From 311286e9570a6f364ebd317bafd6843067aa91d8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Amolith <amolith@secluded.site>
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2025 20:11:15 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] feat(prompt): distinguish user/project context

Separate user-defined memory paths from project-specific context paths.
Previously, memory paths were appended to context paths. Now, they are
passed distinctly to the prompt generator.

The CoderPrompt now formats project context within <project_context>
tags and user memory within <user_context> tags, each with a
specific explanatory header for the LLM. This allows for clearer
separation and potential prioritization by the model.

Issue: charmbracelet/crush#1050
---
 internal/agent/prompt/prompt.go       | 25 ++++++++++++++++++++-----
 internal/agent/templates/coder.md.tpl | 18 +++++++++++++++++-
 internal/config/load.go               |  6 ++----
 3 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/internal/agent/prompt/prompt.go b/internal/agent/prompt/prompt.go
index d10fbcae3c3a37f295ec9f9de637cb130d9b6abc..216e7d32c0aebd4415b75885bb5bc523dae499db 100644
--- a/internal/agent/prompt/prompt.go
+++ b/internal/agent/prompt/prompt.go
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ type PromptDat struct {
 	Date         string
 	GitStatus    string
 	ContextFiles []ContextFile
+	MemoryFiles  []ContextFile
 }
 
 type ContextFile struct {
@@ -150,16 +151,27 @@ func (p *Prompt) promptData(ctx context.Context, provider, model string, cfg con
 	workingDir := cmp.Or(p.workingDir, cfg.WorkingDir())
 	platform := cmp.Or(p.platform, runtime.GOOS)
 
-	files := map[string][]ContextFile{}
+	contextFiles := map[string][]ContextFile{}
+	memoryFiles := map[string][]ContextFile{}
 
 	for _, pth := range cfg.Options.ContextPaths {
 		expanded := expandPath(pth, cfg)
 		pathKey := strings.ToLower(expanded)
-		if _, ok := files[pathKey]; ok {
+		if _, ok := contextFiles[pathKey]; ok {
 			continue
 		}
 		content := processContextPath(expanded, cfg)
-		files[pathKey] = content
+		contextFiles[pathKey] = content
+	}
+
+	for _, pth := range cfg.Options.MemoryPaths {
+		expanded := expandPath(pth, cfg)
+		pathKey := strings.ToLower(expanded)
+		if _, ok := memoryFiles[pathKey]; ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		content := processContextPath(expanded, cfg)
+		memoryFiles[pathKey] = content
 	}
 
 	isGit := isGitRepo(cfg.WorkingDir())
@@ -180,8 +192,11 @@ func (p *Prompt) promptData(ctx context.Context, provider, model string, cfg con
 		}
 	}
 
-	for _, contextFiles := range files {
-		data.ContextFiles = append(data.ContextFiles, contextFiles...)
+	for _, files := range contextFiles {
+		data.ContextFiles = append(data.ContextFiles, files...)
+	}
+	for _, files := range memoryFiles {
+		data.MemoryFiles = append(data.MemoryFiles, files...)
 	}
 	return data, nil
 }
diff --git a/internal/agent/templates/coder.md.tpl b/internal/agent/templates/coder.md.tpl
index 363b59da2624405684bab9983204b795fb177471..9ec729d168915a3ab7c90ae9fd5e5db20b7b70e8 100644
--- a/internal/agent/templates/coder.md.tpl
+++ b/internal/agent/templates/coder.md.tpl
@@ -339,10 +339,26 @@ Diagnostics (lint/typecheck) included in tool output.
 
 {{if .ContextFiles}}
 <memory>
+# Project-Specific Context
+Make sure to follow the instructions in the context below.
+<project_context>
 {{range .ContextFiles}}
 <file path="{{.Path}}">
 {{.Content}}
 </file>
 {{end}}
-</memory>
+</project_context>
+
+{{if .MemoryFiles}}
+# User context
+The following is personal content added by the user that they'd like you to follow no matter what project you're working in, though project preferences might conflict with their personal preferences. In cases of conflict, prioritise project context over user context.
+<user_context>
+{{range .MemoryFiles}}
+<file path="{{.Path}}">
+{{.Content}}
+</file>
+{{end}}
+</user_context>
+{{end}}
+<memory>
 {{end}}
diff --git a/internal/config/load.go b/internal/config/load.go
index e93ea49bc3a0b54202b2a3aeab03019e47eb935f..f85f5581ae3ec9546d225ff9eda62d293f149f6b 100644
--- a/internal/config/load.go
+++ b/internal/config/load.go
@@ -321,7 +321,8 @@ func (c *Config) setDefaults(workingDir, dataDir string) {
 			filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(crushConfigDir), "AGENTS.md"),
 		}
 	}
-	c.Options.ContextPaths = append(c.Options.ContextPaths, c.Options.MemoryPaths...)
+	slices.Sort(c.Options.MemoryPaths)
+	c.Options.MemoryPaths = slices.Compact(c.Options.MemoryPaths)
 
 	if dataDir != "" {
 		c.Options.DataDirectory = dataDir
@@ -350,9 +351,6 @@ func (c *Config) setDefaults(workingDir, dataDir string) {
 
 	// Add the default context paths if they are not already present
 	c.Options.ContextPaths = append(defaultContextPaths, c.Options.ContextPaths...)
-
-	// The ordering of contexts can be important; maybe the user's stuff should
-	// go at the bottom? Or top?
 	slices.Sort(c.Options.ContextPaths)
 	c.Options.ContextPaths = slices.Compact(c.Options.ContextPaths)