workItem]
-  taskPromptBuilder: workItem
+
+prompts:
+  taskPrompt: |
+    Analyze and process the work item with ID: <%= it.cardId %>. The work item data has been pre-loaded.
 
 backend:
   enableStopHooks: false