fix: derive prefixes from routed identity (#578) (thanks @p6l-richard)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
 - Telegram: fix grammY fetch type mismatch when injecting `fetch`. (#512) — thanks @YuriNachos
 - WhatsApp: resolve @lid JIDs via Baileys mapping to unblock inbound messages. (#415)
 - Pairing: replies now include sender ids for Discord/Slack/Signal/iMessage/WhatsApp; pairing list labels them explicitly.
+- Messages: default inbound/outbound prefixes from the routed agent’s `identity.name` when set. (#578) — thanks @p6l-richard
 - Signal: accept UUID-only senders for pairing/allowlists/routing when sourceNumber is missing. (#523) — thanks @neist
 - Agent system prompt: avoid automatic self-updates unless explicitly requested.
 - Onboarding: tighten QuickStart hint copy for configuring later.

docs/gateway/configuration.md

@@ -935,6 +935,14 @@ Controls inbound/outbound prefixes and optional ack reactions.
 `responsePrefix` is applied to **all outbound replies** (tool summaries, block
 streaming, final replies) across providers unless already present.
 
+If `messages.responsePrefix` is unset and the routed agent has `identity.name`
+set, Clawdbot defaults the prefix to `[{identity.name}]`.
+
+If `messages.messagePrefix` is unset, the default stays **unchanged**:
+`"[clawdbot]"` when `whatsapp.allowFrom` is empty, otherwise `""` (no prefix).
+When using `"[clawdbot]"`, Clawdbot will instead use `[{identity.name}]` when
+the routed agent has `identity.name` set.
+
 `ackReaction` sends a best-effort emoji reaction to acknowledge inbound messages
 on providers that support reactions (Slack/Discord/Telegram). Defaults to the
 active agent’s `identity.emoji` when set, otherwise `"👀"`. Set it to `""` to disable.

docs/providers/whatsapp.md

@@ -59,6 +59,9 @@ When the wizard asks for your personal WhatsApp number, enter the phone you will
 }
 ```
 
+Tip: if you set the routed agent’s `identity.name`, you can omit
+`messages.responsePrefix` and it will default to `[{identity.name}]`.
+
 ### Number sourcing tips
 - **Local eSIM** from your country's mobile carrier (most reliable)
   - Austria: [hot.at](https://www.hot.at)

src/agents/identity.ts

@@ -19,3 +19,21 @@ export function resolveAckReaction(
   const emoji = resolveAgentIdentity(cfg, agentId)?.emoji?.trim();
   return emoji || DEFAULT_ACK_REACTION;
 }
+
+export function resolveIdentityNamePrefix(
+  cfg: ClawdbotConfig,
+  agentId: string,
+): string | undefined {
+  const name = resolveAgentIdentity(cfg, agentId)?.name?.trim();
+  if (!name) return undefined;
+  return `[${name}]`;
+}
+
+export function resolveResponsePrefix(
+  cfg: ClawdbotConfig,
+  agentId: string,
+): string | undefined {
+  const configured = cfg.messages?.responsePrefix;
+  if (configured !== undefined) return configured;
+  return resolveIdentityNamePrefix(cfg, agentId);
+}

src/auto-reply/reply/dispatch-from-config.ts

@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ export async function dispatchReplyFromConfig(params: {
       payload,
       channel: originatingChannel,
       to: originatingTo,
+      sessionKey: ctx.SessionKey,
       accountId: ctx.AccountId,
       threadId: ctx.MessageThreadId,
       cfg,
@@ -106,6 +107,7 @@ export async function dispatchReplyFromConfig(params: {
         payload: reply,
         channel: originatingChannel,
         to: originatingTo,
+        sessionKey: ctx.SessionKey,
         accountId: ctx.AccountId,
         threadId: ctx.MessageThreadId,
         cfg,

src/auto-reply/reply/followup-runner.ts

@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@ export function createFollowupRunner(params: {
           payload,
           channel: originatingChannel,
           to: originatingTo,
+          sessionKey: queued.run.sessionKey,
           accountId: queued.originatingAccountId,
           threadId: queued.originatingThreadId,
           cfg: queued.run.config,

src/auto-reply/reply/route-reply.test.ts

@@ -99,6 +99,33 @@ describe("routeReply", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it("derives responsePrefix from agent identity when routing", async () => {
+    mocks.sendMessageSlack.mockClear();
+    const cfg = {
+      agents: {
+        list: [
+          {
+            id: "rich",
+            identity: { name: "Richbot", theme: "lion bot", emoji: "🦁" },
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+      messages: {},
+    } as unknown as ClawdbotConfig;
+    await routeReply({
+      payload: { text: "hi" },
+      channel: "slack",
+      to: "channel:C123",
+      sessionKey: "agent:rich:main",
+      cfg,
+    });
+    expect(mocks.sendMessageSlack).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "channel:C123",
+      "[Richbot] hi",
+      expect.any(Object),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("passes thread id to Telegram sends", async () => {
     mocks.sendMessageTelegram.mockClear();
     await routeReply({

src/auto-reply/reply/route-reply.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
  * across multiple providers.
  */
 
+import { resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey } from "../../agents/agent-scope.js";
+import { resolveResponsePrefix } from "../../agents/identity.js";
 import type { ClawdbotConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
 import { sendMessageDiscord } from "../../discord/send.js";
 import { sendMessageIMessage } from "../../imessage/send.js";
@@ -26,6 +28,8 @@ export type RouteReplyParams = {
   channel: OriginatingChannelType;
   /** The destination chat/channel/user ID. */
   to: string;
+  /** Session key for deriving agent identity defaults (multi-agent). */
+  sessionKey?: string;
   /** Provider account id (multi-account). */
   accountId?: string;
   /** Telegram message thread id (forum topics). */
@@ -60,8 +64,14 @@ export async function routeReply(
     params;
 
   // Debug: `pnpm test src/auto-reply/reply/route-reply.test.ts`
+  const responsePrefix = params.sessionKey
+    ? resolveResponsePrefix(
+        cfg,
+        resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(params.sessionKey),
+      )
+    : cfg.messages?.responsePrefix;
   const normalized = normalizeReplyPayload(payload, {
-    responsePrefix: cfg.messages?.responsePrefix,
+    responsePrefix,
   });
   if (!normalized) return { ok: true };
 

src/discord/monitor.ts

@@ -17,7 +17,10 @@ import { GatewayIntents, GatewayPlugin } from "@buape/carbon/gateway";
 import type { APIAttachment } from "discord-api-types/v10";
 import { ApplicationCommandOptionType, Routes } from "discord-api-types/v10";
 
-import { resolveAckReaction } from "../agents/identity.js";
+import {
+  resolveAckReaction,
+  resolveResponsePrefix,
+} from "../agents/identity.js";
 import { resolveTextChunkLimit } from "../auto-reply/chunk.js";
 import { hasControlCommand } from "../auto-reply/command-detection.js";
 import {
@@ -1030,7 +1033,7 @@ export function createDiscordMessageHandler(params: {
       let didSendReply = false;
       const { dispatcher, replyOptions, markDispatchIdle } =
         createReplyDispatcherWithTyping({
-          responsePrefix: cfg.messages?.responsePrefix,
+          responsePrefix: resolveResponsePrefix(cfg, route.agentId),
           deliver: async (payload) => {
             await deliverDiscordReply({
               replies: [payload],
@@ -1510,7 +1513,7 @@ function createDiscordNativeCommand(params: {
 
       let didReply = false;
       const dispatcher = createReplyDispatcher({
-        responsePrefix: cfg.messages?.responsePrefix,
+        responsePrefix: resolveResponsePrefix(cfg, route.agentId),
         deliver: async (payload, _info) => {
           await deliverDiscordInteractionReply({
             interaction,

src/imessage/monitor.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { resolveResponsePrefix } from "../agents/identity.js";
 import { chunkText, resolveTextChunkLimit } from "../auto-reply/chunk.js";
 import { hasControlCommand } from "../auto-reply/command-detection.js";
 import { formatAgentEnvelope } from "../auto-reply/envelope.js";
@@ -421,7 +422,7 @@ export async function monitorIMessageProvider(
     }
 
     const dispatcher = createReplyDispatcher({
-      responsePrefix: cfg.messages?.responsePrefix,
+      responsePrefix: resolveResponsePrefix(cfg, route.agentId),
       deliver: async (payload) => {
         await deliverReplies({
           replies: [payload],

src/infra/heartbeat-runner.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { resolveResponsePrefix } from "../agents/identity.js";
 import {
   DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_ACK_MAX_CHARS,
   DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_EVERY,
@@ -268,7 +269,7 @@ export async function runHeartbeatOnce(opts: {
     const ackMaxChars = resolveHeartbeatAckMaxChars(cfg);
     const normalized = normalizeHeartbeatReply(
       replyPayload,
-      cfg.messages?.responsePrefix,
+      resolveResponsePrefix(cfg, resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(sessionKey)),
       ackMaxChars,
     );
     if (normalized.shouldSkip && !normalized.hasMedia) {

src/msteams/monitor-handler.ts

@@ -448,6 +448,7 @@ function createMSTeamsMessageHandler(deps: MSTeamsMessageHandlerDeps) {
     const { dispatcher, replyOptions, markDispatchIdle } =
       createMSTeamsReplyDispatcher({
         cfg,
+        agentId: route.agentId,
         runtime,
         log,
         adapter,

src/msteams/reply-dispatcher.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { resolveResponsePrefix } from "../agents/identity.js";
 import { createReplyDispatcherWithTyping } from "../auto-reply/reply/reply-dispatcher.js";
 import type { ClawdbotConfig, MSTeamsReplyStyle } from "../config/types.js";
 import { danger } from "../globals.js";
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ import type { MSTeamsTurnContext } from "./sdk-types.js";
 
 export function createMSTeamsReplyDispatcher(params: {
   cfg: ClawdbotConfig;
+  agentId: string;
   runtime: RuntimeEnv;
   log: MSTeamsMonitorLogger;
   adapter: MSTeamsAdapter;
@@ -36,7 +38,7 @@ export function createMSTeamsReplyDispatcher(params: {
   };
 
   return createReplyDispatcherWithTyping({
-    responsePrefix: params.cfg.messages?.responsePrefix,
+    responsePrefix: resolveResponsePrefix(params.cfg, params.agentId),
     deliver: async (payload) => {
       const messages = renderReplyPayloadsToMessages([payload], {
         textChunkLimit: params.textLimit,

src/signal/monitor.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { resolveResponsePrefix } from "../agents/identity.js";
 import { chunkText, resolveTextChunkLimit } from "../auto-reply/chunk.js";
 import { formatAgentEnvelope } from "../auto-reply/envelope.js";
 import { dispatchReplyFromConfig } from "../auto-reply/reply/dispatch-from-config.js";
@@ -507,7 +508,7 @@ export async function monitorSignalProvider(
       }
 
       const dispatcher = createReplyDispatcher({
-        responsePrefix: cfg.messages?.responsePrefix,
+        responsePrefix: resolveResponsePrefix(cfg, route.agentId),
         deliver: async (payload) => {
           await deliverReplies({
             replies: [payload],

src/slack/monitor.ts

@@ -4,7 +4,10 @@ import {
   type SlackEventMiddlewareArgs,
 } from "@slack/bolt";
 import type { WebClient as SlackWebClient } from "@slack/web-api";
-import { resolveAckReaction } from "../agents/identity.js";
+import {
+  resolveAckReaction,
+  resolveResponsePrefix,
+} from "../agents/identity.js";
 import {
   chunkMarkdownText,
   resolveTextChunkLimit,
@@ -1110,7 +1113,7 @@ export async function monitorSlackProvider(opts: MonitorSlackOpts = {}) {
     };
     const { dispatcher, replyOptions, markDispatchIdle } =
       createReplyDispatcherWithTyping({
-        responsePrefix: cfg.messages?.responsePrefix,
+        responsePrefix: resolveResponsePrefix(cfg, route.agentId),
         deliver: async (payload) => {
           await deliverReplies({
             replies: [payload],

src/telegram/bot.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ import { apiThrottler } from "@grammyjs/transformer-throttler";
 import type { ApiClientOptions, Message } from "grammy";
 import { Bot, InputFile, webhookCallback } from "grammy";
 import { resolveDefaultAgentId } from "../agents/agent-scope.js";
-import { resolveAckReaction } from "../agents/identity.js";
+import {
+  resolveAckReaction,
+  resolveResponsePrefix,
+} from "../agents/identity.js";
 import { EmbeddedBlockChunker } from "../agents/pi-embedded-block-chunker.js";
 import {
   chunkMarkdownText,
@@ -726,7 +729,7 @@ export function createTelegramBot(opts: TelegramBotOptions) {
 
     const { dispatcher, replyOptions, markDispatchIdle } =
       createReplyDispatcherWithTyping({
-        responsePrefix: cfg.messages?.responsePrefix,
+        responsePrefix: resolveResponsePrefix(cfg, route.agentId),
         deliver: async (payload, info) => {
           if (info.kind === "final") {
             await flushDraft();

src/web/auto-reply.test.ts

@@ -1962,7 +1962,28 @@ describe("web auto-reply", () => {
 
   it("uses identity.name for messagePrefix when set", async () => {
     setLoadConfigMock(() => ({
-      identity: { name: "Richbot", emoji: "🦁" },
+      agents: {
+        list: [
+          {
+            id: "main",
+            default: true,
+            identity: { name: "Mainbot", emoji: "🦞", theme: "space lobster" },
+          },
+          {
+            id: "rich",
+            identity: { name: "Richbot", emoji: "🦁", theme: "lion bot" },
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+      bindings: [
+        {
+          agentId: "rich",
+          match: {
+            provider: "whatsapp",
+            peer: { kind: "dm", id: "+1555" },
+          },
+        },
+      ],
     }));
 
     let capturedOnMessage:
@@ -2003,8 +2024,28 @@ describe("web auto-reply", () => {
 
   it("uses identity.name for responsePrefix when set", async () => {
     setLoadConfigMock(() => ({
-      identity: { name: "Richbot", emoji: "🦁" },
+      agents: {
-      whatsapp: { allowFrom: ["*"] },
+        list: [
+          {
+            id: "main",
+            default: true,
+            identity: { name: "Mainbot", emoji: "🦞", theme: "space lobster" },
+          },
+          {
+            id: "rich",
+            identity: { name: "Richbot", emoji: "🦁", theme: "lion bot" },
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+      bindings: [
+        {
+          agentId: "rich",
+          match: {
+            provider: "whatsapp",
+            peer: { kind: "dm", id: "+1555" },
+          },
+        },
+      ],
     }));
 
     let capturedOnMessage:

src/web/auto-reply.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+import {
+  resolveIdentityNamePrefix,
+  resolveResponsePrefix,
+} from "../agents/identity.js";
 import {
   chunkMarkdownText,
   resolveTextChunkLimit,
@@ -1032,13 +1036,14 @@ export async function monitorWebProvider(
       return `[Replying to ${sender}${idPart}]\n${msg.replyToBody}\n[/Replying]`;
     };
 
-    const buildLine = (msg: WebInboundMsg) => {
+    const buildLine = (msg: WebInboundMsg, agentId: string) => {
-      // Build message prefix: explicit config > identity name > default "clawdbot"
+      // Build message prefix: explicit config > identity name > default based on allowFrom
       let messagePrefix = cfg.messages?.messagePrefix;
       if (messagePrefix === undefined) {
         const hasAllowFrom = (cfg.whatsapp?.allowFrom?.length ?? 0) > 0;
-        const identityName = cfg.identity?.name?.trim() || "clawdbot";
+        messagePrefix = hasAllowFrom
-        messagePrefix = hasAllowFrom ? "" : `[${identityName}]`;
+          ? ""
+          : (resolveIdentityNamePrefix(cfg, agentId) ?? "[clawdbot]");
       }
       const prefixStr = messagePrefix ? `${messagePrefix} ` : "";
       const senderLabel =
@@ -1070,7 +1075,7 @@ export async function monitorWebProvider(
       status.lastEventAt = status.lastMessageAt;
       emitStatus();
       const conversationId = msg.conversationId ?? msg.from;
-      let combinedBody = buildLine(msg);
+      let combinedBody = buildLine(msg, route.agentId);
       let shouldClearGroupHistory = false;
 
       if (msg.chatType === "group") {
@@ -1088,7 +1093,10 @@ export async function monitorWebProvider(
               }),
             )
             .join("\\n");
-          combinedBody = `[Chat messages since your last reply - for context]\\n${historyText}\\n\\n[Current message - respond to this]\\n${buildLine(msg)}`;
+          combinedBody = `[Chat messages since your last reply - for context]\\n${historyText}\\n\\n[Current message - respond to this]\\n${buildLine(
+            msg,
+            route.agentId,
+          )}`;
         }
         // Always surface who sent the triggering message so the agent can address them.
         const senderLabel =
@@ -1170,12 +1178,7 @@ export async function monitorWebProvider(
       const textLimit = resolveTextChunkLimit(cfg, "whatsapp");
       let didLogHeartbeatStrip = false;
       let didSendReply = false;
-      // Derive responsePrefix from identity.name if not explicitly set
+      const responsePrefix = resolveResponsePrefix(cfg, route.agentId);
-      const responsePrefix =
-        cfg.messages?.responsePrefix ??
-        (cfg.identity?.name?.trim()
-          ? `[${cfg.identity.name.trim()}]`
-          : undefined);
       const { dispatcher, replyOptions, markDispatchIdle } =
         createReplyDispatcherWithTyping({
           responsePrefix,