diff --git a/agents/claude.ts b/agents/claude.ts
index 2f09d06..87209bd 100644
--- a/agents/claude.ts
+++ b/agents/claude.ts
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ export const claude = agent({
       options: {
         ...sandboxOptions,
         mcpServers,
-        model: "claude-opus-4-5",
+
         pathToClaudeCodeExecutable: cliPath,
         env: createAgentEnv({ ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: apiKey }),
       },
@@ -147,6 +147,7 @@ const messageHandlers: SDKMessageHandlers = {
     }
   },
   result: async (data) => {
+    log.debug(JSON.stringify(data, null, 2));
     if (data.subtype === "success") {
       await log.summaryTable([
         [
diff --git a/entry b/entry
index c143193..8faec09 100755
--- a/entry
+++ b/entry
@@ -92629,7 +92629,7 @@ ${disableProgressComment ? "" : `
       description: "Review code, PRs, or implementations; provide feedback or suggestions; identify issues; or check code quality, style, and correctness",
       prompt: `Follow these steps. THINK HARDER.
 
-1. **CHECKOUT** - Use ${ghPullfrogMcpName}/checkout_pr with the PR number. This fetches the PR branch and returns the diff. Use this diff for your review - it shows exactly what's in the PR.
+1. **CHECKOUT** - Use ${ghPullfrogMcpName}/checkout_pr with the PR number. This returns all PR metadata (title, base, head, fork status) AND a \`diffPath\` pointing to a file containing the formatted diff.
 
 2. **UNDERSTAND CONTEXT** - Read the modified files to understand the changes in context. Don't just look at the diff - understand how the changes affect the overall codebase.
 
@@ -92639,7 +92639,7 @@ ${disableProgressComment ? "" : `
    - What bugs, edge cases, or security issues exist?
    - Could this be made more elegant?
 
-4. **DRAFT** - For each inline comment, find the line in the diff. Each code line shows: \`OLD | NEW | TYPE | CODE\`. Use the NEW line number (second column).
+4. **DRAFT** - For each inline comment, find the line in the diff. Each code line shows: \`| OLD | NEW | TYPE | CODE\`. Use the NEW line number (second column).
 
 5. **SELF-CRITIQUE** - Before submitting, review your draft:
    - DO NOT NITPICK. Do not comment on minor formatting changes, changes to playground/scratch files, lack of docs/docsstrings, or small changes that seem irrelevant. Assume these things are intentional by the PR author.
@@ -93340,7 +93340,6 @@ var claude = agent({
       options: {
         ...sandboxOptions,
         mcpServers,
-        model: "claude-opus-4-5",
         pathToClaudeCodeExecutable: cliPath,
         env: createAgentEnv({ ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: apiKey })
       }
@@ -93400,6 +93399,7 @@ var messageHandlers = {
     }
   },
   result: async (data) => {
+    log.debug(JSON.stringify(data, null, 2));
     if (data.subtype === "success") {
       await log.summaryTable([
         [
@@ -98288,13 +98288,9 @@ function stripExistingFooter(body) {
 // mcp/shared.ts
 var tool = (toolDef) => toolDef;
 var handleToolSuccess = (data) => {
+  const text = typeof data === "string" ? data : encode(data);
   return {
-    content: [
-      {
-        type: "text",
-        text: JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)
-      }
-    ]
+    content: [{ type: "text", text }]
   };
 };
 var handleToolError = (error41) => {
@@ -123044,16 +123040,16 @@ function formatFilesWithLineNumbers(files) {
       const changeType = line[0] || " ";
       const code = line.slice(1);
       if (changeType === "-") {
-        output.push(`${padNum(oldLine)} |     | - | ${code}`);
+        output.push(`| ${padNum(oldLine)} |      | - | ${code}`);
         oldLine++;
       } else if (changeType === "+") {
-        output.push(`    | ${padNum(newLine)} | + | ${code}`);
+        output.push(`|      | ${padNum(newLine)} | + | ${code}`);
         newLine++;
       } else if (changeType === " " || changeType === "\\") {
         if (changeType === "\\") {
           output.push(line);
         } else {
-          output.push(`${padNum(oldLine)} | ${padNum(newLine)} |   | ${code}`);
+          output.push(`| ${padNum(oldLine)} | ${padNum(newLine)} |   | ${code}`);
           oldLine++;
           newLine++;
         }
@@ -123170,8 +123166,7 @@ ${diffPreview}`);
       const diffPath = join8(tempDir, `pr-${pull_number}.diff`);
       writeFileSync4(diffPath, diffContent);
       log.debug(`wrote diff to ${diffPath} (${diffContent.length} bytes)`);
-      const MAX_INLINE_DIFF_SIZE = 50 * 1024;
-      const diff = diffContent.length <= MAX_INLINE_DIFF_SIZE ? diffContent : `Diff is ${(diffContent.length / 1024).toFixed(0)}KB - use grep or read from ${diffPath}`;
+      const diff = `Diff written to ${diffPath} (${(diffContent.length / 1024).toFixed(1)}KB). Use grep or read_file to explore.`;
       return {
         success: true,
         number: pr.data.number,
@@ -124276,11 +124271,7 @@ function GetIssueCommentsTool(ctx) {
           id: comment.id,
           body: comment.body,
           user: comment.user?.login,
-          created_at: comment.created_at,
-          updated_at: comment.updated_at,
-          html_url: comment.html_url,
-          author_association: comment.author_association,
-          reactions: comment.reactions
+          author_association: comment.author_association
         })),
         count: comments.length
       };
diff --git a/mcp/checkout.ts b/mcp/checkout.ts
index 16f5bfe..dccdd72 100644
--- a/mcp/checkout.ts
+++ b/mcp/checkout.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ type PullFile = RestEndpointMethodTypes["pulls"]["listFiles"]["response"]["data"
 /**
  * formats PR files with explicit line numbers for each code line.
  * preserves all original diff info (file headers, hunk headers) and adds:
- * OLD | NEW | TYPE | code
+ * | OLD | NEW | TYPE | code
  */
 export function formatFilesWithLineNumbers(files: PullFile[]): string {
   const output: string[] = [];
@@ -50,18 +50,18 @@ export function formatFilesWithLineNumbers(files: PullFile[]): string {
 
       if (changeType === "-") {
         // removed line: show old line number, no new line number
-        output.push(`${padNum(oldLine)} |     | - | ${code}`);
+        output.push(`| ${padNum(oldLine)} |      | - | ${code}`);
         oldLine++;
       } else if (changeType === "+") {
         // added line: no old line number, show new line number
-        output.push(`    | ${padNum(newLine)} | + | ${code}`);
+        output.push(`|      | ${padNum(newLine)} | + | ${code}`);
         newLine++;
       } else if (changeType === " " || changeType === "\\") {
         // context line or "\ No newline at end of file"
         if (changeType === "\\") {
           output.push(line); // pass through as-is
         } else {
-          output.push(`${padNum(oldLine)} | ${padNum(newLine)} |   | ${code}`);
+          output.push(`| ${padNum(oldLine)} | ${padNum(newLine)} |   | ${code}`);
           oldLine++;
           newLine++;
         }
@@ -263,12 +263,8 @@ export function CheckoutPrTool(ctx: ToolContext) {
       writeFileSync(diffPath, diffContent);
       log.debug(`wrote diff to ${diffPath} (${diffContent.length} bytes)`);
 
-      // return diff inline only if small enough
-      const MAX_INLINE_DIFF_SIZE = 50 * 1024; // 50KB
-      const diff =
-        diffContent.length <= MAX_INLINE_DIFF_SIZE
-          ? diffContent
-          : `Diff is ${(diffContent.length / 1024).toFixed(0)}KB - use grep or read from ${diffPath}`;
+      // don't inline diff - always point to file to reduce context size
+      const diff = `Diff written to ${diffPath} (${(diffContent.length / 1024).toFixed(1)}KB). Use grep or read_file to explore.`;
 
       return {
         success: true,
diff --git a/mcp/issueComments.ts b/mcp/issueComments.ts
index b023c09..5b06a0e 100644
--- a/mcp/issueComments.ts
+++ b/mcp/issueComments.ts
@@ -28,11 +28,7 @@ export function GetIssueCommentsTool(ctx: ToolContext) {
           id: comment.id,
           body: comment.body,
           user: comment.user?.login,
-          created_at: comment.created_at,
-          updated_at: comment.updated_at,
-          html_url: comment.html_url,
           author_association: comment.author_association,
-          reactions: comment.reactions,
         })),
         count: comments.length,
       };
diff --git a/mcp/shared.ts b/mcp/shared.ts
index 0d2b791..f08d670 100644
--- a/mcp/shared.ts
+++ b/mcp/shared.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import type { StandardSchemaV1 } from "@standard-schema/spec";
+import { encode as toonEncode } from "@toon-format/toon";
 import type { FastMCP, Tool } from "fastmcp";
 import type { ToolContext } from "../main.ts";
 
@@ -12,14 +13,10 @@ export interface ToolResult {
   isError?: boolean;
 }
 
-export const handleToolSuccess = (data: Record<string, any>): ToolResult => {
+export const handleToolSuccess = (data: Record<string, any> | string): ToolResult => {
+  const text = typeof data === "string" ? data : toonEncode(data);
   return {
-    content: [
-      {
-        type: "text",
-        text: JSON.stringify(data, null, 2),
-      },
-    ],
+    content: [{ type: "text", text }],
   };
 };
 
@@ -40,7 +37,7 @@ export const handleToolError = (error: unknown): ToolResult => {
  * Helper to wrap a tool execute function with error handling.
  * Captures ctx in closure so tools don't need to handle try/catch.
  */
-export const execute = <T>(fn: (params: T) => Promise<Record<string, any>>) => {
+export const execute = <T>(fn: (params: T) => Promise<Record<string, any> | string>) => {
   return async (params: T): Promise<ToolResult> => {
     try {
       const result = await fn(params);
diff --git a/modes.ts b/modes.ts
index a0bdfa9..6ea00ee 100644
--- a/modes.ts
+++ b/modes.ts
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ ${
         "Review code, PRs, or implementations; provide feedback or suggestions; identify issues; or check code quality, style, and correctness",
       prompt: `Follow these steps. THINK HARDER.
 
-1. **CHECKOUT** - Use ${ghPullfrogMcpName}/checkout_pr with the PR number. This fetches the PR branch and returns the diff. Use this diff for your review - it shows exactly what's in the PR.
+1. **CHECKOUT** - Use ${ghPullfrogMcpName}/checkout_pr with the PR number. This returns all PR metadata (title, base, head, fork status) AND a \`diffPath\` pointing to a file containing the formatted diff.
 
 2. **UNDERSTAND CONTEXT** - Read the modified files to understand the changes in context. Don't just look at the diff - understand how the changes affect the overall codebase.
 
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ ${
    - What bugs, edge cases, or security issues exist?
    - Could this be made more elegant?
 
-4. **DRAFT** - For each inline comment, find the line in the diff. Each code line shows: \`OLD | NEW | TYPE | CODE\`. Use the NEW line number (second column).
+4. **DRAFT** - For each inline comment, find the line in the diff. Each code line shows: \`| OLD | NEW | TYPE | CODE\`. Use the NEW line number (second column).
 
 5. **SELF-CRITIQUE** - Before submitting, review your draft:
    - DO NOT NITPICK. Do not comment on minor formatting changes, changes to playground/scratch files, lack of docs/docsstrings, or small changes that seem irrelevant. Assume these things are intentional by the PR author.