diff --git a/src/cli/mod.rs b/src/cli/mod.rs
index 1114217..6c4e456 100644
--- a/src/cli/mod.rs
+++ b/src/cli/mod.rs
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ pub enum McpScopeArg {
 			.args(["sandbox", "fresh"])
 			.multiple(true)
 			.conflicts_with_all([
-				"model", "prompt", "role", "session", "agent", "rag", "rebuild_rag",
+				"model", "temp_role", "role", "session", "agent", "rag", "rebuild_rag",
 				"macro_name", "execute", "code", "file", "no_stream", "no_memory",
 				"init_memory", "dry_run", "info", "build_tools", "install",
 				"install_builtins", "sync_models", "list_models", "list_roles",
@@ -70,9 +70,9 @@ pub struct Cli {
     /// Select a LLM model
     #[arg(short, long, add = ArgValueCompleter::new(model_completer))]
     pub model: Option<String>,
-    /// Use the system prompt
+    /// Set a temporary role (an ad-hoc system prompt) for this invocation
     #[arg(long)]
-    pub prompt: Option<String>,
+    pub temp_role: Option<String>,
     /// Select a role
     #[arg(short, long, add = ArgValueCompleter::new(role_completer))]
     pub role: Option<String>,
@@ -705,9 +705,9 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn parse_prompt_flag() {
-        let cli = parse(&["--prompt", "be a pirate"]);
-        assert_eq!(cli.prompt, Some("be a pirate".to_string()));
+    fn parse_temp_role_flag() {
+        let cli = parse(&["--temp-role", "be a pirate"]);
+        assert_eq!(cli.temp_role, Some("be a pirate".to_string()));
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/src/config/request_context.rs b/src/config/request_context.rs
index 4a76952..2be3d37 100644
--- a/src/config/request_context.rs
+++ b/src/config/request_context.rs
@@ -2341,7 +2341,7 @@ impl RequestContext {
         Ok(())
     }
 
-    pub fn use_prompt(&mut self, _app: &AppConfig, prompt: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    pub fn use_temp_role(&mut self, _app: &AppConfig, prompt: &str) -> Result<()> {
         let mut role = Role::new(TEMP_ROLE_NAME, prompt);
         role.set_model(self.current_model().clone());
         self.use_role_obj(role)
@@ -4852,10 +4852,10 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn use_prompt_creates_temp_role() {
+    fn use_temp_role_creates_temp_role() {
         let mut ctx = create_test_ctx();
         let app = ctx.app.config.clone();
-        ctx.use_prompt(&app, "you are a pirate").unwrap();
+        ctx.use_temp_role(&app, "you are a pirate").unwrap();
         assert!(ctx.role.is_some());
         assert_eq!(ctx.role.as_ref().unwrap().name(), "temp");
         assert!(
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 3f98954..3e5d9b0 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -380,8 +380,8 @@ async fn run(
             .await?;
     } else {
         let app: Arc<AppConfig> = Arc::clone(&ctx.app.config);
-        if let Some(prompt) = &cli.prompt {
-            ctx.use_prompt(app.as_ref(), prompt)?;
+        if let Some(prompt) = &cli.temp_role {
+            ctx.use_temp_role(app.as_ref(), prompt)?;
         } else if let Some(name) = &cli.role {
             ctx.use_role(app.as_ref(), name, abort_signal.clone())
                 .await?;
diff --git a/src/repl/mod.rs b/src/repl/mod.rs
index a31b87b..f3b0d0f 100644
--- a/src/repl/mod.rs
+++ b/src/repl/mod.rs
@@ -819,7 +819,7 @@ pub async fn run_repl_command(
             ".temp-role" => match args {
                 Some(text) => {
                     let app = Arc::clone(&ctx.app.config);
-                    ctx.use_prompt(app.as_ref(), text)?;
+                    ctx.use_temp_role(app.as_ref(), text)?;
                 }
                 None => println!("Usage: .temp-role <text>..."),
             },