feat: redact disabled tools from system prompt (#13597)

[NTaylorMullen]

Summary

Redact references to grep_search and glob from the system prompt when these tools are disabled.

Details

Previously, the system prompt explicitly instructed the model to use grep_search and glob search tools extensively, regardless of whether they were available in the tool registry. This led to "unfortunate" situations where the model would attempt to use disabled tools.

This PR:

• Adds enableGrep and enableGlob flags to PrimaryWorkflowsOptions.
• Updates PromptProvider to detect if these tools are enabled.
• Conditionally renders the search tool instructions in both Gemini 3 and Legacy snippets.
• Adds a regression test in prompts.test.ts.

Related Issues

Fixes #13597

How to Validate

Run the prompts tests:

npm test -w @google/gemini-cli-core -- src/core/prompts.test.ts

The test should redact grep and glob from the system prompt when they are disabled specifically verifies this behavior.

Pre-Merge Checklist

• Updated relevant documentation and README (if needed)
• Added/updated tests (if needed)
• Noted breaking changes (if any)
• Validated on required platforms/methods:
  • MacOS
    • npm run

[gemini-code-assist]

Summary of Changes

Hello @NTaylorMullen, I'm Gemini Code Assist¹! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request enhances the system prompt generation logic to be more adaptive to the available tools. By conditionally including or excluding references to grep_search and glob based on their enabled status, the change aims to improve the model's efficiency and reduce instances where it attempts to utilize tools that are not active, thereby streamlining its operational workflow.

Highlights

• Conditional Tool Redaction: The system prompt will now conditionally redact references to grep_search and glob tools if they are disabled, preventing the model from attempting to use unavailable functionalities.
• Configuration Flags: New enableGrep and enableGlob flags have been introduced in PrimaryWorkflowsOptions to control the visibility of these tools in the prompt.
• Prompt Generation Logic: The PromptProvider has been updated to detect the enabled status of these tools and dynamically render the search tool instructions in both Gemini 3 and Legacy prompt snippets.
• Regression Testing: A new regression test has been added to prompts.test.ts to ensure that grep_search and glob are correctly redacted from the system prompt when disabled.

Changelog

• packages/core/src/core/snapshots/prompts.test.ts.snap
  • Updated various prompt snapshots to reflect the conditional inclusion/exclusion of glob and grep_search in the 'Available Tools' section and 'Research' workflow step.
• packages/core/src/core/prompts.test.ts
  • Modified the mock for getAllToolNames to include grep_search and glob by default for some tests.
  • Added a new test case should redact grep and glob from the system prompt when they are disabled to verify the redaction functionality.
  • Updated existing it.each test cases for CodebaseInvestigator to correctly handle grep_search and glob in tool name arrays.
• packages/core/src/prompts/promptProvider.ts
  • Imported GLOB_TOOL_NAME and GREP_TOOL_NAME constants.
  • Added enableGrep and enableGlob properties to the PrimaryWorkflowsOptions object, deriving their values from the enabledToolNames set.
• packages/core/src/prompts/snippets.legacy.ts
  • Added enableGrep and enableGlob boolean properties to the PrimaryWorkflowsOptions interface.
  • Refactored the workflowStepUnderstand function to dynamically construct search tool instructions based on the enableGrep and enableGlob options.
• packages/core/src/prompts/snippets.ts
  • Added enableGrep and enableGlob boolean properties to the PrimaryWorkflowsOptions interface.
  • Refactored the workflowStepResearch function to dynamically construct search tool instructions based on the enableGrep and enableGlob options.

Activity

• The pull request was authored by NTaylorMullen.
• It addresses and fixes issue System prompt does not respect disabled tools #13597.
• A new regression test was added to validate the conditional redaction of tools from the system prompt.
• The changes were validated on MacOS using npm run.
• The pre-merge checklist indicates that tests were added/updated.

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[gemini-code-assist]

Code Review

This pull request effectively redacts references to disabled grep_search and glob tools from the system prompt, preventing the model from attempting to use unavailable tools. The changes are well-implemented with corresponding updates to prompt providers, snippets, and a new regression test to ensure correctness.

I've identified a couple of minor areas for improvement in the prompt construction logic to enhance clarity and correctness, which I've detailed in the review comments. Overall, this is a solid contribution.

[github-actions]

Size Change: +681 B (0%)

Total Size: 23.9 MB

ℹ️ View Unchanged

Filename	Size	Change
./bundle/gemini.js	23.9 MB	+681 B (0%)
./bundle/sandbox-macos-permissive-closed.sb	1.03 kB	0 B
./bundle/sandbox-macos-permissive-open.sb	890 B	0 B
./bundle/sandbox-macos-permissive-proxied.sb	1.31 kB	0 B
./bundle/sandbox-macos-restrictive-closed.sb	3.29 kB	0 B
./bundle/sandbox-macos-restrictive-open.sb	3.36 kB	0 B
./bundle/sandbox-macos-restrictive-proxied.sb	3.56 kB	0 B

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