are prompts you’ll be able to retailer on your coding agent for simple entry. That is usually 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 every 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 provides me super-fast entry to my mostly used prompts, saving me plenty of time every day.
On this article, I’ll focus on 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 commonly.
Why it’s best to use slash instructions
Slash instructions are merely easy-to-access prompts which are tremendous helpful if you end up working plenty of repetitive prompts. I consider that plenty of the prompts most programmers use might be repeated prompts. It will possibly, 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 regularly. In that case, it’s best to make these prompts into slash instructions. As a substitute of writing:
Examine 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 may 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 shortly, and I save plenty of time merely utilizing the slash command as an alternative.
A further advantage of utilizing slash instructions is that your instructions might be constant. You’ll at all times be working the identical command, and always remember to put in writing 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’re utilizing. Nonetheless, I’ll present hyperlink to a few of the most typical coding agent instruments, and hyperlinks to their respective documentation about slash instructions:
Typically 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 may 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 take advantage of every day. For every command, I’ll clarify why it’s helpful and learn how to use it.
Create launch PR
A typical coding apply is to have 3 varieties of branches:
- Characteristic branches (private branches folks use)
- A shared improvement department
- A shared manufacturing department
In case you are utilizing this construction, you possible create launch PR’s from the event department to the manufacturing department. These PR’s usually comply with an ordinary construction, highlighting the totally different modifications which are 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 stuffed out earlier than merging the code (high quality assurance, and so on.)
To create this, you usually immediate your coding agent to make a PR, with the specs from the bullet level checklist above. Nonetheless, this each takes time and could be inconsistent (as you may need small modifications 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 principle department. The PR ought to
embody:
- every change being added, and by whom
- hyperlinks to related context used for an of the modifications (slack messages and so on)
- a guidelines of things that needs to be executed earlier than merging, if related. For
instance: "carry out QA testing in dev department"Now you’ll be able to shortly and persistently create launch PR’s on your repository.
Create new function department PR
Most likely the most typical command I take advantage of it to create a brand new function department PR. After I’ve applied a brand new function, or fastened a bug, I’ve to do the next:
- Pull newest dev department, to ensure I’m up to date
- Department off to a function department, from the newly pulled dev department
- Run pre-commit checks on the brand new code
- Commit and push the code within the new function department
- Create a PR from the function department to the dev department
I run this a number of instances a day, and it’s thus method sooner to run it as a slash command, such as you see beneath:
Given the modifications, I now have to create a PR. Do the next:
- Pull the most recent dev department
- Department off to a brand new function department from the dev department
- Run pre-commit checks to ensure my code is manufacturing prepared
- Commit and push the function department
- Create a PR from the function department to the principle departmentI typically additionally present the function department title, as I take advantage of Linear department naming, to routinely replace the standing of my points, given the standing of my code (if it’s in a function department, in dev, or in prod).
Generalize the information from a thread
One other command command I take advantage of it to generalize information from a thread. That is very helpful, as a result of I typically discover that brokers behave a bit in a different way than desired, for instance in the way it implements a function. Or the mannequin may lack some information that may 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 function, or fastened a bug. I take advantage of 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 usually run this command after the final command which creates a brand new pull request from my function department.
Manufacturing-ready code
I typically 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 take advantage of to examine whether or not my immediate is production-ready:
Examine if the brand new code created on this department is manufacturing prepared. It's best to
search for any potential points when working this code in manufacturing, and
guarantee all assessments and pre-commit checks run as anticipated. When you detect any
points, present me a report in regards to the points, their severity, and the way we are able to
resolve them.A Cursor instance
I additionally need to spotlight a slash command instance that Cursor supplies in their documentation.
They for instance present a code evaluation 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 examine.
You may see the code evaluation slash command beneath:
# Code Evaluate Guidelines
## Overview
Complete guidelines for conducting thorough code evaluations to make sure high quality, safety, and maintainability.
## Evaluate Classes
### Performance
- [ ] Code does what it is presupposed to do
- [ ] Edge circumstances are dealt with
- [ ] Error dealing with is suitable
- [ ] No apparent bugs or logic errors
### Code High quality
- [ ] Code is readable and well-structured
- [ ] Capabilities are small and centered
- [ ] Variable names are descriptive
- [ ] No code duplication
- [ ] Follows undertaking conventions
### Safety
- [ ] No apparent safety vulnerabilities
- [ ] Enter validation is current
- [ ] Delicate knowledge 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 simpler programmer. Slash instructions are merely prompts you retailer for simple entry, usually used for prompts you run on a repeated foundation. Utilizing slash instructions saves me plenty of time every 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 change into a extra environment friendly. programmer.
👉 My Free Sources
🚀 10x Your Engineering with LLMs (Free 3-Day Email Course)
📚 Get my free Vision Language Models ebook
💻 My webinar on Vision Language Models
👉 Discover me on socials:
🧑💻 Get in touch
✍️ Medium
