Profiles¶

Profiles are pre-configured capability sets that define which modules (providers, tools, hooks) are available during a session.

Built-in Profiles¶

Profile	Description	Use Case
`foundation`	Minimal - just LLM access	Simple chat, no tools
`base`	Basic tools (filesystem, bash)	Light development work
`dev`	Full development suite	Day-to-day development
`test`	Testing focused	Running tests, debugging
`full`	All features enabled	Exploring capabilities

Using Profiles¶

List Available Profiles¶

amplifier profile list

Use a Profile¶

# For a single command
amplifier run --profile dev "Analyze this code"

# Set as default
amplifier profile use dev

Show Profile Configuration¶

amplifier profile show dev

Check Current Profile¶

amplifier profile current

Profile Contents¶

`foundation`¶

The minimal profile - just LLM access:

Provider: Your configured provider
Tools: None
Hooks: Basic logging

`base`¶

Adds essential development tools:

Everything in foundation
Tools: filesystem, bash
Use for: Basic file operations, running commands

`dev`¶

Full development capabilities:

Everything in base
Tools: web, search, task
Agents: explorer, bug-hunter, zen-architect, researcher
Hooks: approval, streaming-ui
Use for: Day-to-day development work

`full`¶

All available features:

Everything in dev
Additional experimental tools
All available hooks
Use for: Testing new features, maximum capability

Creating Custom Profiles¶

Profiles are YAML files with markdown frontmatter.

Profile Location¶

Profiles are loaded from (in order):

.amplifier/profiles/ (project)
~/.amplifier/profiles/ (user)
Bundled profiles (fallback)

Profile Format¶

Create .amplifier/profiles/my-profile.md:

---
name: my-profile
extends: base
description: My custom development profile
---

# My Profile

Custom instructions that will be included in the system prompt.

## Guidelines

- Follow our coding standards
- Write tests for all new code

Profile Schema¶

---
# Required
name: profile-name

# Optional - inherit from another profile
extends: base

# Optional
description: What this profile is for

# Optional - override session settings
session:
  orchestrator: loop-streaming
  context: context-persistent

# Optional - configure providers
providers:
  - module: provider-anthropic
    config:
      default_model: claude-opus-4-1

# Optional - add/configure tools
tools:
  - module: tool-filesystem
  - module: tool-bash
    config:
      timeout: 60

# Optional - configure hooks
hooks:
  - module: hooks-logging
    config:
      level: debug

# Optional - define agents
agents:
  my-agent:
    description: A specialized agent
    tools:
      - tool-filesystem
    system:
      instruction: You are a specialist in...
---

Profile Inheritance¶

Profiles can extend other profiles:

---
name: my-dev
extends: dev
---

Additional system instructions on top of dev profile.

The child profile:

Inherits all parent settings
Can override specific configurations
Adds its own system instructions

Inheritance Chain¶

foundation → base → dev → your-profile

Each level adds capabilities without removing parent features.

Profile-Specific Tools¶

Enable or disable tools per profile:

---
name: safe-profile
extends: base
tools:
  - module: tool-filesystem
    config:
      read_only: true
  # tool-bash intentionally omitted
---

Profile System Instructions¶

The markdown content after the frontmatter becomes the system instruction:

---
name: code-reviewer
extends: base
---

# Code Review Assistant

You are an expert code reviewer. When reviewing code:

1. Check for bugs and edge cases
2. Suggest performance improvements
3. Ensure code follows best practices
4. Look for security vulnerabilities

Be constructive and explain your reasoning.

Mentions in Profiles¶

Reference context files using @mentions:

---
name: team-profile
extends: dev
---

Follow our team standards:

@project:context/coding-standards.md
@project:context/architecture.md

Via Git Repository¶

Commit profiles to your project's .amplifier/profiles/ directory.

Via Collections¶

Package profiles in a collection for broader sharing:

my-collection/
├── profiles/
│   ├── my-profile.md
│   └── another-profile.md
├── agents/
└── context/

See Collections for more details.

Troubleshooting¶

Profile Not Found¶

# Check profile exists
amplifier profile list

# Check profile locations
ls ~/.amplifier/profiles/
ls .amplifier/profiles/

Profile Not Loading¶

Verify YAML syntax:

# Show profile content
amplifier profile show my-profile

Inheritance Issues¶

Check the inheritance chain:

# Show full resolved profile
amplifier profile show my-profile --resolved

Best Practices¶

Start minimal: Extend foundation or base, add only what you need
Use inheritance: Don't duplicate - extend parent profiles
Document purpose: Include clear descriptions
Project-specific: Put team profiles in .amplifier/profiles/
Test profiles: Run amplifier profile show to verify