Prompting

Prompting

Roll uses a tiered prompting system to give agents the right context at the right level.

Workspace → Always included

Team → Included when working in a team’s repository

Profile → Included when performing a specific type of task

Workspace Prompts

Global instructions that apply to all agents across your organization.

What to include:

  • Communication style and tone
  • General coding standards
  • Security policies
  • Tool usage preferences

Example:

Use clear, direct language.
Follow existing code conventions.
Never commit secrets or credentials.
Prefer editing existing files over creating new ones.

Team Prompts

Repository-specific context that helps agents understand your codebase.

What to include:

  • Project architecture overview
  • Technology stack and dependencies
  • Build and test commands
  • Development workflow

Example:

This is a TypeScript monorepo using:
- Next.js for the frontend
- Express for the API
- PostgreSQL for the database
 
Build with: npm run build
Test with: npm test
Deploy with: npm run deploy

Profile Prompts

Task-specific instructions based on what the agent needs to do.

Common Profiles

Implementation

You have write access.
1. Read the requirements
2. Implement the solution
3. Test your changes
4. Create a pull request

Research

Read-only access.
Analyze the codebase and document findings.
Do not modify any files.

Review

Review code for:
- Quality and conventions
- Security issues
- Performance
Provide constructive feedback.

How It Works

When an agent starts, Roll combines the applicable prompts:

  1. Workspace prompt is always included
  2. Team prompt is added when working in a specific repository
  3. Profile prompt is added based on the task type

Example

For a bug fix in your API repository:

Workspace: “Follow existing conventions”
Team: “This is an Express API using TypeScript”
Profile: “Fix the bug and create a PR”

Best Practices

Keep each tier focused

  • Don’t repeat workspace rules in team prompts
  • Don’t include repo details in profiles
  • Avoid redundancy between tiers

Write clear instructions

  • ✅ “Use npm for package management”
  • ❌ “The project typically uses npm”

Update as needed

  • Add clarifications when patterns emerge
  • Remove outdated instructions
  • Test changes with a small group first

Configuration

Workspace prompts: Configure in Roll dashboard → Settings → Prompts

Team prompts: Either:

  • Roll dashboard → Team settings
  • Add a CLAUDE.md file to your repository root

Profile selection: Automatic based on context:

  • Linear assignment → Implementation profile
  • Manual launch → Selected profile
  • Webhook trigger → Configured profile
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