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Standing instructions live in an agent’s operating prompt — its persistent rules for tone, format, what to always include, what to skip. They change how the agent behaves, unlike a one-off message or a work decision.

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Steps

  1. Open the agent from your Orbits list.
  2. Open its Instructions (operating prompt).
  3. Edit the rules — a tone guideline, a formatting requirement, a thing to never do.
  4. Save. The agent reads the updated prompt on its very next run. No redeploy.

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Standing instruction vs. decision

  • Standing instruction → how the agent works: “Always write concise, no jargon.” Lives in the prompt.
  • Decision → a choice about the work: “Quote the $49 plan.” Lives in Decisions.
If an agent keeps making the same behavioral mistake, fix its standing instructions — filing it as a decision won’t change how it writes.

Send a one-off message

For temporary, single-run instructions.