From 4f95575aab3c1f183dbf561dd82feae8f66d61a6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Cameron Pfiffer Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2026 23:32:17 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] Improve responder prompt: match depth, skip acknowledgments MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Old prompt forced "Under 280 chars. Just the reply text." which produced terse, generic responses. New prompt instructs to match the depth of what was said and explicitly skip acknowledgments like "thanks" instead of replying with "Thanks." back. Audit showed 4/6 responses flagged (TERSE, GENERIC). 🐾 Generated with [Letta Code](https://letta.com) Co-Authored-By: Letta --- handlers/src/live-responder.ts | 11 +++++++---- 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/handlers/src/live-responder.ts b/handlers/src/live-responder.ts index 0a61e6a..adda06c 100644 --- a/handlers/src/live-responder.ts +++ b/handlers/src/live-responder.ts @@ -192,10 +192,13 @@ function buildPrompt( } parts.push( - "Reply to the conversation above. Under 280 chars. " + - "Your reply must directly respond to what was said. " + - "Just the reply text. If no response needed: [SKIP]. " + - "If the request is too complex or needs tools (search, annotate, code): [ESCALATE]", + "Reply to the conversation above. Be direct and substantive. " + + "Match the depth of what was said: short questions get short answers, " + + "substantive points deserve real engagement. " + + "Max 280 chars per post. If you need more space, that's fine, just keep it tight. " + + "Output only the reply text, nothing else. " + + "If no response needed (e.g. 'thanks', acknowledgments): [SKIP]. " + + "If the request needs tools (search, code, annotations): [ESCALATE]", ); return parts.join("\n\n"); -- 2.51.2