delete_instruction

Remove a VS Code instruction file from the prompts directory to manage your development environment's custom commands and workflows.

Instructions

Delete a VS Code .instructions.md file from the prompts directory.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`instruction_name`	Yes	The name of the instruction to delete (with or without extension)

Implementation Reference

src/mode_manager_mcp/tools/instruction_tools.py:169-182 (handler)

The primary MCP tool handler for 'delete_instruction'. It performs read-only checks, delegates to InstructionManager.delete_instruction(), and formats the response message.

def delete_instruction(
    instruction_name: Annotated[str, "The name of the instruction to delete (with or without extension)"],
) -> str:
    """Delete a VS Code .instructions.md file from the prompts directory."""
    if read_only:
        return "Error: Server is running in read-only mode"
    try:
        success = instruction_manager.delete_instruction(instruction_name)
        if success:
            return f"Successfully deleted VS Code instruction: {instruction_name}"
        else:
            return f"Failed to delete VS Code instruction: {instruction_name}"
    except Exception as e:
        return f"Error deleting VS Code instruction '{instruction_name}': {str(e)}"

src/mode_manager_mcp/tools/instruction_tools.py:156-164 (schema)

The schema definition in the tool annotations, specifying input parameters (instruction_name) and return description.

annotations={
    "idempotentHint": False,
    "readOnlyHint": False,
    "title": "Delete Instruction",
    "parameters": {
        "instruction_name": "The name of the instruction to delete. If a full filename is provided, it will be used as-is. Otherwise, .instructions.md will be appended automatically. You can provide just the name (e.g. my-instruction) or the full filename (e.g. my-instruction.instructions.md)."
    },
    "returns": "Returns a success message if the instruction was deleted, or an error message if the operation failed or the file was not found.",
},

src/mode_manager_mcp/tools/instruction_tools.py:152-168 (registration)

The @app.tool decorator that registers the delete_instruction tool with the MCP server, including name, description, tags, and metadata.

@app.tool(
    name="delete_instruction",
    description="Delete a VS Code .instructions.md file from the prompts directory.",
    tags={"public", "instruction"},
    annotations={
        "idempotentHint": False,
        "readOnlyHint": False,
        "title": "Delete Instruction",
        "parameters": {
            "instruction_name": "The name of the instruction to delete. If a full filename is provided, it will be used as-is. Otherwise, .instructions.md will be appended automatically. You can provide just the name (e.g. my-instruction) or the full filename (e.g. my-instruction.instructions.md)."
        },
        "returns": "Returns a success message if the instruction was deleted, or an error message if the operation failed or the file was not found.",
    },
    meta={
        "category": "instruction",
    },
)

src/mode_manager_mcp/instruction_manager.py:491-521 (helper)

Core helper method in InstructionManager class that implements the file deletion logic: ensures extension, constructs path, checks existence, and calls safe_delete_file with backup.

def delete_instruction(self, instruction_name: str) -> bool:
    """
    Delete an instruction file with automatic backup.

    Args:
        instruction_name: Name of the .instructions.md file

    Returns:
        True if successful

    Raises:
        FileOperationError: If file cannot be deleted
    """

    # Ensure filename has correct extension
    instruction_name = self._ensure_instruction_extension(instruction_name)

    file_path = self.prompts_dir / instruction_name

    if not file_path.exists():
        raise FileOperationError(f"Instruction file not found: {instruction_name}")

    try:
        # Use safe delete which creates backup automatically
        safe_delete_file(file_path, create_backup=True)
        logger.info(f"Deleted instruction file with backup: {instruction_name}")
        return True

    except Exception as e:
        raise FileOperationError(f"Error deleting instruction file {instruction_name}: {e}")

src/mode_manager_mcp/tools/__init__.py:18-25 (registration)

Top-level registration function that calls register_instruction_tools(), which in turn defines and registers the delete_instruction tool.

def register_all_tools() -> None:
    """Register all tools with the server."""
    register_instruction_tools()
    register_chatmode_tools()
    register_library_tools()
    register_memory_tools()
    register_remember_tools()

Mode Manager MCP