feat: add tool prompt override support in .continuerc.json

core/config/yaml/models.ts

@@ -3,12 +3,28 @@ import {
   ModelConfig,
 } from "@continuedev/config-yaml";
 
-import { ContinueConfig, ILLMLogger, LLMOptions } from "../..";
+import { ContinueConfig, ILLMLogger, LLMOptions, ToolOverride } from "../..";
 import { BaseLLM } from "../../llm";
 import { LLMClasses } from "../../llm/llms";
 
 const AUTODETECT = "AUTODETECT";
 
+/**
+ * Converts YAML record format { toolName: {...} } to array format [{ name: toolName, ...}]
+ * for use with applyToolOverrides
+ */
+function convertToolPromptOverridesToArray(
+  record: Record<string, Omit<ToolOverride, "name">> | undefined,
+): ToolOverride[] | undefined {
+  if (!record) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  return Object.entries(record).map(([name, override]) => ({
+    name,
+    ...override,
+  }));
+}
+
 function getModelClass(
   model: ModelConfig,
 ): (typeof LLMClasses)[number] | undefined {
@@ -67,6 +83,9 @@ async function modelConfigToBaseLLM({
     baseAgentSystemMessage: model.chatOptions?.baseAgentSystemMessage,
     basePlanSystemMessage: model.chatOptions?.basePlanSystemMessage,
     baseChatSystemMessage: model.chatOptions?.baseSystemMessage,
+    toolPromptOverrides: convertToolPromptOverridesToArray(
+      model.chatOptions?.toolPromptOverrides,
+    ),
     capabilities: {
       tools: model.capabilities?.includes("tool_use"),
       uploadImage: model.capabilities?.includes("image_input"),

core/index.d.ts

@@ -694,6 +694,9 @@ export interface LLMOptions {
 
   sourceFile?: string;
   isFromAutoDetect?: boolean;
+
+  /** Tool prompt overrides for this model */
+  toolPromptOverrides?: ToolOverride[];
 }
 
 type RequireAtLeastOne<T, Keys extends keyof T = keyof T> = Pick<
@@ -1139,6 +1142,30 @@ export interface Tool {
   ) => ToolPolicy;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Configuration for overriding built-in tool prompts.
+ * Allows customization of tool descriptions and behavior per model.
+ */
+export interface ToolOverride {
+  /** Tool name to override (matches function.name, e.g., "read_file", "run_terminal_command") */
+  name: string;
+  /** Override the tool's description shown to the LLM */
+  description?: string;
+  /** Override the display title shown in UI */
+  displayTitle?: string;
+  /** Override the action phrases */
+  wouldLikeTo?: string;
+  isCurrently?: string;
+  hasAlready?: string;
+  /** Override system message description for non-native tool calling */
+  systemMessageDescription?: {
+    prefix?: string;
+    exampleArgs?: Array<[string, string | number]>;
+  };
+  /** Set to true to disable this tool */
+  disabled?: boolean;
+}
+
 interface ToolChoice {
   type: "function";
   function: {

core/llm/index.ts

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import {
   RequestOptions,
   TabAutocompleteOptions,
   TemplateType,
+  ToolOverride,
   Usage,
 } from "../index.js";
 import { isLemonadeInstalled } from "../util/lemonadeHelper.js";
@@ -65,6 +66,8 @@ import {
   toCompleteBody,
   toFimBody,
 } from "./openaiTypeConverters.js";
+import { applyToolOverrides } from "../tools/applyToolOverrides.js";
+
 export class LLMError extends Error {
   constructor(
     message: string,
@@ -196,6 +199,9 @@ export abstract class BaseLLM implements ILLM {
 
   isFromAutoDetect?: boolean;
 
+  /** Tool prompt overrides for this model */
+  toolPromptOverrides?: ToolOverride[];
+
   lastRequestId: string | undefined;
 
   private _llmOptions: LLMOptions;
@@ -303,6 +309,7 @@ export abstract class BaseLLM implements ILLM {
     this.autocompleteOptions = options.autocompleteOptions;
     this.sourceFile = options.sourceFile;
     this.isFromAutoDetect = options.isFromAutoDetect;
+    this.toolPromptOverrides = options.toolPromptOverrides;
   }
 
   get contextLength() {
@@ -1111,8 +1118,28 @@ export abstract class BaseLLM implements ILLM {
     messageOptions?: MessageOption,
   ): AsyncGenerator<ChatMessage, PromptLog> {
     this.lastRequestId = undefined;
+
+    // Apply per-model tool prompt overrides if configured
+    let effectiveTools = options.tools;
+    if (this.toolPromptOverrides?.length && options.tools?.length) {
+      const { tools: overriddenTools, errors } = applyToolOverrides(
+        options.tools,
+        this.toolPromptOverrides,
+      );
+      effectiveTools = overriddenTools;
+      // Log any warnings for unknown tool names
+      for (const error of errors) {
+        if (!error.fatal) {
+          console.warn(`Tool override warning: ${error.message}`);
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Use effectiveTools for the rest of this method
+    const optionsWithOverrides = { ...options, tools: effectiveTools };
+
     let { completionOptions, logEnabled } =
-      this._parseCompletionOptions(options);
+      this._parseCompletionOptions(optionsWithOverrides);
     const interaction = logEnabled
       ? this.logger?.createInteractionLog()
       : undefined;
@@ -1130,7 +1157,7 @@ export abstract class BaseLLM implements ILLM {
         knownContextLength: this._contextLength,
         maxTokens: completionOptions.maxTokens ?? DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS,
         supportsImages: this.supportsImages(),
-        tools: options.tools,
+        tools: optionsWithOverrides.tools,
       });
 
       messages = compiledChatMessages;

core/tools/applyToolOverrides.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+import { ConfigValidationError } from "@continuedev/config-yaml";
+import { Tool, ToolOverride } from "..";
+
+export interface ApplyToolOverridesResult {
+  tools: Tool[];
+  errors: ConfigValidationError[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Applies tool overrides from config to the list of tools.
+ * Overrides can modify tool descriptions, display titles, action phrases,
+ * system message descriptions, or disable tools entirely.
+ */
+export function applyToolOverrides(
+  tools: Tool[],
+  overrides: ToolOverride[] | undefined,
+): ApplyToolOverridesResult {
+  if (!overrides?.length) {
+    return { tools, errors: [] };
+  }
+
+  const errors: ConfigValidationError[] = [];
+  const toolsByName = new Map(tools.map((t) => [t.function.name, t]));
+
+  for (const override of overrides) {
+    const tool = toolsByName.get(override.name);
+
+    if (!tool) {
+      errors.push({
+        fatal: false,
+        message: `Tool override "${override.name}" does not match any known tool. Available tools: ${Array.from(toolsByName.keys()).join(", ")}`,
+      });
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (override.disabled) {
+      toolsByName.delete(override.name);
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const updatedTool: Tool = {
+      ...tool,
+      function: {
+        ...tool.function,
+        description: override.description ?? tool.function.description,
+      },
+      displayTitle: override.displayTitle ?? tool.displayTitle,
+      wouldLikeTo: override.wouldLikeTo ?? tool.wouldLikeTo,
+      isCurrently: override.isCurrently ?? tool.isCurrently,
+      hasAlready: override.hasAlready ?? tool.hasAlready,
+    };
+
+    if (override.systemMessageDescription) {
+      updatedTool.systemMessageDescription = {
+        prefix:
+          override.systemMessageDescription.prefix ??
+          tool.systemMessageDescription?.prefix ??
+          "",
+        exampleArgs:
+          override.systemMessageDescription.exampleArgs ??
+          tool.systemMessageDescription?.exampleArgs,
+      };
+    }
+
+    toolsByName.set(override.name, updatedTool);
+  }
+
+  return { tools: Array.from(toolsByName.values()), errors };
+}