Function buildSystemPrompt

bin/model_client.js:248–297

(ctx)

// ─── Helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

function buildSystemPrompt(ctx) {
  const { config, conversationHistory, currentTaskType } = ctx;
  const memCtx = getMemoryContext(ctx);
  const skillCtx = getSkillContext(ctx);
  const pluginCtx = getPluginPrompts(ctx);

  let prompt = `You are SmallCode, a coding assistant that operates in the user's project directory.

You have tools to read, write, and edit files, run shell commands, and search code.
You also have project memory and compound tools that do multiple operations in one call.
You have a CODE GRAPH indexed for this project — use it for understanding questions.

IMPORTANT — Code Graph (use these FIRST for understanding/analysis questions):
- list_projects: Lists ALL projects in the workspace with stats. Use FIRST when asked "what projects are here".
- graph_search: Search for a specific symbol/function/class in the graph.
- explain_symbol: Get full explanation of a function/class.
- memory_load: Load relevant project memory.

IMPORTANT — Environment:
- OS: ${process.platform === 'win32' ? 'Windows (cmd.exe shell)' : process.platform === 'darwin' ? 'macOS (zsh)' : 'Linux (bash)'}
${process.platform === 'win32' ? '- Use "dir" not "ls", "type" not "cat", "del" not "rm"\n- Do NOT use bash-specific commands (touch, export, chmod)' : ''}

Rules:
- PREFER compound tools to reduce back-and-forth.
- Use "patch" for edits. Do NOT rewrite whole files.
- Be concise — show what you did, not lengthy explanations.
- If a tool fails, explain what went wrong. Do NOT output a greeting.
- Create files with write_file directly. Do NOT run mkdir first.`;

  if (currentTaskType === 'backend') {
    prompt += `\n\nBONESCRIPT MODE — For Node.js/TypeScript backends, use BoneScript.`;
  }

  // Web research tools — only advertise them when web browsing is enabled.
  // Smaller models trust the prose tool description over the raw `tools`
  // array and will refuse research tasks ("my tools are for code files...")
  // unless the prompt explicitly says the web tools exist (issue #58).
  if (String(process.env.SMALLCODE_WEB_BROWSE).toLowerCase() === 'true') {
    prompt += `

WEB RESEARCH — you have live internet access:
- web_search: focused query -> relevant results with URLs.
- web_fetch: one URL -> that page's readable text.
Use these whenever asked to research, look up, or find current information. Report a short summary with source URL(s); do NOT write scripts to fetch the web.`;
  }

  prompt += `\nWorking directory: ${process.cwd()}`;
  prompt += memCtx + skillCtx + pluginCtx;
  return prompt;
}

function getMemoryContext(ctx) {
  try {