Function constructSystemMessage

extensions/cli/src/systemMessage.ts:161–269

(
  mode: PermissionMode,
  additionalRules?: string[],
  format?: "json",
  headless?: boolean,
)

 * @returns The comprehensive system message with base message and rules section
 */
export async function constructSystemMessage(
  mode: PermissionMode,
  additionalRules?: string[],
  format?: "json",
  headless?: boolean,
): Promise<string> {
  const agentFiles = ["AGENTS.md", "AGENT.md", "CLAUDE.md", "CODEX.md"];

  let agentContent = "";

  try {
    for (const fileName of agentFiles) {
      const filePath = path.join(process.cwd(), fileName);

      if (fs.existsSync(filePath)) {
        agentContent = fs.readFileSync(filePath, "utf-8");
        break; // Use the first found agent file
      }
    }
  } catch (error) {
    // If there's any error reading the file, continue without agent content
    console.warn("Warning: Could not read agent configuration file:", error);
  }

  // Process additional rules from --rule flags
  const processedRules: string[] = [];
  if (additionalRules && additionalRules.length > 0) {
    for (const ruleSpec of additionalRules) {
      try {
        const processedRule = await processRule(ruleSpec);
        processedRules.push(processedRule);
      } catch (error: any) {
        console.warn(
          `Warning: Failed to process rule "${ruleSpec}": ${error.message}`,
        );
      }
    }
  }

  const configYamlRules = await getConfigYamlRules();
  processedRules.push(...configYamlRules);

  // Load markdown rules from .continue/rules/ directories
  const markdownRules = loadMarkdownRulesWithMetadata();
  // Deduplicate against already-loaded rules
  const existingRulesSet = new Set(processedRules);
  for (const rule of markdownRules) {
    if (!existingRulesSet.has(rule.rule)) {
      processedRules.push(rule.rule);
      existingRulesSet.add(rule.rule);
    }
  }

  // Construct the comprehensive system message
  let systemMessage = baseSystemMessage;

  // Add plan mode specific instructions if in plan mode
  if (mode === "plan") {