MCP Prompts for Individual Contributors: Focus, Execution, and Clean Updates

IC-focused prompt library for day-to-day work with MCP. These prompts help you focus on the right tasks, clarify requirements, log progress, and track time—optimized for IDE clients like Cursor and Windsurf.

How to Use This Library

Each prompt is ready to copy and paste into your AI assistant:

IC Prompt Best Practices

IDE-optimized: Prompts work well in Cursor, Windsurf, and Continue
Quick and focused: Short prompts for fast workflows
Progress logging: Regular updates keep stakeholders informed
Time tracking: Accurate time logs for better planning

Daily Focus Prompts

1. Daily Focus List

"Show me the top 3 highest-priority tasks due today or soon from Corcava. For each, include title, project, due date, and why it's a priority. Format as a focused daily list."

Output: Daily focus list with priorities

2. Today's Tasks

"List all tasks assigned to me that are due today from Corcava. Group by project and show status. Format as a simple task list."

Output: Today's task list

Task Clarification Prompts

3. Get Task Details

"Get task '[Task ID]' details from Corcava: show me the title, description, status, assignee, due date, and all comments. Format clearly so I can understand what needs to be done."

Output: Complete task details

4. Check Acceptance Criteria

"Get task '[Task ID]' from Corcava and check if it has acceptance criteria in the description or comments. If not, suggest what the acceptance criteria should be. Don't add anything—just show me the suggestion."

Output: Acceptance criteria review

Progress Logging Prompts

5. Log Progress

"Add a progress comment to task '[Task ID]' in Corcava: '[What I accomplished]'. Show me the comment preview before adding. Only add after I approve."

Output: Progress comment (with approval)

6. Update Task Status

"Update task '[Task ID]' status to '[new status]' in Corcava. First get the current task and show me what will change. Only update after I approve."

Output: Status update (with approval)

7. Mark Task Complete

"Get task '[Task ID]' from Corcava. Show me the task details. Then update status to 'done' and add a completion comment summarizing what was accomplished. Show me both changes before applying. Only update after I approve."

Output: Task completion (with approval)

Time Tracking Prompts

8. Start Timer

"Get task '[Task ID]' from Corcava. Show me the task title to confirm it's correct. Then start tracking time on this task."

Output: Timer started confirmation

9. Stop Timer with Summary

"Stop the current timer in Corcava and add a summary comment: '[What was accomplished]'. Show me the comment before adding. Only add after I approve."

Output: Timer stopped + summary (with approval)

10. Check Timer Status

"Check what I'm currently tracking in Corcava. Show me the task and how long it's been running."

Output: Current timer status

IDE-Optimized Prompts

11. Get Task for Coding

"Get task '[Task ID]' from Corcava. Show me the task details and acceptance criteria. I'm about to start implementing this."

Output: Task details for implementation

12. Log Implementation Progress

"Add a progress comment to task '[Task ID]' in Corcava: 'Completed [component/feature]. Next: [next step]'. Show preview before adding."

Output: Progress comment (with approval)

13. Update After Code Review

"Get task '[Task ID]' from Corcava. Add a comment: 'Code review completed. Addressed feedback: [summary]. Ready for merge.' Show preview before adding."

Output: Review update comment (with approval)

IC Best Practices

IC Prompt Patterns

Quick and focused: Use short prompts for fast workflows
Regular updates: Log progress frequently to keep stakeholders informed
Confirm before acting: Always preview before updating task status
Time tracking: Start/stop timers accurately for better planning
IDE integration: Use prompts that work well in coding environments

IC-Focused Prompts

Use these prompts for daily focus, task execution, and progress logging

Daily Focus →Cursor Setup