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What are Commands?

Commands are one of three artifact types in Packmind, alongside standards and skills. In teams using AI coding assistants, sharing and reusing prompts that work is often tedious. A Packmind Command is an executable, step-by-step guide that tells the AI assistant exactly how to perform a development task so your team’s practices are applied consistently and reproducibly. Commands are repeatable and predictable instruction patterns that can be applied to achieve a specific outcome. Examples of commands can be:
  • Create or update domain model and the SQL schema, including database migrations
  • Add a new use case in a business domain

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Creating Commands

Commands are created through the MCP server using a guided workflow that ensures they are well-structured and reusable. The AI agent will automatically follow the command creation workflow which:
  1. Identifies the development process you want to capture
  2. Structures it into clear, actionable steps with context validation checkpoints
  3. Defines specific “when to use” scenarios
  4. Adds optional code examples to demonstrate each step

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Best Practices for Command Creation

To get the best results, provide rich context to your AI agent:
  • After completing a task: When you’ve accomplished a series of tasks in a session with your AI Agent, ask it to create a command based on what you’ve done 
    Synthesize the steps we followed to create a new use case and create a Packmind command based on this
  • From Git history: A commit or pull request can reflect a command. Ask your agent to analyze commits or a Pull Request URL 
    Create a command by analyzing the changes in pull request #123
  • From existing code: Provide files as context to extract patterns 
    Create a command for adding a new API endpoint based on @routes/users.ts and @controllers/UserController.ts
The workflow ensures your command includes:
  • Clear step-by-step instructions
  • Context validation checkpoints (questions to ask before starting)
  • Usage scenarios (when this command applies)
  • Optional code snippets for each step
For detailed information about the command creation workflow and available MCP tools, see the MCP Server reference.

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Updating Commands

Updating commands is possible from the web app, on the dedicated section of the commands.

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Commands Versions

Every time you update a command, this creates a new version. This keeps track of the history of your changes, and it’s useful to keep track of which versions are currently distributed to Git repositories.

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How to Use Commands After Distribution

Unlike standards (which are applied automatically), commands are user-invoked—you run them when you need them.

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Using Slash Commands (Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot)

For AI assistants with native slash command support, type / followed by the command name in your chat: 
/create-new-use-case
The AI assistant will recognize the command and execute its instructions.

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Manual Invocation (Continue, GitLab Duo, Junie, AGENTS.md)

For AI assistants without native slash command support, reference the command file directly in your prompt: 
Execute @.packmind/commands/create-new-use-case.md
The AI assistant will read the command file and follow its instructions. For detailed information about where commands appear for each AI assistant and all invocation methods, see Understanding Where Your Artifacts Appear.