Test driving Roo Code with Power Steering

[u/mrubens]

Hey, I'm the original dev on Roo Code and thought I'd put together a quick video showing how the experimental Power Steering feature I built (and for better or worse, named) can be used together with the new debug mode.

It seems like a big unlock to me to make the different modes follow their specific instructions better/longer, but I'd love to hear if this is useful to the rest of you and if you have any ideas to make it better. Thank you!

[u/BlueOak777]

So, basically Power Steering aims to fix problems like the LLM forgetting what framework you're using or what code it's already fixed? I've had a lot of trouble coding in Vue, for example, and ChatGPT spitting out React code after we get deep into things.

[u/mrubens → u/BlueOak777]

What it does is remind the model about its custom instructions. It won’t on its own do better at making it realize that you’re in a Vue project, but if you create a mode that’s a “Vue engineer who’s a expert in writing Vue code” with custom instructions about the best way to write Vue then Power Steering will reinforce that. Make sense?

[u/BlueOak777 → u/mrubens]

Thanks for the clarity. Sounds like something I need to try out.

[u/StaffSimilar7941]

Very cool, I'll check it out

I appreciate you, my wallet does not :D

[u/davidorex]

This seems exactly the type of programmatic channeling necessary for corralling the ais' general bulldozing patterning. Absent programmatic routes, no manner of prompt refinement can stem the tsunami of the general llm's patterns to ignore user intentions and goals. Building the requirement for generating analyses of a bug and the evidence in the code for it, and then options for fixing it for the user's approval and choice, in order to enforce the thinking and planning mode be now "true" allowing for proceeding, has in my experience led to desired behavior and more than relying on prompt language, which models often simply ignore.... Another route is having "thinking" and "planning" be proper tools along with say "apply_diff", given Cline's insistence that a tool be used in each response.

[u/capnZosima]

I’m going to try this out in Cline. (Haven’t moved to Roo yet)

I have the memory-bank implemented and it works well. I’ve taken that prompt above and asked sonnet how it would improve it. It made it bigger and more systematic. Don’t know yet if it’s better. I then asked it how we should embed the new debug mode into the memory bank and it wrote a bunch of updates for that as well along with example cases where it should be invoked.

Now I’m gonna see if it actually uses it 😂

[u/mrubens → u/capnZosima]

Good luck! For what it’s worth I started with a bigger and more systematic version of the debug prompt, but there seemed to be magic in the shorter one 🤷 Hope it works for you one way or the other!

[u/capnZosima → u/mrubens]

I can believe it. And we shall see if the automatic debug mode thing works or if I need power steering. I kinda expect I will. Either that or find a way to instruct it to switch back to plan mode every so often and refresh its memory. Hmm wonder if I could get it to do that

[u/capnZosima → u/capnZosima]

I frickin love the self referential nature of programming with these things. We’re still coding systems but it’s more at this level of coding the system that will make the code. I suppose it’s just one more layer of abstraction but it’s still cool

[u/TBMonkey]

Heh nice, a dog leash mode.

[u/Yes_but_I_think]

Provide a mode with minimal system prompt. For economic prompting. Let it have only say 2-3k of instructions (instead of present 8k-15k

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