Which version of the app are you using?

v3.16.5

Which API Provider are you using?
Google

Which Model are you using?
gemini-2.5

What happened?

When working with files that are not in obvious locations, the AI asks the user for file paths instead of using available tools to find the information itself. This creates unnecessary back-and-forth and puts the burden on the user to provide information that the AI could discover programmatically.

In a recent session, when asked to modify a component file, the AI immediately asked for the file path instead of using search_files or list_files to locate it.

Also tell us, what did you expect to happen?

The AI should automatically use search_files, list_files, or other appropriate tools to locate files or gather information before resorting to asking the user questions.

Steps to reproduce

1. Ask the AI to modify a file that is not in an obvious location (e.g., "modify the CodeBlock component to add navigation buttons")
2. Observe that the AI asks for the file location instead of searching for it
3. The user has to explicitly remind the AI to use tools instead of asking questions

Suggested System Instructions Fix

This issue can be fixed completely with additional system instructions for the ask_followup_question tool. The following addition would resolve the problem:

IMPORTANT: Before using this tool to ask the user for information:
1. You MUST first attempt to use other available tools (search_files, list_files, execute_command, etc.) to discover the information yourself
2. You MUST only resort to asking the user when the information cannot be reasonably discovered through available tools
3. You MUST NOT ask questions about file locations, content, or system state that can be determined programmatically

This simple addition to the system instructions would ensure the AI exhausts available tools before asking questions, significantly improving the user experience without requiring complex natural language processing of procedural languages.