Best Practices

Patterns and tips for getting the most out of Gateway.

What Works Well

Be Specific About What You Want

Good

Search Linear for issues assigned to me in the current sprint

Mentioning the tool name and specific details gets you faster, more accurate results.

Describe the Full Workflow

Good

Create a Linear issue for "Fix login timeout", assign it to me,
and post it in #bugs with the issue link

When you spell out each step, the AI executes them in sequence without asking follow-up questions.

Ask What's Possible

What can I do with Notion databases?

Gateway will show you every available action — creating databases, querying with filters, updating schemas, and more. Great when you're not sure what's available.

Name Things Explicitly

Query the "Product Roadmap" database in Notion for items due this month

Specific names (databases, channels, teams) get exact results. Vague descriptions sometimes match the wrong thing.

Common Workflows

Morning Routine

You:

Give me my daily 360 overview, then list any Linear issues
that are overdue or blocked

You get: A full briefing plus a focused list of items that need your attention today.

Weekly Review

You:

What issues did the engineering team complete this week?
Also check Notion for any updated spec docs.

You get: A summary of closed issues by person, plus a list of recently edited Notion pages.

Quick Triage

You:

Search Slack #support for messages from today, summarize the themes,
and create Linear issues for anything that looks like a bug

You get: A theme summary (e.g., "3 reports about slow loading, 2 about broken search") with bug issues auto-created and linked to the Slack messages.

Sprint Planning

You:

List all unassigned issues in the product backlog.
What's the current sprint's remaining capacity?

You get: The backlog items ready for assignment and how many points are left in the sprint.

What to Avoid

Don't Ask for Everything at Once

❌ "Tell me everything about my entire workspace"

Too broad — you'll get a wall of text. Ask focused questions instead.

Don't Be Vague About Destinations

❌ "Post that in the channel"

Which channel? Always name it: "Post in #engineering".

Don't Repeat What Gateway Already Knows

❌ "Search Slack using the search_messages function with query parameter..."

You don't need to specify how. Just say what you want: "Search Slack for messages about the deploy."

Power User Tips

Chain across tools: "Find the Notion spec, then create Linear issues for each section" works in one go
Use time ranges: "Messages from this week" or "Issues completed since Monday" narrows results
Follow up naturally: After getting results, say "Assign the first three to me" — the AI remembers context
Ask for drafts: "Draft a Slack message summarizing..." lets you review before sending