---
name: omp-system-prompt-retrieval
description: "Retrieve the exact system prompt an omp session is running: /dump while live, RPC get_state re-render, and the shipped template/override source paths."
---

# Retrieve omp's live system prompt

Three routes, in fidelity order. Verified on omp 18.4.10 (linux/x64).

## 1. `/dump` — the only exact capture of a LIVE session
TUI slash command: "Copy session transcript to clipboard (and write LLM request JSON to tmp)".
The request JSON is the wire-true payload (system blocks + tool schemas). Path is printed in
the `/dump` output; then:

```bash
jq -r '.system[] | strings // .system' <file>                          # anthropic shape
jq -r '.messages[] | select(.role=="system") | .content' <file>        # openai shape
```

**The prompt is never persisted in the session JSONL.** Session entries are only
`title, session, model_change, thinking_level_change, message, custom(tool_execution_start),
model_usage`. So a past session's prompt is unrecoverable from disk — capture live, or re-render.

## 2. RPC `get_state` — re-render without a model call
`omp --mode rpc` answers `{"type":"get_state"}` with `data.systemPrompt: [blocks]` and
`data.dumpTools` (spec: `omp://rpc.md` "get_state payload"). Drive it over stdio:

```python
cmds = json.dumps({"id":"p1","type":"negotiate_protocol","protocolVersion":2}) + "\n" \
     + json.dumps({"id":"s1","type":"get_state"}) + "\n"
p = subprocess.run(["omp","--mode","rpc","--no-session","--no-pty"],
                   cwd=TARGET_CWD, input=cmds, capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=280)
```

Closing stdin shuts it down cleanly (exit 0), no model call, no session file written.

- Parse stdout line-by-line. Protocol v2 wraps logical frames >1 MiB in `rpc_chunk` frames:
  key on `chunkId`, require all `count` indices, `base64.b64decode` and concatenate in `index`
  order, then `json.loads` — otherwise a large prompt is silently lost.
- Shape measured on a dotfiles repo cwd: 2 blocks, ~45 KB / ~391 lines —
  block 0 = static instruction block (RFC 2119 line, `§ Role`, Engineering/Tone/Escalation,
  tool inventory, `xd://` catalog), block 1 = footer opening `<project-context>` +
  `<critical>` + the cwd's `AGENTS.md`.
- `--no-extensions` changes nothing in the blocks; tool count rides in `dumpTools`, not the prompt.
- `cwd` matters: the footer is cwd-derived (workstation block, context files, skills, rules).

## 3. Sources (edit here, not in a dump)
| Layer | Path |
|---|---|
| Default instruction template (Handlebars, block 0) | `<pkg>/src/prompts/system/system-prompt.md` |
| Footer | `<pkg>/src/prompts/system/project-prompt.md` |
| Plain-custom template | `<pkg>/src/prompts/system/custom-system-prompt.md` |
| Repo rules (into footer) | the cwd's `AGENTS.md` |
| Overrides | `--system-prompt`, `--system-prompt-template <path>`, `--append-system-prompt`; discovered `SYSTEM.md`, `SYSTEM_TEMPLATE.md`, `APPEND_SYSTEM.md`, `PERSONALITY.md`, `TITLE_SYSTEM.md` |

`<pkg>` = `~/.bun/install/global/node_modules/@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent` (resolve via
`readlink -f $(command -v omp)`). Docs: `omp://system-prompt-customization.md`.

Precedence: explicit CLI flag > project `SYSTEM.md` > project `SYSTEM_TEMPLATE.md` >
user `SYSTEM.md` > user `SYSTEM_TEMPLATE.md`. A same-scope literal always beats a discovered
template, so a `SYSTEM_TEMPLATE.md` is inert while a `SYSTEM.md` sits beside it.

## Trap
NEVER paste a rendered `/dump` into `SYSTEM_TEMPLATE.md`: a render freezes settings, tool
catalogs, and mounted-device data. Copy the Handlebars **source** and diff against the shipped
path after every omp upgrade. Plain files (`SYSTEM.md`, `APPEND_SYSTEM.md`) are inserted
verbatim — `{{cwd}}` and friends stay literal there; only the template route compiles Handlebars.