Overview The detect_impact prompt guides AI agents through a comprehensive pre-commit impact analysis workflow. It analyzes your current code changes, identifies affected execution flows, and provides a risk assessment.
Use this before committing to understand the blast radius of your changes.Parameters What changes to analyze:
unstaged — Only unstaged changesstaged — Only staged changesall — All uncommitted changes (staged + unstaged)compare — Compare against a specific branch/commit (requires base_ref) Branch or commit to compare against (required if scope is compare) Examples: main, develop, HEAD~1, a1b2c3d
What It Does The prompt instructs the agent to:
Run detect_changes with the specified scope to find changed symbols and affected processesAnalyze critical symbols using context tool to see full reference graphCheck blast radius using impact tool for high-risk itemsGenerate risk report with changes, affected processes, risk level, and recommendations
Usage In Claude Desktop Run the detect_impact prompt
Agent will ask for parameters or use defaults.
In Cursor/OpenCode Invoke the prompt from the MCP prompts menu, or reference it directly:
Use the detect_impact prompt to analyze my changes
With Parameters Run detect_impact with scope="staged"
Run detect_impact comparing against main branch
Example Workflow Here’s what the agent does when you invoke this prompt:
Detect Changes
Runs detect_changes({scope: "all"}) to find modified symbols and affected processes changed_symbols : - name : validateUser file : src/auth/validate.ts change_type : modified affected_processes : [ "User Login Flow" , "Password Reset" ]
Analyze Critical Symbols
For each symbol in critical processes, runs context({name: "validateUser"}) to see:
All callers
All callees
Process participation
Related symbols
Check Blast Radius
For high-risk symbols (many callers or cross-process usage), runs: impact({target: "validateUser", direction: "upstream"})
To see what breaks at depth 1, 2, and 3.
Generate Report
Summarizes findings: # Impact Analysis ## Changes - Modified `validateUser` in src/auth/validate.ts - Modified `hashPassword` in src/auth/utils.ts ## Affected Processes - User Login Flow (12 steps) - Password Reset (8 steps) - Admin Login (10 steps) ## Risk Level: HIGH `validateUser` has 23 upstream callers across 3 processes. Breaking change could affect all authentication flows. ## Recommendations 1. Add tests for all 3 affected processes 2. Review upstream callers for compatibility 3. Consider deprecation path if changing signature
Example Output The agent presents a structured risk report:
# Pre-Commit Impact Analysis ## Summary Analyzing all uncommitted changes in repository "my-app" ## Changed Symbols 1. **validateUser** (src/auth/validate.ts) - Change: Modified function signature - Callers: 23 direct, 47 indirect - Processes: User Login Flow, Password Reset, Admin Login 2. **hashPassword** (src/auth/utils.ts) - Change: Updated hashing algorithm - Callers: 5 direct, 12 indirect - Processes: User Registration, Password Reset ## Affected Processes ### High-Risk Processes - **User Login Flow** (12 steps) - Changed symbols: validateUser (step 2), hashPassword (step 3) - Risk: Breaking change would prevent all user logins - **Password Reset** (8 steps) - Changed symbols: validateUser (step 4), hashPassword (step 6) - Risk: Could break password recovery ### Medium-Risk Processes - **Admin Login** (10 steps) - Changed symbols: validateUser (step 3) - Risk: Admin access could be affected ## Blast Radius ### validateUser - **Depth 1** (WILL BREAK): 23 functions - loginHandler, resetPasswordHandler, adminLoginHandler, ... - **Depth 2** (MAY BREAK): 47 functions - **Depth 3** (WATCH): 89 functions ### hashPassword - **Depth 1** (WILL BREAK): 5 functions - **Depth 2** (MAY BREAK): 12 functions ## Risk Assessment **Overall Risk: HIGH** - Core authentication functions modified - 3 critical processes affected - 70+ functions in blast radius - No breaking changes detected in signatures ## Recommendations 1. **Test Coverage** - Add integration tests for all 3 affected processes - Verify backward compatibility with existing callers 2. **Review** - Manually verify the 23 direct callers of validateUser - Check if hashPassword algorithm change affects stored hashes 3. **Deployment** - Consider gradual rollout - Monitor authentication metrics post-deploy 4. **Documentation** - Update API docs if function signatures changed - Add migration guide if breaking
When to Use
Before Committing Run this before every commit to catch breaking changes
Before PR Include the report in your PR description
During Code Review Use to understand reviewer’s concerns about blast radius
Before Deploy Final check before merging to production
This prompt orchestrates multiple tools:
Tool Purpose in Workflow detect_changesFind what changed and affected processes contextGet 360-degree view of critical symbols impactCalculate blast radius for high-risk items
The prompt provides the workflow logic while tools provide the data .
Next Steps
Detect Changes Tool Learn about the underlying tool used by this prompt