Problem

When in Ask mode, the agent doesn't seem to know up front that it's in Ask mode. It tries a bunch of actions (like writing files, running commands, etc.) before eventually realizing it should only be answering questions. This has been reported on Reddit and observed by team members.

Expected behavior

The agent should immediately understand it's in Ask mode and respond accordingly — providing answers, explanations, and analysis without attempting code modifications or tool use that isn't appropriate for Ask mode.

Possible root cause

The system prompt for Ask mode may not be sufficiently clear or prominent about the mode's constraints, causing the model to default to agentic behavior before discovering the limitation.

Suggested fix

Adjust the Ask mode system prompt to make the mode constraint more prominent and explicit upfront, so the model understands its role from the very first token of its response.

cc: Related Reddit feedback and internal observations.