OpenAI: It’s time to shorten your instructions for GPT-6 Astra

OpenAI has released a guide on how to rewrite code agent instructions for GPT-6 Astra: write concise skill descriptions, avoid making the model read through a pile of documents each time you want to make changes, and relax strict rules that were intended for previous versions of the model. If you have a lot of skills, then Codex will automatically shorten their descriptions, which makes it more difficult for the model to choose the right one.

The pile of instructions that we’ve been building up all year is becoming a liability instead of an advantage — the new model will self-evaluate, but might cut off before the task is fully completed. Now is the time to focus on setting clear expectations (what “done” looks like) instead of providing detailed instructions.