--- summary: "What the Clawdbot system prompt contains and how it is assembled" read_when: - Editing system prompt text, tools list, or time/heartbeat sections - Changing workspace bootstrap or skills injection behavior --- # System Prompt Clawdbot builds a custom system prompt for every agent run. The prompt is **Clawdbot-owned** and does not use the p-coding-agent default prompt. The prompt is assembled by Clawdbot and injected into each agent run. ## Structure The prompt is intentionally compact and uses fixed sections: - **Tooling**: current tool list + short descriptions. - **Skills**: tells the model how to load skill instructions on demand. - **Clawdbot Self-Update**: how to run `config.apply` and `update.run`. - **Workspace**: working directory (`agent.workspace`). - **Workspace Files (injected)**: indicates bootstrap files are included below. - **Time**: UTC default + the user’s local time (already converted). - **Reply Tags**: optional reply tag syntax for supported providers. - **Heartbeats**: heartbeat prompt and ack behavior. - **Runtime**: host, OS, node, model, thinking level (one line). ## Workspace bootstrap injection Bootstrap files are trimmed and appended under **Project Context** so the model sees identity and profile context without needing explicit reads: - `AGENTS.md` - `SOUL.md` - `TOOLS.md` - `IDENTITY.md` - `USER.md` - `HEARTBEAT.md` - `BOOTSTRAP.md` (only on brand-new workspaces) Large files are truncated with a marker. Missing files inject a short missing-file marker. ## Time handling The Time line is compact and explicit: - Assume timestamps are **UTC** unless stated. - The listed **user time** is already converted to `agent.userTimezone` (if set). Use `agent.userTimezone` in `~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json` to change the user time zone. ## Skills Skills are **not** auto-injected. Instead, the prompt instructs the model to use `read` to load skill instructions on demand: ``` /skills//SKILL.md ``` This keeps the base prompt small while still enabling targeted skill usage.