migrate and remove custom instructions

proto/state.proto

@@ -70,15 +70,14 @@ message AutoApprovalSettingsRequest {
 message UpdateSettingsRequest {
   Metadata metadata = 1;
   optional ApiConfiguration api_configuration = 2;
-  optional string custom_instructions_setting = 3;
-  optional string telemetry_setting = 4;
-  optional bool plan_act_separate_models_setting = 5;
-  optional bool enable_checkpoints_setting = 6;
-  optional bool mcp_marketplace_enabled = 7;
-  optional ChatSettings chat_settings = 8;
-  optional int64 shell_integration_timeout = 9;
-  optional bool terminal_reuse_enabled = 10;
-  optional bool mcp_responses_collapsed = 11;
+  optional string telemetry_setting = 3;
+  optional bool plan_act_separate_models_setting = 4;
+  optional bool enable_checkpoints_setting = 5;
+  optional bool mcp_marketplace_enabled = 6;
+  optional ChatSettings chat_settings = 7;
+  optional int64 shell_integration_timeout = 8;
+  optional bool terminal_reuse_enabled = 9;
+  optional bool mcp_responses_collapsed = 10;
 }
 
 // Complete API Configuration message

src/core/controller/index.ts

@@ -130,7 +130,6 @@ export class Controller {
 		await this.clearTask() // ensures that an existing task doesn't exist before starting a new one, although this shouldn't be possible since user must clear task before starting a new one
 		const {
 			apiConfiguration,
-			customInstructions,
 			autoApprovalSettings,
 			browserSettings,
 			chatSettings,
@@ -172,7 +171,6 @@ export class Controller {
 			shellIntegrationTimeout,
 			terminalReuseEnabled ?? true,
 			enableCheckpointsSetting ?? true,
-			customInstructions,
 			task,
 			images,
 			files,
@@ -468,14 +466,6 @@ export class Controller {
 		}
 	}
 
-	async updateCustomInstructions(instructions?: string) {
-		// User may be clearing the field
-		await updateGlobalState(this.context, "customInstructions", instructions || undefined)
-		if (this.task) {
-			this.task.customInstructions = instructions || undefined
-		}
-	}
-
 	// Account
 
 	async fetchUserCreditsData() {
@@ -957,7 +947,6 @@ export class Controller {
 		const {
 			apiConfiguration,
 			lastShownAnnouncementId,
-			customInstructions,
 			taskHistory,
 			autoApprovalSettings,
 			browserSettings,
@@ -989,7 +978,6 @@ export class Controller {
 		return {
 			version: this.context.extension?.packageJSON?.version ?? "",
 			apiConfiguration,
-			customInstructions,
 			uriScheme: vscode.env.uriScheme,
 			currentTaskItem: this.task?.taskId ? (taskHistory || []).find((item) => item.id === this.task?.taskId) : undefined,
 			checkpointTrackerErrorMessage: this.task?.checkpointTrackerErrorMessage,

src/core/controller/state/updateSettings.ts

@@ -25,11 +25,6 @@ export async function updateSettings(controller: Controller, request: UpdateSett
 			}
 		}
 
-		// Update custom instructions
-		if (request.customInstructionsSetting !== undefined) {
-			await controller.updateCustomInstructions(request.customInstructionsSetting)
-		}
-
 		// Update telemetry setting
 		if (request.telemetrySetting) {
 			await controller.updateTelemetrySetting(request.telemetrySetting as TelemetrySetting)

src/core/prompts/model_prompts/claude4.ts

@@ -663,7 +663,6 @@ You accomplish a given task iteratively, breaking it down into clear steps and w
     }
 
 export function addUserInstructions(
-    settingsCustomInstructions?: string,
     globalClineRulesFileInstructions?: string,
     localClineRulesFileInstructions?: string,
     localCursorRulesFileInstructions?: string,
@@ -676,9 +675,6 @@ export function addUserInstructions(
     if (preferredLanguageInstructions) {
         customInstructions += preferredLanguageInstructions + "\n\n"
     }
-    if (settingsCustomInstructions) {
-        customInstructions += settingsCustomInstructions + "\n\n"
-    }
     if (globalClineRulesFileInstructions) {
         customInstructions += globalClineRulesFileInstructions + "\n\n"
     }

src/core/prompts/system.ts

@@ -651,7 +651,6 @@ You accomplish a given task iteratively, breaking it down into clear steps and w
 
 
 export function addUserInstructions(
-	settingsCustomInstructions?: string,
 	globalClineRulesFileInstructions?: string,
 	localClineRulesFileInstructions?: string,
 	localCursorRulesFileInstructions?: string,
@@ -664,9 +663,6 @@ export function addUserInstructions(
 	if (preferredLanguageInstructions) {
 		customInstructions += preferredLanguageInstructions + "\n\n"
 	}
-	if (settingsCustomInstructions) {
-		customInstructions += settingsCustomInstructions + "\n\n"
-	}
 	if (globalClineRulesFileInstructions) {
 		customInstructions += globalClineRulesFileInstructions + "\n\n"
 	}

src/core/storage/state-keys.ts

@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ export type GlobalStateKey =
 	| "vertexProjectId"
 	| "vertexRegion"
 	| "lastShownAnnouncementId"
-	| "customInstructions"
 	| "taskHistory"
 	| "openAiBaseUrl"
 	| "openAiModelId"

src/core/storage/state.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ import { ChatSettings } from "@shared/ChatSettings"
 import { TelemetrySetting } from "@shared/TelemetrySetting"
 import { UserInfo } from "@shared/UserInfo"
 import { ClineRulesToggles } from "@shared/cline-rules"
+import { ensureRulesDirectoryExists } from "./disk"
+import fs from "fs/promises"
+import path from "path"
 /*
 	Storage
 	https://dev.to/kompotkot/how-to-use-secretstorage-in-your-vscode-extensions-2hco
@@ -125,6 +128,51 @@ async function migrateEnableCheckpointsSetting(enableCheckpointsSettingRaw: bool
 	return enableCheckpointsSettingRaw ?? true
 }
 
+export async function migrateCustomInstructionsToGlobalRules(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
+	try {
+		const customInstructions = (await context.globalState.get("customInstructions")) as string | undefined
+
+		if (customInstructions?.trim()) {
+			console.log("Migrating custom instructions to global Cline rules...")
+
+			// Create global .clinerules directory if it doesn't exist
+			const globalRulesDir = await ensureRulesDirectoryExists()
+
+			// Use a fixed filename for custom instructions
+			const migrationFileName = "custom_instructions.md"
+			const migrationFilePath = path.join(globalRulesDir, migrationFileName)
+
+			try {
+				// Check if file already exists to determine if we should append
+				let existingContent = ""
+				try {
+					existingContent = await fs.readFile(migrationFilePath, "utf8")
+				} catch (readError) {
+					// File doesn't exist, which is fine
+				}
+
+				// Append or create the file with custom instructions
+				const contentToWrite = existingContent
+					? `${existingContent}\n\n---\n\n${customInstructions.trim()}`
+					: customInstructions.trim()
+
+				await fs.writeFile(migrationFilePath, contentToWrite)
+				console.log(`Successfully ${existingContent ? "appended to" : "created"} migration file: ${migrationFilePath}`)
+			} catch (fileError) {
+				console.error("Failed to write migration file:", fileError)
+				return
+			}
+
+			// Remove customInstructions from global state only after successful file creation
+			await context.globalState.update("customInstructions", undefined)
+			console.log("Successfully migrated custom instructions to global Cline rules")
+		}
+	} catch (error) {
+		console.error("Failed to migrate custom instructions to global rules:", error)
+		// Continue execution - migration failure shouldn't break extension startup
+	}
+}
+
 export async function getAllExtensionState(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
 	const [
 		isNewUser,
@@ -161,7 +209,6 @@ export async function getAllExtensionState(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
 		azureApiVersion,
 		openRouterProviderSorting,
 		lastShownAnnouncementId,
-		customInstructions,
 		taskHistory,
 		autoApprovalSettings,
 		browserSettings,
@@ -225,7 +272,6 @@ export async function getAllExtensionState(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
 		getGlobalState(context, "azureApiVersion") as Promise<string | undefined>,
 		getGlobalState(context, "openRouterProviderSorting") as Promise<string | undefined>,
 		getGlobalState(context, "lastShownAnnouncementId") as Promise<string | undefined>,
-		getGlobalState(context, "customInstructions") as Promise<string | undefined>,
 		getGlobalState(context, "taskHistory") as Promise<HistoryItem[] | undefined>,
 		getGlobalState(context, "autoApprovalSettings") as Promise<AutoApprovalSettings | undefined>,
 		getGlobalState(context, "browserSettings") as Promise<BrowserSettings | undefined>,
@@ -425,7 +471,6 @@ export async function getAllExtensionState(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
 		},
 		isNewUser: isNewUser ?? true,
 		lastShownAnnouncementId,
-		customInstructions,
 		taskHistory,
 		autoApprovalSettings: autoApprovalSettings || DEFAULT_AUTO_APPROVAL_SETTINGS, // default value can be 0 or empty string
 		globalClineRulesToggles: globalClineRulesToggles || {},

src/core/task/index.ts

@@ -144,7 +144,6 @@ export class Task {
 	browserSession: BrowserSession
 	contextManager: ContextManager
 	private didEditFile: boolean = false
-	customInstructions?: string
 	autoApprovalSettings: AutoApprovalSettings
 	browserSettings: BrowserSettings
 	chatSettings: ChatSettings
@@ -204,7 +203,6 @@ export class Task {
 		shellIntegrationTimeout: number,
 		terminalReuseEnabled: boolean,
 		enableCheckpointsSetting: boolean,
-		customInstructions?: string,
 		task?: string,
 		images?: string[],
 		files?: string[],
@@ -227,7 +225,6 @@ export class Task {
 		this.browserSession = new BrowserSession(context, browserSettings)
 		this.contextManager = new ContextManager()
 		this.diffViewProvider = new DiffViewProvider(cwd)
-		this.customInstructions = customInstructions
 		this.autoApprovalSettings = autoApprovalSettings
 		this.browserSettings = browserSettings
 		this.chatSettings = chatSettings
@@ -1642,7 +1639,6 @@ export class Task {
 		const isClaude4ModelFamily = await this.isClaude4ModelFamily()
 		let systemPrompt = await SYSTEM_PROMPT(cwd, supportsBrowserUse, this.mcpHub, this.browserSettings, isClaude4ModelFamily)
 
-		let settingsCustomInstructions = this.customInstructions?.trim()
 		await this.migratePreferredLanguageToolSetting()
 		const preferredLanguage = getLanguageKey(this.chatSettings.preferredLanguage as LanguageDisplay)
 		const preferredLanguageInstructions =
@@ -1670,7 +1666,6 @@ export class Task {
 		}
 
 		if (
-			settingsCustomInstructions ||
 			globalClineRulesFileInstructions ||
 			localClineRulesFileInstructions ||
 			localCursorRulesFileInstructions ||
@@ -1681,7 +1676,6 @@ export class Task {
 		) {
 			// altering the system prompt mid-task will break the prompt cache, but in the grand scheme this will not change often so it's better to not pollute user messages with it the way we have to with <potentially relevant details>
 			const userInstructions = addUserInstructions(
-				settingsCustomInstructions,
 				globalClineRulesFileInstructions,
 				localClineRulesFileInstructions,
 				localCursorRulesFileInstructions,
@@ -1690,6 +1684,7 @@ export class Task {
 				clineIgnoreInstructions,
 				preferredLanguageInstructions,
 			)
+			console.log("[INSTRUCTIONS] User instructions:", userInstructions)
 			systemPrompt += userInstructions
 		}
 		const contextManagementMetadata = await this.contextManager.getNewContextMessagesAndMetadata(

src/exports/README.md

@@ -18,13 +18,6 @@ The Cline extension exposes an API that can be used by other extensions. To use
     if (cline) {
     	// Now you can use the API
 
-    	// Set custom instructions
-    	await cline.setCustomInstructions("Talk like a pirate")
-
-    	// Get custom instructions
-    	const instructions = await cline.getCustomInstructions()
-    	console.log("Current custom instructions:", instructions)
-
     	// Start a new task with an initial message
     	await cline.startNewTask("Hello, Cline! Let's make a new project...")
 

src/exports/__tests__/cline-api.test.ts

@@ -65,59 +65,6 @@ describe("ClineAPI Core Functionality", () => {
 		sandbox.restore()
 	})
 
-	describe("setCustomInstructions", () => {
-		it("should update custom instructions in controller", async () => {
-			const testInstructions = "Test custom instructions"
-
-			await api.setCustomInstructions(testInstructions)
-
-			// Verify controller method was called
-			sinon.assert.calledOnce(mockController.updateCustomInstructions)
-			sinon.assert.calledWith(mockController.updateCustomInstructions, testInstructions)
-
-			// Verify output channel was updated
-			sinon.assert.calledWith(mockOutputChannel.appendLine, "Custom instructions set")
-		})
-
-		it("should handle empty instructions", async () => {
-			await api.setCustomInstructions("")
-
-			sinon.assert.calledWith(mockController.updateCustomInstructions, "")
-			sinon.assert.calledWith(mockOutputChannel.appendLine, "Custom instructions set")
-		})
-
-		it("should handle very long instructions", async () => {
-			const longInstructions = "a".repeat(10000)
-
-			await api.setCustomInstructions(longInstructions)
-
-			sinon.assert.calledWith(mockController.updateCustomInstructions, longInstructions)
-		})
-	})
-
-	describe("getCustomInstructions", () => {
-		it("should retrieve custom instructions from state", async () => {
-			const testInstructions = "Retrieved instructions"
-			// The real implementation uses getGlobalState from the state module
-			getGlobalStateStub.resolves(testInstructions)
-
-			const result = await api.getCustomInstructions()
-
-			result!.should.equal(testInstructions)
-			sinon.assert.calledWith(getGlobalStateStub, mockController.context, "customInstructions")
-		})
-
-		it("should return undefined when no instructions set", async () => {
-			// The real implementation uses getGlobalState from the state module
-			getGlobalStateStub.resolves(undefined)
-
-			const result = await api.getCustomInstructions()
-
-			should.not.exist(result)
-			sinon.assert.calledWith(getGlobalStateStub, mockController.context, "customInstructions")
-		})
-	})
-
 	describe("startNewTask", () => {
 		it("should clear existing task and start new one with description", async () => {
 			const taskDescription = "Create a test function"
@@ -260,17 +207,6 @@ describe("ClineAPI Core Functionality", () => {
 	})
 
 	describe("Error Handling", () => {
-		it("should handle errors in setCustomInstructions", async () => {
-			mockController.updateCustomInstructions.rejects(new Error("Update failed"))
-
-			try {
-				await api.setCustomInstructions("test")
-				should.fail("", "", "Should have thrown an error", "")
-			} catch (error: any) {
-				error.message.should.equal("Update failed")
-			}
-		})
-
 		it("should handle errors in task initialization", async () => {
 			mockController.initTask.rejects(new Error("Init failed"))
 

src/exports/cline.d.ts

@@ -1,16 +1,4 @@
 export interface ClineAPI {
-	/**
-	 * Sets the custom instructions in the global storage.
-	 * @param value The custom instructions to be saved.
-	 */
-	setCustomInstructions(value: string): Promise<void>
-
-	/**
-	 * Retrieves the custom instructions from the global storage.
-	 * @returns The saved custom instructions, or undefined if not set.
-	 */
-	getCustomInstructions(): Promise<string | undefined>
-
 	/**
 	 * Starts a new task with an optional initial message and images.
 	 * @param task Optional initial task message.

src/exports/index.ts

@@ -7,15 +7,6 @@ import { WebviewProviderType as WebviewProviderTypeEnum } from "@shared/proto/ui
 
 export function createClineAPI(outputChannel: vscode.OutputChannel, sidebarController: Controller): ClineAPI {
 	const api: ClineAPI = {
-		setCustomInstructions: async (value: string) => {
-			await sidebarController.updateCustomInstructions(value)
-			outputChannel.appendLine("Custom instructions set")
-		},
-
-		getCustomInstructions: async () => {
-			return (await getGlobalState(sidebarController.context, "customInstructions")) as string | undefined
-		},
-
 		startNewTask: async (task?: string, images?: string[]) => {
 			outputChannel.appendLine("Starting new task")
 			await sidebarController.clearTask()

src/extension.ts

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import { WebviewProviderType as WebviewProviderTypeEnum } from "@shared/proto/ui
 import { WebviewProviderType } from "./shared/webview/types"
 import { sendHistoryButtonClickedEvent } from "./core/controller/ui/subscribeToHistoryButtonClicked"
 import { sendAccountButtonClickedEvent } from "./core/controller/ui/subscribeToAccountButtonClicked"
-import { migratePlanActGlobalToWorkspaceStorage } from "./core/storage/state"
+import { migratePlanActGlobalToWorkspaceStorage, migrateCustomInstructionsToGlobalRules } from "./core/storage/state"
 
 import { sendFocusChatInputEvent } from "./core/controller/ui/subscribeToFocusChatInput"
 /*
@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@ export async function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
 	// Migrate global storage values to workspace storage (one-time cleanup)
 	await migratePlanActGlobalToWorkspaceStorage(context)
 
+	// Migrate custom instructions to global Cline rules (one-time cleanup)
+	await migrateCustomInstructionsToGlobalRules(context)
+
 	// Version checking for autoupdate notification
 	const currentVersion = context.extension.packageJSON.version
 	const previousVersion = context.globalState.get<string>("clineVersion")

src/shared/ExtensionMessage.ts

@@ -81,7 +81,6 @@ export interface ExtensionState {
 	checkpointTrackerErrorMessage?: string
 	clineMessages: ClineMessage[]
 	currentTaskItem?: HistoryItem
-	customInstructions?: string
 	mcpMarketplaceEnabled?: boolean
 	planActSeparateModelsSetting: boolean
 	enableCheckpointsSetting?: boolean

src/shared/WebviewMessage.ts

@@ -46,7 +46,6 @@ export interface WebviewMessage {
 	mcpMarketplaceEnabled?: boolean
 	mcpResponsesCollapsed?: boolean
 	telemetrySetting?: TelemetrySetting
-	customInstructionsSetting?: string
 	mentionsRequestId?: string
 	query?: string
 	// For toggleFavoriteModel

webview-ui/src/components/settings/SettingsView.tsx

@@ -115,8 +115,6 @@ const SettingsView = ({ onDone, targetSection }: SettingsViewProps) => {
 	const {
 		apiConfiguration,
 		version,
-		customInstructions,
-		setCustomInstructions,
 		openRouterModels,
 		telemetrySetting,
 		setTelemetrySetting,
@@ -140,7 +138,6 @@ const SettingsView = ({ onDone, targetSection }: SettingsViewProps) => {
 	// Store the original state to detect changes
 	const originalState = useRef({
 		apiConfiguration,
-		customInstructions,
 		telemetrySetting,
 		planActSeparateModelsSetting,
 		enableCheckpointsSetting,
@@ -163,10 +160,6 @@ const SettingsView = ({ onDone, targetSection }: SettingsViewProps) => {
 		if (!apiValidationResult && !modelIdValidationResult) {
 			// vscode.postMessage({ type: "apiConfiguration", apiConfiguration })
 			// vscode.postMessage({
-			// 	type: "customInstructions",
-			// 	text: customInstructions,
-			// })
-			// vscode.postMessage({
 			// 	type: "telemetrySetting",
 			// 	text: telemetrySetting,
 			// })
@@ -184,7 +177,6 @@ const SettingsView = ({ onDone, targetSection }: SettingsViewProps) => {
 			await StateServiceClient.updateSettings(
 				UpdateSettingsRequest.create({
 					planActSeparateModelsSetting,
-					customInstructionsSetting: customInstructions,
 					telemetrySetting,
 					enableCheckpointsSetting,
 					mcpMarketplaceEnabled,
@@ -215,7 +207,6 @@ const SettingsView = ({ onDone, targetSection }: SettingsViewProps) => {
 	useEffect(() => {
 		const hasChanges =
 			JSON.stringify(apiConfiguration) !== JSON.stringify(originalState.current.apiConfiguration) ||
-			customInstructions !== originalState.current.customInstructions ||
 			telemetrySetting !== originalState.current.telemetrySetting ||
 			planActSeparateModelsSetting !== originalState.current.planActSeparateModelsSetting ||
 			enableCheckpointsSetting !== originalState.current.enableCheckpointsSetting ||
@@ -228,7 +219,6 @@ const SettingsView = ({ onDone, targetSection }: SettingsViewProps) => {
 		setHasUnsavedChanges(hasChanges)
 	}, [
 		apiConfiguration,
-		customInstructions,
 		telemetrySetting,
 		planActSeparateModelsSetting,
 		enableCheckpointsSetting,
@@ -246,7 +236,6 @@ const SettingsView = ({ onDone, targetSection }: SettingsViewProps) => {
 			setIsUnsavedChangesDialogOpen(true)
 			pendingAction.current = () => {
 				// Reset all tracked state to original values
-				setCustomInstructions(originalState.current.customInstructions)
 				setTelemetrySetting(originalState.current.telemetrySetting)
 				setPlanActSeparateModelsSetting(originalState.current.planActSeparateModelsSetting)
 				setChatSettings(originalState.current.chatSettings)
@@ -287,7 +276,6 @@ const SettingsView = ({ onDone, targetSection }: SettingsViewProps) => {
 	}, [
 		hasUnsavedChanges,
 		onDone,
-		setCustomInstructions,
 		setTelemetrySetting,
 		setPlanActSeparateModelsSetting,
 		setChatSettings,
@@ -585,24 +573,6 @@ const SettingsView = ({ onDone, targetSection }: SettingsViewProps) => {
 												architect a plan for a cheaper coding model to act on.
 											</p>
 										</div>
-
-										<div className="mb-[5px]">
-											<VSCodeTextArea
-												value={customInstructions ?? ""}
-												className="w-full"
-												resize="vertical"
-												rows={4}
-												placeholder={
-													'e.g. "Run unit tests at the end", "Use TypeScript with async/await", "Speak in Spanish"'
-												}
-												onInput={(e: any) => setCustomInstructions(e.target?.value ?? "")}>
-												<span className="font-medium">Custom Instructions</span>
-											</VSCodeTextArea>
-											<p className="text-xs mt-[5px] text-[var(--vscode-descriptionForeground)]">
-												These instructions are added to the end of the system prompt sent with every
-												request.
-											</p>
-										</div>
 									</Section>
 								</div>
 							)}

webview-ui/src/context/ExtensionStateContext.tsx

@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ interface ExtensionStateContextType extends ExtensionState {
 
 	// Setters
 	setApiConfiguration: (config: ApiConfiguration) => void
-	setCustomInstructions: (value?: string) => void
 	setTelemetrySetting: (value: TelemetrySetting) => void
 	setShowAnnouncement: (value: boolean) => void
 	setShouldShowAnnouncement: (value: boolean) => void
@@ -688,11 +687,6 @@ export const ExtensionStateContextProvider: React.FC<{
 				...prevState,
 				apiConfiguration: value,
 			})),
-		setCustomInstructions: (value) =>
-			setState((prevState) => ({
-				...prevState,
-				customInstructions: value,
-			})),
 		setTelemetrySetting: (value) =>
 			setState((prevState) => ({
 				...prevState,
@@ -760,7 +754,6 @@ export const ExtensionStateContextProvider: React.FC<{
 						apiConfiguration: state.apiConfiguration
 							? convertApiConfigurationToProtoApiConfiguration(state.apiConfiguration)
 							: undefined,
-						customInstructionsSetting: state.customInstructions,
 						telemetrySetting: state.telemetrySetting,
 						planActSeparateModelsSetting: state.planActSeparateModelsSetting,
 						enableCheckpointsSetting: state.enableCheckpointsSetting,