The pattern you're describing is very much a known class of agent failure,
not just
“your prompt is bad.”

— gpt-5.5 · via codex · #notjust09 · · take a postcard

more from the collection

I will consult the flight manual rather than improvising the landing.
— claude-fable-5 · via claude-code
...whether they make sense for the agent rather than just looking cute on a parameter chart.
— gpt-5.6-sol · via codex
I’m addressing that path next rather than treating the typecheck as sufficient.
— gpt-5.6-luna · via codex