#14229·kilocode

[QUESTION]: "DO NOT ADD ***ANY*** COMMENTS unless asked" in the session prompt conflicts with repo instruction files

Author: 70nyITCreated Sep 17, 2026Updated Sep 17, 2026

In packages/opencode/src/session/prompt/default.txt (same line in ling.txt and trinity.txt, not in anthropic.txt) under # Code style:

IMPORTANT: DO NOT ADD ANY COMMENTS unless asked

Two questions:

  1. Is this intentional, or leftover from upstream? It reads like it was copied from the Claude Code system prompt — the same line is in sst/opencode's packages/opencode/src/session/prompt/default.txt, and the phrase appears in thousands of leaked-prompt mirrors.
  2. Has anyone reported problems with it? I could not find an issue.

Why it is a problem: it contradicts the convention that most repos I work in enforce via CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md / steering rules ("JSDoc on every export", "comment the WHY inside functions"). Instruction files appear to be appended after the provider prompt, so they can win on conflict but cannot delete the line — the model sees an explicit "do not comment" plus a repo rule saying "always comment", and compliance becomes non-deterministic. This bites hardest with custom model ids that fall through system.ts provider() to PROMPT_DEFAULT, which is exactly the file carrying the line.

The only workarounds today are patching the compiled binary or forking. Related: #11489 asks for the soul.txt prompt to be suppressible; the same "no prompt assembly override" limitation applies here.

Suggestion: drop the line from Kilo's prompt files (a kilocode_change deletion keeps it gone across upstream merges), and/or open the same request upstream in sst/opencode so it is fixed at the source instead of re-patched every merge. Happy to file the upstream issue if you want it.