fix(openclaw): inject context via system prompt instead of overwriting MEMORY.md (#1386)
* fix(openclaw): inject context via system prompt instead of overwriting MEMORY.md
The OpenClaw plugin was overwriting each agent's MEMORY.md with a large
auto-generated observation dump (~12-15KB) on every before_agent_start
and tool_result_persist event. This conflicts with OpenClaw's design
where MEMORY.md is agent-curated long-term memory.
Migrate context injection from file-based (writeFile MEMORY.md) to
OpenClaw's native before_prompt_build hook, which returns context via
appendSystemContext. This keeps MEMORY.md under agent control while
still providing cross-session observation context to the LLM.
Changes:
- Add before_prompt_build hook that returns { appendSystemContext }
- Remove writeFile/MEMORY.md sync from before_agent_start
- Remove MEMORY.md sync from tool_result_persist (observations still recorded)
- Add 60s TTL cache to avoid re-fetching context on every LLM turn
- Add syncMemoryFileExclude config for per-agent opt-out
- Remove dead workspaceDirsBySessionKey tracking map
- Rewrite test suite to verify prompt injection instead of file writes
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* fix(ui): align settings defaults with backend and use nullish coalescing
The web UI had two issues causing settings inflation:
1. DEFAULT_SETTINGS in the UI used FULL_COUNT='5' and all token columns
'true', while SettingsDefaultsManager (backend) uses FULL_COUNT='0'
and token columns 'false'. Opening the settings modal and saving
without changes would silently inflate the context.
2. useSettings used || for fallback, which treats '0' and 'false' as
falsy — even when the backend correctly returns these values, the UI
would replace them with inflated defaults. Changed to ?? (nullish
coalescing) so only null/undefined trigger the fallback.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* docs(openclaw): update integration docs for system prompt injection
Reflect the migration from MEMORY.md file writes to before_prompt_build
hook-based context injection:
- Update architecture diagram and overview to show new hook flow
- Replace "MEMORY.md Live Sync" section with "System Prompt Context Injection"
- Update event lifecycle steps (before_agent_start, tool_result_persist)
- Add before_prompt_build step with TTL cache description
- Document new syncMemoryFileExclude config parameter
- Update session tracking to reflect removed workspaceDirsBySessionKey
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* docs: fix terminology and update SKILL.md for system prompt injection
Replace "prompt injection" with "context injection" in docs to avoid
confusion with the OWASP security term. Update openclaw/SKILL.md to
reflect the new before_prompt_build hook and remove stale MEMORY.md
references.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: Alex Newman <thedotmack@gmail.com>
This commit is contained in:
Glucksberg
+115
-96
@@ -87,9 +87,11 @@ function createMockApi(pluginConfigOverride: Record<string, any> = {}) {
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getEventHandlers: (event: string) => eventHandlers.get(event) || [],
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fireEvent: async (event: string, data: any, ctx: any = {}) => {
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const handlers = eventHandlers.get(event) || [];
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let lastResult: any;
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for (const handler of handlers) {
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await handler(data, ctx);
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lastResult = await handler(data, ctx);
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}
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return lastResult;
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},
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};
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}
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@@ -106,6 +108,7 @@ describe("claudeMemPlugin", () => {
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assert.ok(getEventHandlers("session_start").length > 0, "session_start handler registered");
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assert.ok(getEventHandlers("after_compaction").length > 0, "after_compaction handler registered");
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assert.ok(getEventHandlers("before_agent_start").length > 0, "before_agent_start handler registered");
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assert.ok(getEventHandlers("before_prompt_build").length > 0, "before_prompt_build handler registered");
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assert.ok(getEventHandlers("tool_result_persist").length > 0, "tool_result_persist handler registered");
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assert.ok(getEventHandlers("agent_end").length > 0, "agent_end handler registered");
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assert.ok(getEventHandlers("gateway_start").length > 0, "gateway_start handler registered");
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@@ -535,11 +538,10 @@ describe("Observation I/O event handlers", () => {
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});
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});
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describe("MEMORY.md context sync", () => {
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describe("before_prompt_build context injection", () => {
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let workerServer: Server;
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let workerPort: number;
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let receivedRequests: Array<{ method: string; url: string; body: any }> = [];
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let tmpDir: string;
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let contextResponse = "# Claude-Mem Context\n\n## Timeline\n- Session 1: Did some work";
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function startWorkerMock(): Promise<number> {
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@@ -586,21 +588,20 @@ describe("MEMORY.md context sync", () => {
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receivedRequests = [];
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contextResponse = "# Claude-Mem Context\n\n## Timeline\n- Session 1: Did some work";
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workerPort = await startWorkerMock();
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tmpDir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "claude-mem-test-"));
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});
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afterEach(async () => {
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workerServer?.close();
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await rm(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
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});
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it("writes MEMORY.md to workspace on before_agent_start", async () => {
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it("returns appendSystemContext from before_prompt_build", async () => {
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const { api, logs, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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const result = await fireEvent("before_prompt_build", {
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prompt: "Help me write a function",
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}, { sessionKey: "sync-test", workspaceDir: tmpDir });
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messages: [],
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}, { agentId: "main" });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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@@ -608,142 +609,143 @@ describe("MEMORY.md context sync", () => {
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assert.ok(contextRequest, "should request context from worker");
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assert.ok(contextRequest!.url!.includes("projects=openclaw"));
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const memoryContent = await readFile(join(tmpDir, "MEMORY.md"), "utf-8");
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assert.ok(memoryContent.includes("Claude-Mem Context"), "MEMORY.md should contain context");
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assert.ok(memoryContent.includes("Session 1"), "MEMORY.md should contain timeline");
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assert.ok(logs.some((l) => l.includes("MEMORY.md synced")));
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assert.ok(result, "should return a result");
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assert.ok(result.appendSystemContext, "should return appendSystemContext");
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assert.ok(result.appendSystemContext.includes("Claude-Mem Context"), "should contain context");
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assert.ok(result.appendSystemContext.includes("Session 1"), "should contain timeline");
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assert.ok(logs.some((l) => l.includes("Context injected via system prompt")));
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});
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it("syncs MEMORY.md on every before_agent_start call", async () => {
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const { api, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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it("does not write MEMORY.md on before_agent_start", async () => {
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const tmpDir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "claude-mem-test-"));
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try {
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const { api, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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prompt: "First prompt for this agent",
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}, { sessionKey: "agent-a", workspaceDir: tmpDir });
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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prompt: "Help me write a function",
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}, { sessionKey: "sync-test", workspaceDir: tmpDir });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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const firstContextRequests = receivedRequests.filter((r) => r.url?.startsWith("/api/context/inject"));
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assert.equal(firstContextRequests.length, 1, "first call should fetch context");
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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prompt: "Second prompt for same agent",
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}, { sessionKey: "agent-a", workspaceDir: tmpDir });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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const allContextRequests = receivedRequests.filter((r) => r.url?.startsWith("/api/context/inject"));
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assert.equal(allContextRequests.length, 2, "should re-fetch context on every call");
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let memoryExists = true;
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try {
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await readFile(join(tmpDir, "MEMORY.md"), "utf-8");
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} catch {
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memoryExists = false;
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}
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assert.ok(!memoryExists, "MEMORY.md should not be created by before_agent_start");
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} finally {
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await rm(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
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}
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});
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it("syncs MEMORY.md on tool_result_persist via fire-and-forget", async () => {
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const { api, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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it("does not sync MEMORY.md on tool_result_persist", async () => {
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const tmpDir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "claude-mem-test-"));
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try {
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const { api, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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// Init session to register workspace dir
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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prompt: "Help me write a function",
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}, { sessionKey: "tool-sync", workspaceDir: tmpDir });
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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prompt: "Help me write a function",
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}, { sessionKey: "tool-sync", workspaceDir: tmpDir });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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const preToolContextRequests = receivedRequests.filter((r) => r.url?.startsWith("/api/context/inject"));
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assert.equal(preToolContextRequests.length, 1, "before_agent_start should sync once");
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await fireEvent("tool_result_persist", {
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toolName: "Read",
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params: { file_path: "/src/app.ts" },
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message: { content: [{ type: "text", text: "file contents" }] },
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}, { sessionKey: "tool-sync" });
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// Fire tool result — should trigger another MEMORY.md sync
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await fireEvent("tool_result_persist", {
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toolName: "Read",
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params: { file_path: "/src/app.ts" },
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message: { content: [{ type: "text", text: "file contents" }] },
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}, { sessionKey: "tool-sync" });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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const contextRequests = receivedRequests.filter((r) => r.url?.startsWith("/api/context/inject"));
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assert.equal(contextRequests.length, 0, "tool_result_persist should not fetch context");
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const postToolContextRequests = receivedRequests.filter((r) => r.url?.startsWith("/api/context/inject"));
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assert.equal(postToolContextRequests.length, 2, "tool_result_persist should trigger another sync");
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const memoryContent = await readFile(join(tmpDir, "MEMORY.md"), "utf-8");
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assert.ok(memoryContent.includes("Claude-Mem Context"), "MEMORY.md should be updated");
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let memoryExists = true;
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try {
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await readFile(join(tmpDir, "MEMORY.md"), "utf-8");
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} catch {
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memoryExists = false;
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}
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assert.ok(!memoryExists, "MEMORY.md should not be written by tool_result_persist");
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} finally {
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await rm(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
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}
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});
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it("skips MEMORY.md sync when syncMemoryFile is false", async () => {
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it("skips context injection when syncMemoryFile is false", async () => {
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const { api, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort, syncMemoryFile: false });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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const result = await fireEvent("before_prompt_build", {
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prompt: "Help me write a function",
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}, { sessionKey: "no-sync", workspaceDir: tmpDir });
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messages: [],
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}, { agentId: "main" });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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const contextRequest = receivedRequests.find((r) => r.url?.startsWith("/api/context/inject"));
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assert.ok(!contextRequest, "should not fetch context when sync disabled");
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assert.ok(!contextRequest, "should not fetch context when injection disabled");
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assert.equal(result, undefined, "should return undefined when injection disabled");
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});
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it("skips MEMORY.md sync when no workspaceDir in context", async () => {
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const { api, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort });
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it("skips context injection for excluded agents", async () => {
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const { api, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort, syncMemoryFileExclude: ["snarf"] });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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prompt: "Help me write a function",
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}, { sessionKey: "no-workspace" });
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const result = await fireEvent("before_prompt_build", {
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prompt: "Help me",
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messages: [],
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}, { agentId: "snarf" });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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const contextRequest = receivedRequests.find((r) => r.url?.startsWith("/api/context/inject"));
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assert.ok(!contextRequest, "should not fetch context without workspaceDir");
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assert.ok(!contextRequest, "should not fetch context for excluded agent");
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assert.equal(result, undefined, "should return undefined for excluded agent");
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});
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it("skips writing MEMORY.md when context is empty", async () => {
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it("injects context for non-excluded agents", async () => {
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const { api, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort, syncMemoryFileExclude: ["snarf"] });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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const result = await fireEvent("before_prompt_build", {
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prompt: "Help me",
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messages: [],
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}, { agentId: "main" });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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assert.ok(result, "should return a result for non-excluded agent");
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assert.ok(result.appendSystemContext, "should inject context for non-excluded agent");
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});
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it("returns undefined when context is empty", async () => {
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contextResponse = " ";
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const { api, logs, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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const result = await fireEvent("before_prompt_build", {
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prompt: "Help me write a function",
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}, { sessionKey: "empty-ctx", workspaceDir: tmpDir });
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messages: [],
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}, { agentId: "main" });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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assert.ok(!logs.some((l) => l.includes("MEMORY.md synced")), "should not log sync for empty context");
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});
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it("gateway_start resets sync tracking so next agent re-syncs", async () => {
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const { api, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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// First sync
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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prompt: "Help me write a function",
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}, { sessionKey: "agent-1", workspaceDir: tmpDir });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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const firstContextRequests = receivedRequests.filter((r) => r.url?.startsWith("/api/context/inject"));
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assert.equal(firstContextRequests.length, 1);
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// Gateway restart
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await fireEvent("gateway_start", {}, {});
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// Second sync after gateway restart — same workspace should re-sync
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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prompt: "Help me after gateway restart",
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}, { sessionKey: "agent-1", workspaceDir: tmpDir });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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const allContextRequests = receivedRequests.filter((r) => r.url?.startsWith("/api/context/inject"));
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assert.equal(allContextRequests.length, 2, "should re-fetch context after gateway restart");
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assert.equal(result, undefined, "should return undefined for empty context");
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assert.ok(!logs.some((l) => l.includes("Context injected")), "should not log injection for empty context");
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});
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it("uses custom project name in context inject URL", async () => {
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const { api, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort, project: "my-bot" });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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await fireEvent("before_agent_start", {
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await fireEvent("before_prompt_build", {
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prompt: "Help me write a function",
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}, { sessionKey: "proj-test", workspaceDir: tmpDir });
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messages: [],
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}, { agentId: "main" });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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@@ -751,6 +753,23 @@ describe("MEMORY.md context sync", () => {
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assert.ok(contextRequest, "should request context");
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assert.ok(contextRequest!.url!.includes("projects=my-bot"), "should use custom project name");
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});
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it("includes agent-scoped project in context request", async () => {
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const { api, fireEvent } = createMockApi({ workerPort });
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claudeMemPlugin(api);
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await fireEvent("before_prompt_build", {
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prompt: "Help me",
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messages: [],
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}, { agentId: "debugger" });
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await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
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const contextRequest = receivedRequests.find((r) => r.url?.startsWith("/api/context/inject"));
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assert.ok(contextRequest, "should request context");
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const url = decodeURIComponent(contextRequest!.url!);
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assert.ok(url.includes("openclaw,openclaw-debugger"), "should include both base and agent-scoped projects");
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});
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});
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describe("SSE stream integration", () => {
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Reference in New Issue
Block a user