Andrew Barba
2.8 KiB
issue, status, last_updated
| issue | status | last_updated |
|---|---|---|
| https://github.com/vercel/eve/issues/2017 | implemented | 2026-08-12 |
Role-aware instructions
Instructions need to represent both framework authority and durable application context. Treating every definition as a system prompt forces retrieved memory, tenant briefs, and similar user-owned data into the highest-authority position and keeps it outside normal history controls.
Authoring API
defineInstructions({ content: "Standing policy" });
defineInstructions({ content: "Retrieved customer brief", role: "user" });
role is "system" | "user" and defaults to "system". The deprecated
{ markdown: string } shape remains a system-role compatibility form. Shapes
are exact: definitions cannot mix markdown and content, put a role beside
markdown, or supply unknown fields. instructions.md remains system-role.
The eve/instructions defineDynamic surface accepts only session.started
and turn.started; handlers return defineInstructions(...) or null.
Runtime semantics
| Source | System role | User role |
|---|---|---|
| Static | Current compiled prompt on every model call | Seeded once when fresh session history is created |
session.started |
Session-scoped prompt context | Appended once before turn-scoped context |
turn.started |
Turn-scoped prompt context | Appended once before the current delivery |
Blank content materializes nothing. Static and dynamic user entries become ordinary durable messages, so compaction may summarize them and clear removes them without rerunning a definition. System entries remain outside history.
Instruction resolver snapshots follow the same boundary: session resolvers see static user entries, and turn resolvers additionally see session-start user entries. Other dynamic resolver snapshots do not change.
User results are staged in an instructions-only virtual queue until the lifecycle preamble completes, then committed with session-before-turn ordering. That keeps retries, workflow replay, parking, and resume from duplicating a message. There is intentionally no content deduplication across distinct lifecycle events.
Boundaries
- No
step.startedinstruction resolver. Step-volatile context belongs in a tool, model input, or another existing surface. - No backwards fallback for mixed definitions or unsupported roles.
- Inspection reports ordered static definitions and their roles; dynamic values remain runtime-only.
- Static user entries are pinned to the session that received them. A new deployment refreshes system-role instructions but does not rewrite history.