Skip to main content
Walk through the essential Symbiotic Code workflows.

​
Best practices

​
How to prompt

The quality of the agent’s response depends directly on how clearly you communicate your intent. A few principles:
  • Be specific about the goal: say what you want to achieve, not just what to do
  • Name the files or areas involved: the agent searches your codebase, but pointing it in the right direction saves time and tokens
  • Declare constraints upfront: mention language versions, frameworks, or coding standards before they become a problem
  • One task at a time: break complex requests into focused steps rather than asking for everything at once

Don't

Fix the bug in auth
-> Too vague: no file, no context, no constraints.

Do

In @src/auth/login.ts, the login function 
returns 200 even on invalid credentials. 
Fix it to return 401 and add a test.
-> Clear filepath, explicit problems, clear expected behavior.

​
Provide rich content

There are multiple ways to provide more context to your prompts and get better results:
  • Reference and include specific files from your project with @ instead of describing where code is.
  • Paste URLs for documentation and API references.
  • Paste images directly. Copy/paste or drag and drop images into the prompt. This can be useful to show UI designs or error screenshots.
Results may vary depending on which models you use.

​
Modes

Symbiotic Code has three modes. Switch between them with Tab or the /agents command.
ModeWhat it doesWhen to use it
BuildFull access — files, shell, all toolsDefault for development work
PlanRead-only analysis; asks before any write or shell commandExploring a codebase or planning a feature or refactor
ShellDirect shell accessQuick terminal tasks; activate with !
Start in Plan mode when working in an unfamiliar codebase, and then switch to Build once you have a clear plan.
Learn more about modes

​
Command palette

Press Ctrl+P or type / to open the command palette.
CommandWhat it does
/newStart a fresh session
/agentsSwitch between modes
/modelsChange the active model
/mcpEnable or disable MCP servers
/skillsLoad a skill into the current session
/reviewLaunch a subagent to review your code
/sessionsSwitch between saved sessions
Full command reference

​
Add a Skill

Skills are reusable instruction sets that the agent loads on demand. You install one by creating a SKILL.md file in the right place.
1

Create the skill file

Place your skill in one of these locations:
~/.agents/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md      ← available everywhere
.agents/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md        ← this project only
Each SKILL.md starts with YAML frontmatter:
---
name: git-release
description: Create consistent releases and changelogs
---

## What I do

- Draft release notes from merged PRs
- Propose a version bump
- Provide a copy-pasteable `gh release create` command
2

Use it in a session

Type /skills in the command palette to load available skills, or simply reference it in your prompt:
Use the git-release skill to prepare the v2.1.0 release notes.
Learn more about skills

​
Add an MCP server

MCPs allow Symbiotic Code to connect to external data sources (e.g. local files, databases), tools (e.g. search engines, calculators) and workflows (e.g. specialized prompts).
Each MCP server adds to the context window. Keep only what you actively use to avoid performance and security overhead.
1

Add it to your config file

Open (or create) symbiotic.jsonc at your project root or ~/.config/symbiotic/symbiotic.jsonc for a global setup:
symbiotic.jsonc
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "my-mcp-server": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["npx", "-y", "my-mcp-package"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
2

Restart Symbiotic Code

Relaunch Symbiotic Code. Use /mcp to confirm the server is connected and enabled.
3

Reference it in your prompt

Call out the MCP by its config name:
Use my-mcp-server to fetch the latest schema and generate TypeScript types.
Full MCP documentation

​
Add a plugin

Plugins let you hook into Symbiotic Code’s events and extend or modify its behavior. There are two ways to load them: Option 1 — Local file Drop a .js or .ts file into the plugin directory: 
.symbiotic/plugins/         ← this project only
~/.config/symbiotic/plugins/ ← available everywhere
Files in these directories are loaded automatically at startup. Option 2 — npm package Add the package name to your config file:
symbiotic.json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "plugin": ["@my-org/custom-plugin"]
}
npm plugins are installed automatically via Bun on next launch. Full plugin documentation

​
Next steps

Use Cases

See Symbiotic Code in action with real security-focused scenarios.

MCP Servers

Full reference for local and remote MCP configuration.

Skills

Write and distribute reusable agent instruction sets.

Plugins

Extend Symbiotic Code with hooks and custom behavior.

Modes

Understand Build, Plan, and Shell modes in depth.

Models & Providers

Configure which AI model and provider you use.