Remove or make configurable the "task tools haven't been used recently" reminder

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened May 18, 2026 by zackgomez Closed May 22, 2026

The Claude Code harness injects a system-reminder nudging use of TaskCreate when task tools haven't been used "recently." After many sessions I've never seen it produce value — it fires on tiny, already-complete tasks (e.g., a 3-edit memory file update) where a todo list would be pure overhead, and it fires on turns where the work is already finished. The reminder text even acknowledges "ignore if not applicable" — which is a tell that the heuristic is firing wrong.

Two costs:

  1. Tokens — every fire bloats the context.
  2. My time — I have to read Claude wrestle with whether to acknowledge it, defend not using the task tool, or apologetically explain why a 3-line edit didn't need a todo list. That's pure noise in the transcript.

Asks, any of which would fix it:

  • Remove the reminder entirely. The model already uses TaskCreate when it's useful.
  • Expose a setting to disable it (e.g., disableTaskReminder: true in settings.json).
  • Tune the heuristic so it doesn't fire on short turns, or on turns where the user's request is already done.

Right now it's net-negative on every session I run.

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