fix(agents): persist system prompt server-side instead of localStorage (#22857)

## Problem

The Admin → Agents → System Prompt textarea saved only to the browser's
`localStorage`. The value was never sent to the backend, never stored in
the database, and never injected into chats. Entering text, clicking
Save, and refreshing the page showed no changes — the prompt was
effectively a no-op.

## Root Cause

Three disconnected layers:
1. **Frontend** wrote to `localStorage`, never called an API.
2. **`handleCreateChat`** never read `savedSystemPrompt`.
3. **Backend** hardcoded `chatd.DefaultSystemPrompt` on every chat
creation — no field in `CreateChatRequest` accepted a custom prompt.

## Changes

### Database
- Added `GetChatSystemPrompt` / `UpsertChatSystemPrompt` queries on the
existing `site_configs` table (no migration needed).

### API
- `GET /api/experimental/chats/system-prompt` — returns the configured
prompt (any authenticated user).
- `PUT /api/experimental/chats/system-prompt` — sets the prompt
(admin-only, `rbac: deployment_config update`).
- Input validation: max 32 KiB prompt length.

### Backend
- `resolvedChatSystemPrompt(ctx)` checks for a custom prompt in the DB,
falls back to `chatd.DefaultSystemPrompt` when empty/unset.
- Logs a warning on DB errors instead of silently swallowing them.
- Replaced the hardcoded `defaultChatSystemPrompt()` call in chat
creation.

### Frontend
- Replaced `localStorage` read/write with React Query
`useQuery`/`useMutation` backed by the new endpoints.
- Fixed `useEffect` draft sync to avoid clobbering in-progress user
edits on refetch.
- Added `try/catch` error handling on save (draft stays dirty for
retry).
- Save button disabled during mutation (`isSavingSystemPrompt`).
- Query key follows kebab-case convention (`chat-system-prompt`).

### UX
- Added hint: "When empty, the built-in default prompt is used."

### Tests
- `TestChatSystemPrompt`: GET returns empty when unset, admin can set,
non-admin gets 403.
- dbauthz `TestMethodTestSuite` coverage for both new querier methods.
This commit is contained in:
Cian Johnston
2026-03-10 11:46:53 +00:00
committed by GitHub
parent a21f00d250
commit c933ddcffd
18 changed files with 365 additions and 32 deletions
+59 -2
View File
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ const (
defaultChatContextCompressionThreshold = int32(70)
minChatContextCompressionThreshold = int32(0)
maxChatContextCompressionThreshold = int32(100)
maxSystemPromptLenBytes = 131072 // 128 KiB
)
// chatDiffRefreshBackoffSchedule defines the delays between successive
@@ -284,7 +285,7 @@ func (api *API) postChats(rw http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
WorkspaceID: workspaceSelection.WorkspaceID,
Title: title,
ModelConfigID: modelConfigID,
SystemPrompt: defaultChatSystemPrompt(),
SystemPrompt: api.resolvedChatSystemPrompt(ctx),
InitialUserContent: contentBlocks,
ContentFileIDs: contentFileIDs,
})
@@ -2262,7 +2263,63 @@ func detectChatFileType(data []byte) string {
return http.DetectContentType(data)
}
func defaultChatSystemPrompt() string {
//nolint:revive // get-return: revive assumes get* must be a getter, but this is an HTTP handler.
func (api *API) getChatSystemPrompt(rw http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
ctx := r.Context()
prompt, err := api.Database.GetChatSystemPrompt(ctx)
if err != nil {
httpapi.Write(ctx, rw, http.StatusInternalServerError, codersdk.Response{
Message: "Internal error fetching chat system prompt.",
Detail: err.Error(),
})
return
}
httpapi.Write(ctx, rw, http.StatusOK, codersdk.ChatSystemPromptResponse{
SystemPrompt: prompt,
})
}
func (api *API) putChatSystemPrompt(rw http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
ctx := r.Context()
var req codersdk.UpdateChatSystemPromptRequest
if !httpapi.Read(ctx, rw, r, &req) {
return
}
trimmedPrompt := strings.TrimSpace(req.SystemPrompt)
// 128 KiB is generous for a system prompt while still
// preventing abuse or accidental pastes of large content.
if len(trimmedPrompt) > maxSystemPromptLenBytes {
httpapi.Write(ctx, rw, http.StatusBadRequest, codersdk.Response{
Message: "System prompt exceeds maximum length.",
Detail: fmt.Sprintf("Maximum length is %d bytes, got %d.", maxSystemPromptLenBytes, len(trimmedPrompt)),
})
return
}
err := api.Database.UpsertChatSystemPrompt(ctx, trimmedPrompt)
if httpapi.Is404Error(err) { // also catches authz error
httpapi.ResourceNotFound(rw)
return
} else if err != nil {
httpapi.Write(ctx, rw, http.StatusInternalServerError, codersdk.Response{
Message: "Internal error updating chat system prompt.",
Detail: err.Error(),
})
return
}
rw.WriteHeader(http.StatusNoContent)
}
func (api *API) resolvedChatSystemPrompt(ctx context.Context) string {
custom, err := api.Database.GetChatSystemPrompt(ctx)
if err != nil {
// Log but don't fail chat creation — fall back to the
// built-in default so the user isn't blocked.
api.Logger.Error(ctx, "failed to fetch custom chat system prompt, using default", slog.Error(err))
return chatd.DefaultSystemPrompt
}
if strings.TrimSpace(custom) != "" {
return custom
}
return chatd.DefaultSystemPrompt
}