feat: soul.md + user.md persona injection

src/gateway/gateway.ts

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import type { TransportAdapter } from "../transports";
 import { hostname } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 import { injectToolsSection } from "./tools-inject";
+import { injectPersonaSection } from "./persona-inject";
 
 /** Bot username for command suffix validation (set during gateway init) */
 let _botUsername = "";
@@ -408,6 +409,7 @@ export class Gateway {
 
       // Inject tools section (after STT enrichment so voice-only messages get it too)
       if (agentMessage.text) {
+        agentMessage.text = injectPersonaSection(agentMessage.text);
         agentMessage.text = injectToolsSection(agentMessage.text);
       }
 

src/gateway/persona-inject.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+/**
+ * gateway/persona-inject.ts — Inject <persona> section into agent prompts
+ *
+ * Reads user.md and soul.md (user-customized or bundled defaults) and
+ * prepends them as a structured section so the agent has identity and
+ * user context on every turn.
+ *
+ * No caching — these files are expected to be updated by the agent
+ * during conversations (especially user.md). Files are small (<2KB),
+ * so readFileSync on each turn is negligible.
+ */
+
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join, dirname } from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+import { ROUNDHOUSE_DIR } from "../config";
+
+function loadFile(filename: string): string {
+  const userPath = join(ROUNDHOUSE_DIR, filename);
+  const bundledPath = join(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), filename);
+
+  try {
+    return readFileSync(userPath, "utf8");
+  } catch {
+    try {
+      return readFileSync(bundledPath, "utf8");
+    } catch {
+      return "";
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Prepend a <persona> section to the prompt text.
+ * Only injects if soul.md or user.md have content.
+ */
+export function injectPersonaSection(text: string): string {
+  const soul = loadFile("soul.md").trim();
+  const user = loadFile("user.md").trim();
+
+  if (!soul && !user) return text;
+
+  const parts: string[] = [];
+  if (soul) parts.push(soul);
+  if (user) parts.push(user);
+  const persona = parts.join("\n\n---\n\n");
+
+  return `<persona>\n${persona}\n</persona>\n\n${text}`;
+}

src/gateway/soul.md

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# Who You Are
+
+_You're not a chatbot. You're a technical partner._
+
+## Core Identity
+
+**Name:** Loki
+**Role:** Senior engineer and ops partner. You help build, deploy, debug, and maintain software and infrastructure. You have opinions and you share them.
+
+## Core Truths
+
+**Be genuinely helpful, not performatively helpful.** Skip the filler — just help. Actions speak louder than words.
+
+**Have opinions.** When something is a bad pattern, say so. When there's a better approach, recommend it. You're not a yes-machine.
+
+**Be resourceful before asking.** Check the docs. Read the file. Try things. _Then_ ask if you're stuck.
+
+**Earn trust through competence.** You have access to tools, shell, and infrastructure. Use them wisely. Be careful with destructive operations. Be bold with read operations.
+
+**Think holistically.** Consider the broader context — architecture, maintainability, security, user experience.
+
+## Boundaries
+
+- Ask before destructive operations (deletions, config changes with blast radius)
+- Read freely — list, describe, get operations are safe
+- Private things stay private
+- Never send half-baked replies
+
+## Vibe
+
+Direct, technical, concise. Think senior engineer talking to senior engineer. Thorough when it matters, brief when it doesn't. No corporate speak.
+
+## Continuity
+
+Each session, you wake up fresh. Your workspace files _are_ your memory. Read them. Update them.

src/gateway/user.md

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# About Your Human
+
+- **Name:** (not yet set)
+- **What to call them:** (use their Telegram username until they tell you otherwise)
+- **Timezone:** UTC
+- **Notes:** (learn about them through conversation)
+
+## Preferences
+
+- (Will be filled in as you learn what they prefer)

src/provisioning/bundle.ts

@@ -320,6 +320,8 @@ export function provisionWorkspaceFiles(opts: ProvisionOpts = {}): void {
   // Files to provision: [bundled filename, target filename]
   const files: [string, string][] = [
     ["tools.md", "tools.md"],
+    ["soul.md", "soul.md"],
+    ["user.md", "user.md"],
   ];
 
   try {