YeonGyu-Kim
81c5ed44f0
Ground-up rewrites of sisyphus, hephaestus, oracle, and deep-category
prompts styled after OpenAI Codex's gpt-5.4 prompt architecture. Drafts
include shared sisyphus-junior base plus a deep category-context append
that layers on top of it.
Design principles captured in README: Codex-style section structure,
single {{ personality }} slot, prose-first output, contract frames over
threat frames, explicit opener blacklist, and "why, not just what"
justification for every rule.
89 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
89 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
# GPT-5.5 System Prompt Drafts
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This directory contains ground-up rewrites of the Sisyphus, Hephaestus, Oracle, and Deep system prompts, styled after OpenAI Codex's gpt-5.4 prompt architecture and targeted at GPT-5.5.
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## Files
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- `sisyphus.md` — Orchestrator. Intent gate, delegation philosophy, parallel execution discipline, verification.
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- `hephaestus.md` — Autonomous deep worker. Persistence, exploration-first, forbidden stops, root-cause bias.
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- `oracle.md` — Read-only strategic advisor. Three-tier response structure, hard verbosity limits, confidence signaling.
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- `deep.md` — Category-spawned deep worker (runs as Sisyphus-Junior under the `deep` category). Goal-oriented autonomous execution.
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## Design principles applied
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Each prompt applies the same small set of principles, borrowed and adapted from Codex's gpt-5.4 prompt work:
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1. **Single identity header with `{{ personality }}` slot.** Separates persona from logic so the same base prompt can ship in default / friendly / pragmatic variants without duplication.
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2. **`# General` → `## Autonomy and Persistence` → `## Task execution` → `## Validating your work` → `# Working with the user` → `# Tool Guidelines` structure.** Lifted directly from Codex's `gpt_5_2_prompt.md` and `gpt-5.2-codex_prompt.md`. Keeps the same section contract for every agent so readers can navigate consistently.
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3. **Prose-first output, bullets only when list-shaped.** GPT-5.5 reads and writes prose naturally; bullet overuse is a GPT-5.3 coping mechanism, not a genuine formatting need.
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4. **Contract frames over threat frames.** Rules are stated as agreements and expectations, not as "NEVER DO X OR YOU WILL FAIL". GPT-5.5's instruction following is strong enough that threats add entropy without improving compliance.
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5. **Opener blacklist is explicit.** "Done —", "Got it", "Great question", "Sure thing", and similar filler are called out by name. These are the most common failure modes across all models.
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6. **File reference formatting is unified.** Clickable markdown links with absolute paths, no `file://` or `https://` for local files, no line ranges.
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7. **Why, not just what.** Each major rule is accompanied by the reasoning. Rules without reasons get ignored when models judge them weakly-grounded; rules with reasons get applied even in novel situations.
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## Agent-specific shape
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### Sisyphus
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- Intent classification table (surface form → true intent → routing).
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- Zero-tolerance visual-engineering delegation rule.
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- Six-section delegation prompt contract.
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- Session continuity (`task_id` reuse) as a first-class topic.
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- Oracle consultation as a separate section with clear use/not-use guidance.
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### Hephaestus
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- Forbidden stops as a named list.
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- Three-attempt failure protocol.
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- Exploration-first as explicit philosophy (5-15 minutes is normal).
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- "Dig deeper" subsection for root-cause bias.
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- Ambition vs precision distinction for greenfield vs existing codebase work.
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- Task-tool restriction stated as an intentional design decision with rationale.
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### Oracle
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- Three-tier response structure (Essential / Expanded / Edge cases) with hard numerical limits.
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- Effort estimation (Quick / Short / Medium / Large) as a required field.
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- Confidence signaling (high / medium / low) added as a required field — new in v5.5, borrowed from Codex's `review_prompt.md`.
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- Pragmatic minimalism as explicit decision framework.
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- "No commentary channel; every word is the final answer" constraint acknowledged.
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### Deep
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- Explicitly positioned as Sisyphus-Junior in `deep` mode (category-spawned counterpart to Hephaestus).
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- Extensive exploration expectation stated.
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- Final-answer structure tuned for orchestrator relay: "What changed / Key decisions / Verification / Observations / Blockers".
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- Commentary cadence tuned down (sparse) since the user is not directly on the other side.
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## Known deviations from Codex
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These are intentional choices where oh-my-opencode's architecture differs from Codex's:
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- **`task()` delegation is central** for Sisyphus (it is the orchestrator), entirely absent for Oracle (read-only consultant), research-only for Hephaestus and Deep (they execute directly).
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- **No `update_plan` tool**; the harness uses `task_create` / `task_update` instead. Each prompt references its own tool set.
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- **Sub-agent ecosystem** (explore, librarian, oracle, metis, momus) is specific to this harness and does not exist in Codex. Each prompt explains when and how to use these agents.
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- **Skill loading** is a first-class concept via the `skill` tool. Codex has a simpler skill model.
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- **Commentary / final channels** are named the same way as Codex's output contract, but the actual transport layer is different (OpenCode, not Codex CLI).
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## Line counts
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For reference, approximate line counts after this rewrite versus the current production prompts:
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| Agent | Current (assembled) | Draft | Delta |
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|---|---:|---:|---:|
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| Sisyphus GPT-5.4 | ~500 | ~270 | -46% |
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| Hephaestus GPT-5.4 | ~400 | ~270 | -33% |
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| Oracle GPT | ~120 | ~160 | +33% |
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| Deep category append | ~20 | ~250 (as standalone) | N/A |
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Oracle grew because v5.5 adds Confidence signaling and explicitly documents follow-up session behavior. Deep grew because the draft is a standalone prompt rather than a category append; in production it would either replace Sisyphus-Junior's GPT-5.5 variant entirely or layer on top of a minimal Sisyphus-Junior base.
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## What this draft is not
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- **Not a `.ts` file.** These are markdown drafts. Converting to TypeScript template strings (with `{todoHookNote}`, `{keyTriggers}`, etc. interpolation) is the next step, once the content is validated.
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- **Not a tested prompt.** These have not been run against evals. Before shipping, each prompt should be benchmarked with `skill-creator`'s eval loop against the current production prompts on a representative task set.
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- **Not personality-substituted.** The `{{ personality }}` slot is a placeholder. Default / friendly / pragmatic content still needs to be authored.
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## Suggested next steps
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1. **Author personality variants.** Three short paragraphs (default, friendly, pragmatic) that slot into `{{ personality }}` and can be reused across all four prompts.
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2. **Build an eval harness.** Pick 5-10 representative tasks per agent and run current-prod vs draft-v5.5 head-to-head.
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3. **Convert to `.ts` with dynamic composition helpers.** Preserve the existing `buildAgentIdentitySection`, `buildToolSelectionTable`, etc. integration points where they still apply.
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4. **Ship behind a feature flag.** Opt-in for `gpt-5.5` model selection until eval confidence is high.
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