Prompt templates¶

Paseka renders bee prompts from version-controlled Markdown files under .paseka/prompts/. Templates use Go text/template syntax. At dispatch time the runtime fills in context variables, writes the result to .paseka/runs/<traceId>/<agentId>/prompt.txt (and optionally system.txt), and passes rendered strings to the adapter.

Implementation: internal/prompts.

1. Directory layout¶

.paseka/prompts/
├── _partials/           # shared snippets (not used as top-level bee templates)
│   ├── emit-howto.md
│   ├── emit-insight.md
│   ├── emit-signal.md
│   ├── emit-verification.md
│   └── emit-task-completed.md
├── default.md           # colony-wide fallback
├── scout.md
└── builder.md

Path	Role
`.paseka/prompts/*.md`	Bee prompt templates
`.paseka/prompts/_partials/*.md`	Reusable partials included via `{{template "name" .}}`
`~/.config/paseka/<slug>/`	No prompts — secrets and machine-local state only

Prompts belong in the git repo so the colony shares the same instructions across machines.

2. Linking a template to a bee¶

Each bee references template files (relative to .paseka/prompts/) in its config:

# .paseka/bees/scout.yaml
role: scout
adapter: pi
system_template: scout-system.md   # role / standing instructions (optional)
prompt_template: scout.md          # user/task turn
worktree: true

Field	Artifact	Role
`system_template` (optional)	`system.txt`	Identity and standing instructions — injected by the adapter, not shown as the first chat turn
`prompt_template`	`prompt.txt`	User/task message for AFK runs; optional kickoff for interactive chat

Colony-wide fallbacks when a bee omits a field:

# .paseka/colony.yaml
defaults:
  prompt_template: default.md
  system_template: default-system.md   # optional

When system_template is unset, behavior matches the previous single-template model (full prompt as positional argv only).

3. Supported variables¶

The runtime passes a single context object (prompts.Context) to every template. In templates, reference fields as {{.FieldName}}.

Variable	Type	Description
`{{.Bee}}`	`string`	Bee role from `bees/<role>.yaml` (e.g. `scout`, `builder`).
`{{.TraceID}}`	`string`	Flight trail id for the current task chain. From `--trace` or generated by runtime.
`{{.TraceTitle}}`	`string`	Resolved human Flight Trail title. From latest `INSIGHT/trace.title`, then `feature.requested` title, then first task title; empty when unresolved.
`{{.AgentID}}`	`string`	Unique id for this agent invocation. Generated per run.
`{{.TaskID}}`	`string`	Optional task id within the trace. From `DispatchRequest.TaskID` when dispatching a queued subtask.
`{{.ColonyRoot}}`	`string`	Absolute path to the git repository root.
`{{.Workspace}}`	`string`	Absolute cwd for the adapter: colony root, or `.paseka/worktrees/<traceId>/` when `worktree: true`.
`{{.Task}}`	`string`	Task body (nectar). From CLI `--body`, Queen Console session launch, or bus event payload.
`{{.Intent}}`	`string`	Normalized task intent for partial routing within the bee's vocabulary. Empty or unknown caller input becomes the bee's default intent.
`{{.IntentRaw}}`	`string`	Caller-supplied intent before normalization (CLI `--intent`, task ledger, or bus payload).
`{{.Insights}}`	`[]string`	Narrative INSIGHT strings projected from prior runs on the trace. See insight kinds.
`{{.ResultFile}}`	`string`	Absolute path to the human-readable `summary.md` log for this run under `.paseka/runs/<traceId>/<agentId>/`.
`{{.Interactive}}`	`bool`	`true` for interactive `paseka bee chat` sessions; `false` for AFK dispatch.
`{{.IsLastWorkTask}}`	`bool`	`true` at AFK ledger task dispatch when the current task is the sole incomplete non-final work task; `false` for chat, ad-hoc `bee run`, and all other paths. Gates must-emit `trace.summary` guidance in emit partials.
`{{.Adapter}}`	`string`	Resolved adapter name (`cursor`, `pi`, `claude`, `script`).

Field sources (MVP)¶

Variable	Set by
`Bee`, `TraceID`, `TraceTitle`, `AgentID`, `TaskID`, `ColonyRoot`, `Workspace`, `Task`, `Intent`, `IntentRaw`, `Insights`, `ResultFile`, `Interactive`, `IsLastWorkTask`, `Adapter`	`internal/runtime.Dispatcher` at dispatch time; `Interactive` is `true` in `internal/sessions` for chat
`IsLastWorkTask`	`taskledger.IsLastWorkTask` at AFK ledger task dispatch (`DispatchModeTask`) only; always `false` for CLI `bee run`, direct signal dispatch, and chat
`TraceTitle`	`runs.ResolveTraceTitle` from prior trace events and task projections
`Task`	`paseka bee run --body` (required unless using inline prompt)
`Intent` / `IntentRaw`	`paseka bee run --intent`, `paseka task create --intent`, or `intent` on `task.plan` / `task.ready` payloads
`Insights`	Runtime projection from prior narrative `INSIGHT` events on the trace, merged with any manual `DispatchRequest.Insights`
`ResultFile`	Computed from colony root + trace + agent ids

Variables not available in templates today:

Bee adapter params (model, trust, etc.) — configured in bees/*.yaml, not exposed to templates.
Arbitrary bus event fields — only Task, Intent, and Insights are surfaced in MVP.

Bus event publishing is instructed through emit partials: emit-howto (safe CLI mechanics for all bees) plus type-scoped partials (emit-insight, emit-signal, emit-verification, emit-task-completed) included only by bees that may publish those types.

4. Template syntax¶

Paseka uses standard Go text/template with no custom functions.

Interpolation¶

Colony: {{.ColonyRoot}}
Flight trail: {{.TraceID}}
Agent: {{.AgentID}}

Conditionals¶

{{if .Task}}
## Task
{{.Task}}
{{else}}
No task body provided.
{{end}}

Loops¶

## Prior discoveries
{{range .Insights}}- {{.}}
{{end}}

When Insights is empty, the range produces no lines.

Partials¶

Partials live in .paseka/prompts/_partials/. The file name without .md is the template name:

_partials/emit-howto.md  →  {{template "emit-howto" .}}
_partials/emit-insight.md  →  {{template "emit-insight" .}}
_partials/emit-signal.md  →  {{template "emit-signal" .}}
_partials/emit-verification.md  →  {{template "emit-verification" .}}
_partials/emit-task-completed.md  →  {{template "emit-task-completed" .}}
_partials/builder-intent-feature.md  →  {{template "builder-intent-feature" .}}

Builder Bee uses intent partials for mission-specific guidance while keeping one stable role prompt. The top-level builder.md routes by {{.Intent}} and falls back to builder-intent-general.

Per-bee intent vocabulary¶

Each bee may define an intent vocabulary used for {{.Intent}} normalization and Queen Console intent pickers:

Explicit — intents: and optional default_intent: in bees/<role>.yaml (see bee config).
Discovered — when intents is omitted, runtime scans _partials/<role>-intent-*.md (e.g. builder-intent-feature.md → feature, drone-intent-grilling.md → grilling).

At dispatch, empty or unknown caller input normalizes to the bee's default intent (general when present, otherwise the first discovered intent). The raw requested value remains in {{.IntentRaw}} when it differs from {{.Intent}}.

Bees without YAML intents and without <role>-intent-* partials have no intent vocabulary; {{.Intent}} stays empty unless the caller passes a recognized value.

Include only the emit partials your bee role may publish:

{{template "emit-howto" .}}
{{template "emit-insight" .}}

Partials are loaded before the main template and can use the same variables ({{.TraceID}}, etc.).

5. Override precedence¶

When resolving which template to render, the first non-empty source wins:

Priority	Source	Example
1 (highest)	Inline prompt	`paseka bee run builder --prompt "Fix {{.Task}}"`
2	Bee local overlay	`.paseka/bees/builder.local.yaml` → `prompt_template` / `system_template`
3	Bee config	`.paseka/bees/builder.yaml` → `prompt_template` / `system_template`
4 (lowest)	Colony default	`.paseka/colony.yaml` → `defaults.prompt_template` / `defaults.system_template`

*.local.yaml files are gitignored — use them for machine- or developer-specific template overrides without committing.

Inline prompts are still parsed as text/template bodies (partials are available).

6. Rendering pipeline¶

bee config + CLI flags
        │
        ▼
  Resolve template (precedence §5)
        │
        ▼
  Load partials from _partials/
        │
        ▼
  Execute text/template with Context (§3)
        │
        ├─► Write system.txt (when system_template configured)
        │
        ▼
  Write .paseka/runs/<traceId>/<agentId>/prompt.txt
        │
        ▼
  Adapter injects system context (per adapter) and runs external agent
        │
        ▼
  Runtime normalizes summary, writes log artifact, may auto-publish `INSIGHT/run.summary`

Bus events are published separately through paseka event emit --stdin (live by default; --defer for end-of-run handoffs) as described in the emit partials. Each bee includes emit-howto plus only the type partials it may publish. Runtime may also synthesize INSIGHT/run.summary after a successful AFK run when the bee policy allows.

7. Examples¶

Builder bee¶

# .paseka/prompts/builder.md
You are Builder Bee. Implement the task in the workspace.

Intent: {{.Intent}}

## Task
{{.Task}}

{{if eq .Intent "bugfix"}}
{{template "builder-intent-bugfix" .}}
{{else}}
{{template "builder-intent-general" .}}
{{end}}

{{template "emit-howto" .}}
{{template "emit-insight" .}}

Known builder intents (discovered from builder-intent-* partials): general (default), feature, bugfix, test-fix, refactor. Drone uses drone-intent-* partials (general, grilling, breakdown) and routes on {{.IntentRaw}} in its template; grilling includes drone-emit-grilling, breakdown includes drone-emit-breakdown. Scout uses scout-intent-* partials (intake default via bee default_intent, survey manual); intake includes scout-emit-intake.

Scout bee with bus-event partial¶

# .paseka/prompts/scout.md
You are Scout Bee. Your job is problem discovery, not implementation.

Colony: {{.ColonyRoot}}
Flight trail: {{.TraceID}}
Intent: {{.Intent}}

## Task
{{.Task}}

## Prior discoveries
{{range .Insights}}- {{.}}
{{end}}

## Mission guidance
{{if eq .Intent "intake"}}
{{template "scout-intent-intake" .}}
{{template "scout-emit-intake" .}}
{{else}}
{{template "scout-intent-survey" .}}
{{end}}

{{template "emit-howto" .}}
{{template "emit-insight" .}}
{{template "emit-signal" .}}

Inline one-shot prompt¶

paseka bee run builder --prompt "Hotfix only: {{.Task}}" --body "null pointer in auth"

Renders to: Hotfix only: null pointer in auth

CLI with task and trace¶

paseka bee run builder --body "add OAuth login" --trace trace-auth-01

{{.Task}} and {{.TraceID}} are filled; other fields come from runtime defaults.

8. Constraints and validation¶

Rule	Behavior
Template path	Must be relative to `.paseka/prompts/`
Path traversal	`..` and absolute paths are rejected
Missing template	Dispatch fails with a clear error
Missing partial	Dispatch fails at parse time
Empty template chain	Error: `prompts: no template configured`

9. Shared partials¶

Core partials shipped by paseka init under .paseka/prompts/_partials/:

Partial	Role
`emit-howto`	Safe CLI publish contract via `paseka event emit --stdin` (live default, `--defer` for handoffs; no type enumeration)
`emit-insight`	`INSIGHT` kinds for narrative and prompt memory (`run.summary`, `review.note`, `context.note`, `human.feedback`, `task.plan`)
`emit-signal`	`SIGNAL` kinds (`task.ready`)
`scout-emit-intake`	`SIGNAL/feature.classified`, `INSIGHT/task.plan`, `SIGNAL/task.ready` (Scout `intake` intent only)
`drone-emit-grilling`	`SIGNAL/spec.ready` + optional `context.note` (Drone `grilling` intent only)
`drone-emit-breakdown`	`INSIGHT/task.plan`, `SIGNAL/task.ready`, optional `context.note` (Drone `breakdown` intent only)
`emit-verification`	Review-gate `VERIFICATION` kinds (`verification.success`, `verification.failed`)
`emit-task-completed`	Commit-gate `VERIFICATION/task.completed` (receiver only)
`cursor-interactive-kickoff`	Brief greet-and-wait footer for interactive Cursor chat (`hivewright-task`, `drone-task`)

Bees include only the type partials they may publish. For example:

Bee	Emit partials
`builder`	`emit-howto`, `emit-insight`
`scout`	`emit-howto`, `emit-insight`, `emit-signal`; on `intake` also `scout-emit-intake`
`drone`	`emit-howto`; on `grilling` also `drone-emit-grilling`; on `breakdown` also `drone-emit-breakdown`
`guard`	`emit-howto`, `emit-verification`, `emit-insight`
`main-guard`	`emit-howto`, `emit-verification`, `emit-insight`
`receiver`	`emit-howto`, `emit-task-completed`
`hivewright`	`emit-howto`, `emit-insight`

MUTATION is not taught in prompts — runtime auto-publishes code.proposal.isolated or code.proposal.root from baseline-attributed workspace diffs (tracked changes in the adapter cwd; review truth is working-tree git diff, not staged-only). Guard and main-guard prompts instruct disk review via git diff.

See insight kinds for the full INSIGHT taxonomy and prompt-memory rules.

paseka event emit --stdin <<'EOF'
{"traceId":"<traceId>","agentId":"<agentId>","type":"INSIGHT","payload":{"kind":"task.plan","tasks":[{"taskId":"task-1","title":"..."}]}}
EOF

Use {{.TraceID}} and {{.AgentID}} inside partials so examples match the current run. See task ledger.

architecture overview — colony layout, adapter contract, runs/worktrees
bee config — bee role YAML (prompt_template and other fields)
task ledger — task queue protocol and lifecycle
glossary — bee language vs technical terms (TraceID / Flight Trail, Task / Nectar)
Agent run file protocol — request.json, summary.md, events.ndjson under .paseka/runs/