Add user-friendly descriptions for PR tools#8514
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Co-authored-by: alexr00 <38270282+alexr00@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: alexr00 <38270282+alexr00@users.noreply.github.com>
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[WIP] Update PR tool descriptions for better user orientation
Add user-friendly descriptions for PR tools
Feb 13, 2026
alexr00
approved these changes
Feb 13, 2026
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Pull request overview
This PR adds user-friendly descriptions for GitHub Pull Request tools that are shown to end users. Previously, tool descriptions exposed implementation details like "JSON object" that are only relevant to the Language Model. The PR separates user-facing descriptions (userDescription) from model-facing descriptions (modelDescription).
Changes:
- Added
userDescriptionfields to 4 tools:issue_fetch,notification_fetch,labels_fetch, anddoSearch - Added corresponding localization strings in
package.nls.json - Enhanced
labels_fetchmodelDescription to explicitly mention "JSON object" for consistency
Note: The PR also includes extensive changes to VS Code proposed API type definitions that appear unrelated to the stated purpose.
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Copilot reviewed 2 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.
Show a summary per file
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| package.json | Added userDescription fields to 4 language model tools and improved labels_fetch modelDescription |
| package.nls.json | Added 4 new user-friendly description strings for the tools |
| src/@types/vscode.proposed.chatSessionsProvider.d.ts | Unrelated: Updates to chat sessions provider API including new states, readonly properties, and metadata support |
| src/@types/vscode.proposed.chatParticipantPrivate.d.ts | Unrelated: Extensive additions to chat participant private API including hooks, permissions, and session tracking |
| src/@types/vscode.proposed.chatParticipantAdditions.d.ts | Unrelated: Major additions including question carousels, new tool data types, and response parts |
| src/@types/vscode.proposed.chatContextProvider.d.ts | Unrelated: Removed duplicate comment lines in documentation |
jrieken
approved these changes
Feb 13, 2026
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Tool descriptions shown to users were exposing implementation details like "JSON object" that are only relevant to the LLM.
Changes
Added
userDescriptionfields to tools that only hadmodelDescription:issue_fetch: "Get the details of a GitHub issue or pull request."notification_fetch: "Get the details of a GitHub notification."labels_fetch: "Fetch all labels from a GitHub repository, including their names, colors, and descriptions."doSearch: "Search for GitHub issues and pull requests."Added corresponding localization strings in
package.nls.jsonThe
modelDescriptionfields remain unchanged so LLMs still receive the technical context they need (e.g., JSON format details, query formation hints).Original prompt
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