Custom Prompts

Overview

Jean includes customizable “magic prompts” that power AI features like issue investigation, code review, and PR generation. You can modify these prompts to match your workflow and coding standards.

Available Magic Prompts

Investigation Prompts

`investigate_issue`

Prompt for investigating GitHub issues. Default behavior:

Read issue context files
Analyze problem (expected vs actual behavior)
Explore codebase for relevant code
Identify root cause
Check for regressions
Propose solution with specific files

Variables available:

{issueWord} - “issue” or “issues” (plural)
{issueRefs} - Issue numbers (e.g., “#123”)

`investigate_pr`

Prompt for investigating GitHub pull requests. Default behavior:

Read PR context and reviews
Understand changes and branches
Analyze approach
Security review (malicious code, backdoors, secrets)
Identify action items from reviewers
Propose next steps

Variables available:

{prWord} - “PR” or “PRs” (plural)
{prRefs} - PR numbers (e.g., “#456”)

`investigate_workflow_run`

Prompt for investigating failed GitHub Actions workflows. Variables available:

{workflowName} - Workflow name
{branch} - Branch name
{displayTitle} - Commit/PR title
{runUrl} - Workflow run URL
{runId} - Workflow run ID

`investigate_security_alert`

Prompt for investigating Dependabot vulnerability alerts. Variables available:

{alertWord} - “alert” or “alerts”
{alertRefs} - Alert identifiers

`investigate_advisory`

Prompt for investigating repository security advisories. Variables available:

{advisoryWord} - “advisory” or “advisories”
{advisoryRefs} - Advisory identifiers

`investigate_linear_issue`

Prompt for investigating Linear issues. Variables available:

{linearWord} - “issue” or “issues”
{linearRefs} - Linear issue IDs
{linearContext} - Full issue context (description + comments)

Generation Prompts

`pr_content`

Generates PR title and description from commits and diff. Variables available:

{current_branch} - Source branch
{target_branch} - Target branch
{commit_count} - Number of commits
{context} - Related context (issue, etc.)
{commits} - Commit history
{diff} - Full diff

`commit_message`

Generates commit message from staged changes. Variables available:

{status} - Git status output
{diff} - Staged diff
{recent_commits} - Recent commit messages
{remote_info} - Remote repository info

`release_notes`

Generates release notes from commits since last tag. Variables available:

{tag} - Previous release tag
{previous_release_name} - Previous release name
{commits} - Commits since tag

`session_naming`

Generates short session names from first user message. Variables available:

{message} - User’s first message

Rules:

Maximum 4-5 words
Sentence case (only capitalize first word)
No special characters
No generic names
No commit-style prefixes (“Add”, “Fix”, etc.)

Analysis Prompts

`code_review`

Provides structured code review feedback. Variables available:

{branch_info} - Current branch info
{commits} - Commit history
{diff} - Branch diff
{uncommitted_section} - Uncommitted changes section

Focus areas:

Security & supply-chain risks
Performance issues
Code quality and maintainability
Potential bugs
Best practices violations

`context_summary`

Summarizes conversation for future context loading. Variables available:

{project_name} - Project name
{date} - Current date
{conversation} - Full conversation

Output format:

Main Goal
Key Decisions & Rationale
Trade-offs Considered
Problems Solved
Current State
Unresolved Questions
Key Files & Patterns
Next Steps

`session_recap`

Generates brief session digest when returning to unfocused sessions. Variables available:

{conversation} - Conversation transcript

Output fields:

chat_summary - One sentence (max 100 chars)
last_action - Last completed action (max 200 chars)

Workflow Prompts

`resolve_conflicts`

Guides through resolving git merge conflicts. Appended to conflict resolution messages.

`global_system_prompt`

Global system prompt appended to every chat session. Similar to ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md for Claude CLI. Default includes:

Plan mode defaults
Subagent strategy
Self-improvement loop
Verification before done
Demand elegance
Autonomous bug fixing

`parallel_execution`

System prompt encouraging parallel sub-agent execution. Applied when parallel_execution_prompt_enabled is true in preferences.

Customizing Prompts

Via Preferences UI

Open Preferences (Cmd/Ctrl + ,)
Navigate to Magic Prompts tab
Select prompt to customize
Click Edit button
Modify prompt text
Click Save

Resetting to Defaults

To restore original prompt:

Open prompt editor
Click Reset to Default
Confirm reset

Prompt Customization Tips

Variables: Use {variable_name} syntax for dynamic values Structure: Follow XML-like tags for clarity:

<task>Your main instruction</task>

<instructions>
1. Step one
2. Step two
</instructions>

<guidelines>
- Guideline one
- Guideline two
</guidelines>

Output Format: Specify desired output format:

<output_format>
Respond with ONLY the raw JSON object:
{"field": "value"}
</output_format>

Per-Prompt Model Overrides

You can configure which AI model handles each prompt type:

Default Models (Claude)

{
  investigate_issue_model: 'opus',              // Heavy task
  investigate_pr_model: 'opus',                 // Heavy task
  investigate_workflow_run_model: 'opus',       // Heavy task
  pr_content_model: 'haiku',                    // Light task
  commit_message_model: 'haiku',                // Light task
  code_review_model: 'haiku',                   // Light task
  context_summary_model: 'opus',                // Heavy task
  resolve_conflicts_model: 'opus',              // Heavy task
  release_notes_model: 'haiku',                 // Light task
  session_naming_model: 'haiku',                // Light task
  session_recap_model: 'haiku',                 // Light task
  investigate_security_alert_model: 'opus',     // Heavy task
  investigate_advisory_model: 'opus',           // Heavy task
  investigate_linear_issue_model: 'opus'        // Heavy task
}

Codex Preset

{
  investigate_issue_model: 'gpt-5.3-codex',
  pr_content_model: 'gpt-5.1-codex-mini',
  commit_message_model: 'gpt-5.1-codex-mini',
  // ... (top model for heavy tasks, mini for light tasks)
}

Configuring Models

Preferences > Magic Prompts
Select prompt
Choose Model Override
Select model from dropdown
Save changes

Per-Prompt Backend Overrides

You can also specify which backend (Claude/Codex/OpenCode) handles each prompt:

{
  investigate_issue_backend: null,  // null = use project/global default
  pr_content_backend: 'claude',     // Force Claude for PR content
  code_review_backend: 'codex',     // Force Codex for reviews
  // ...
}

Per-Prompt Provider Overrides

For Claude CLI, you can override the provider (Anthropic/OpenRouter/etc.):

{
  investigate_issue_provider: null,        // null = use global default
  commit_message_provider: 'OpenRouter',   // Use OpenRouter profile
  // ...
}

Storage Location

Custom prompts are stored in:

~/Library/Application Support/io.coollabs.jean/preferences.json

(Location varies by platform - see ~/.config/jean/ on Linux, %APPDATA%\jean\ on Windows)

Example: Custom Code Review Prompt

<task>Review the following code changes and provide structured feedback</task>

<branch_info>{branch_info}</branch_info>

<commits>
{commits}
</commits>

<diff>
{diff}
</diff>

{uncommitted_section}

<instructions>
Focus on:
- **Security**: Check for vulnerabilities, hardcoded secrets, injection risks
- **Performance**: Identify bottlenecks, memory leaks, inefficient algorithms
- **Code Quality**: Look for code smells, duplication, unclear naming
- **Testing**: Assess test coverage and edge case handling
- **Documentation**: Verify inline comments and docstrings

Provide:
1. Overall summary (2-3 sentences)
2. Critical issues (must fix before merge)
3. Suggestions (nice-to-have improvements)
4. Praise (highlight good patterns)

Be constructive and specific. Include file paths and line numbers.
</instructions>

<output_format>
Use this structure:

## Summary
[Brief overview]

## Critical Issues
- [Issue 1 with file:line]
- [Issue 2 with file:line]

## Suggestions
- [Suggestion 1]
- [Suggestion 2]

## Praise
- [Good pattern 1]
- [Good pattern 2]
</output_format>

Best Practices

Test incrementally: Make small changes and test before committing
Keep structure: Maintain XML-like structure for clarity
Use variables: Leverage provided variables instead of hardcoding
Be specific: Give clear, actionable instructions
Include examples: Show expected output format
Version control: Back up preferences.json before major changes

Get Started

Core Concepts

Features

Guides

Advanced

Reference

​Overview

​Available Magic Prompts

​Investigation Prompts

​investigate_issue

​investigate_pr

​investigate_workflow_run

​investigate_security_alert

​investigate_advisory

​investigate_linear_issue

​Generation Prompts

​pr_content

​commit_message

​release_notes

​session_naming

​Analysis Prompts

​code_review

​context_summary

​session_recap

​Workflow Prompts

​resolve_conflicts

​global_system_prompt

​parallel_execution

​Customizing Prompts

​Via Preferences UI

​Resetting to Defaults

​Prompt Customization Tips

​Per-Prompt Model Overrides

​Default Models (Claude)

​Codex Preset

​Configuring Models

​Per-Prompt Backend Overrides

​Per-Prompt Provider Overrides

​Storage Location

​Example: Custom Code Review Prompt

​Best Practices

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love