GPT-6 Astra not listening? Paste these 8 lines into it

Why Astra stops to ask more often than GPT-5

You ask GPT-6 Astra to change one button on your site. It is much smarter than GPT-5, but it stops to ask you something after every step, and the answer comes back laid out like a report. Reading OpenAI's model guidance, these turn out to be tendencies it was designed with, and the fixes sit on the same page.

Below are the 8 items I put together after going through the original text. Each has three parts: what you run into, how OpenAI says to fix it, and one line you can paste straight into your instructions. After that come the two other official points (splitting work across subagents, not over-testing), then one combined prompt you can copy as a block.

Source: the GPT-6 Astra section of OpenAI's Model guidance page (developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/latest-model), compiled from the official text, 2026-09-06.

I have pasted the whole block into my own setup. The one I felt most was number 4: have it scan for rules that fight each other first, and it stops switching direction halfway through.

Fix 1: it keeps asking you questions

Guess what I mean from the context. If you can guess it, just do it, and carry the thing I want through to done. Ask me only when you would otherwise go in the wrong direction.

Fix 2: it stops halfway for approval and adds its own warnings

Produce something I can look at first, then ask me what to adjust. Do not add warnings, disclaimers, or safety checklists I did not ask for.

Fix 3: it treats "help me" as a conversation

When you see sentences like "I want", "help me", or "could you", always treat them as a request to do the work. Do it, then report back. Do not hand me a plan only.

Fix 4: long instructions fight each other and it picks one

First check whether any current instructions or files contradict each other, and list them. When there is a conflict, my message here wins over any skill or config file.

Fix 5: it stalls without saying what stalled it

Why did you stop just now? Name the file you read, paste the original text of that instruction, and explain how you understood it.

Fix 6: answers come out looking like reports

Answer in short paragraphs, one point per paragraph, in everyday words with clear verbs. Use a list only when the items are really parallel, and never nest lists.

Fix 7: it reads as AI-written at a glance

Do not use delve, foster, leverage, it's worth noting, importantly, or Bottom line. Do not write contrast sentences shaped like "X rather than Y". Say what you are doing.

Fix 8: too much jargon piled on

Write so an ordinary reader can follow. Use a term of art only when there is no plainer way to say it, and explain it the first time it appears.

Two more that matter if you code with Astra

It can split work out, but rarely does so on its own

Astra can hand work to subagents in parallel, but by default it delegates less than you want. OpenAI suggests writing it straight into your instructions: whenever work can be split out to another agent in parallel and that saves time or improves quality, do it, and keep messages between agents readable for a human, with spaces between words and numbers.

Whenever work can be split out to another agent in parallel and that saves time or improves quality, do it. Keep messages between agents readable for a human.

Do not test a small change to death

For reversible, low-impact changes it writes piles of tests that just mirror the implementation. OpenAI suggests: tests should be meaningful and actually needed. Run the tests that match the change, and once they pass, keep going to done. Widen testing only for new changes, failures, or concerns that are still open.

For reversible, low-impact changes, do not write tests that just mirror the implementation. Run tests proportional to the change, and once they pass, carry on to finish the task. Widen testing only when a new failure or concern shows up.

Combined version: paste one block

If you do not want to paste them one at a time, use the whole block below. Put it in your custom instructions, or at the top of AGENTS.md for Codex.

Guess what I mean from the context. If you can guess it, just do it, and carry the thing I want through to done, and ask me only when you would otherwise go in the wrong direction. When you see sentences like "I want", "help me", or "could you", always treat them as a request to do the work. Do it, then report back. Produce something I can look at first, then ask me what to adjust. Do not add warnings, disclaimers, or safety checklists I did not ask for. When instructions contradict each other, my message here wins over any skill or config file. When you stop, name the file and the line that stopped you, and paste the original text. Answer in short paragraphs, one point per paragraph, in everyday words with clear verbs. Use a list only when the items are really parallel, and never nest lists. Do not use delve, foster, leverage, it's worth noting, importantly, or Bottom line. Do not write contrast sentences shaped like "X rather than Y". Use a term of art only when there is no plainer way to say it, and explain it the first time it appears.

Common questions

Of the 8, the two that make the biggest difference are items 1 and 4. With those written in, Astra goes from asking at every step to reporting once a whole chunk is done. You can try just those two first.

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