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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.poolside.ai/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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Overview

Context is the information Poolside uses to understand and complete your request. In agent sessions, Poolside builds context dynamically as it runs. It starts with what you reference and expands as needed to complete your request. Guide what Poolside considers by explicitly referencing files, folders, symbols, or web content in your prompt. For a conceptual overview of how agents work, see How agents work.

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Add context in the IDE

In Poolside Assistant, add files, symbols, web content, and other context directly from the prompt input box.

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Reference files and folders

The active editor file is included automatically. Reference additional files or folders as needed. Use file references when:
  • Asking about a specific file
  • Requesting changes in a defined area
  • Providing constraints or examples
To add additional files or folders:
  1. Type @ followed by the file or folder name in the prompt.
  2. Select a matching result to insert it into the prompt.

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Reference code symbols

Use symbol references to include functions, classes, methods, variables, or other supported symbols from the active file. Symbol references are available when your editor can provide document symbols for the active file. Use symbol references when:
  • Asking what a specific function or class does
  • Modifying a specific symbol
  • Investigating how a symbol is used
To add a symbol:
  1. Type # in the prompt.
  2. Select a matching symbol from the list or continue typing to filter the results.
Example prompt: 
How does #getIcon work in this file?
If the # menu does not show symbols, check that the file is open in the editor and that your editor’s language support can show symbols for that file.

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Add web content

Use Web content to reference a specific web page in your prompt. To add web content:
  1. In the prompt input box, click the context control button. When no context is attached, it displays @ Context. Otherwise, it displays the currently attached items.
  2. Select Web content.
  3. Type @ followed by the full URL.
  4. Select the URL from the Add website field to insert it into the prompt.
You can also type @ followed by the full URL directly in the prompt input box. Poolside Assistant context menu in VS Code showing file, web content, and additional context options

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Additional context

Use additional context when you want to control which workspace-derived sources are included automatically in your request. To add additional context:
  1. In the prompt input box, open the context menu. When no context is attached, it displays @ Context. When context is already attached, you can reopen the same menu from an attached context chip.
  2. Select Additional context.
  3. Enable or clear the checkboxes for the sources you want included.
Poolside Assistant additional context picker in VS Code showing workspace-derived context sources You can select from these sources:
  • Instructions: Project-level AGENTS.md and user-level .poolside instructions
  • Other open files or Recent files: Other files from your workspace, depending on the current mode
  • Codebase search: Relevant code from your workspace
  • Problems: Errors, warnings, and diagnostics from your IDE
  • External dependencies: Dependency manifest files such as package.json
  • Git: Repository context such as the current branch and commit messages
These selections influence the initial context provided to Poolside Assistant, but they do not strictly limit what the agent considers as it runs.

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Add context in the CLI

Use different context controls depending on which CLI mode you are using.

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Interactive mode

Use interactive mode when you want to work over multiple turns: 
pool
Start pool in the repository you want the agent to work in, or point it to a specific directory: 
pool -C /path/to/project
In interactive mode, the working directory is your starting context. To add specific files or folders, reference them in the prompt. To mention a file or directory, type @ in the prompt and select the item you want to include. In interactive mode, arguments after -- are forwarded to the agent server. To add files as context, reference them in the prompt instead. Example prompts: 
Look at @src/auth.ts and explain how login works.
Compare @package.json and @pnpm-lock.yaml and tell me which dependencies changed.
For more information, see Interactive mode.

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Automated mode

Use automated mode when you want to send one prompt and exit: 
pool exec -p "Summarize this codebase"
In automated mode, add files as explicit context by passing them after --: 
pool exec -p "Summarize this bug" -- README.md src/auth.ts package.json
You can combine this with -d to run against a different project directory: 
pool exec -p "Review these files" -d /path/to/project -- src/auth.ts package.json
For more information, see Automated mode.

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Context limits

A maximum context size applies to avoid performance issues. If the selected context exceeds the limit, a warning appears and Poolside may exclude some context.