Files
coder/coderd/x/chatd/chattool/skill.go
T
Kyle Carberry ee855f9618 feat: make agent context paths configurable via env vars (#23878)
Replace hardcoded paths for instruction files, skills, and MCP config
with
values read from `CODER_AGENT_EXP_*` environment variables. Template
authors
configure paths via the existing `coder_agent` `env` block. The agent
resolves `~`, relative, and absolute paths locally, then serves the
resolved config over `GET /api/v0/context-config`. `chatd` fetches this
once per workspace attach and falls back to today's defaults for older
agents.

All path env vars are comma-separated, allowing multiple directories:

| Env Var | Default | Controls |
|---|---|---|
| `CODER_AGENT_EXP_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRS` | `~/.coder` | Dirs containing the
instruction file |
| `CODER_AGENT_EXP_INSTRUCTIONS_FILE` | `AGENTS.md` | Instruction file
name |
| `CODER_AGENT_EXP_SKILLS_DIRS` | `.agents/skills` | Skills directories
|
| `CODER_AGENT_EXP_SKILL_META_FILE` | `SKILL.md` | Skill metadata file
name |
| `CODER_AGENT_EXP_MCP_CONFIG_FILES` | `.mcp.json` | MCP config files |

### Example

```hcl
resource "coder_agent" "main" {
  os   = "linux"
  arch = "amd64"
  env = {
    CODER_AGENT_EXP_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRS  = "/opt/company/agent-config,~/.coder"
    CODER_AGENT_EXP_INSTRUCTIONS_FILE  = "CLAUDE.md"
    CODER_AGENT_EXP_SKILLS_DIRS        = "/opt/company/ai-skills,.agents/skills"
    CODER_AGENT_EXP_MCP_CONFIG_FILES   = "/opt/company/mcp.json,.mcp.json"
  }
}
```

<details>
<summary>Implementation Details</summary>

### Architecture

Follows the same pattern as MCP tool discovery:
agent resolves locally → exposes via HTTP → chatd consumes.

**Agent-side** (`agent/agentcontextconfig/`):
- `ResolvePath` / `ResolvePaths` handle `~`, relative, and absolute path
forms; returns `""` for relative paths when baseDir is empty
- `Config` reads env vars, falls back to defaults, resolves all paths
- `GET /api/v0/context-config` serves the resolved config as JSON

**chatd-side** (`coderd/x/chatd/`):
- Calls `conn.ContextConfig()` once on first workspace attach
- Falls back to hardcoded defaults on 404 (older agents)
- Iterates instruction dirs, skills dirs using resolved absolute paths
- `LSRelativityRoot` everywhere — no more home/root juggling

### Key design decisions

- **`EXP_` prefix**: env vars use `CODER_AGENT_EXP_*` to indicate
experimental status
- **Plural names**: comma-separated vars use plural names (`DIRS`,
`FILES`); single-value vars use singular (`FILE`)
- **Defaults in `workspacesdk`**: default constants live in
`codersdk/workspacesdk/` so both agent and server reference them without
cross-layer imports
- **`skillMetaFile` persistence**: stored on context-file parts via
`ContextFileSkillMetaFile` and restored on subsequent chat turns so
custom values survive across turns
- **Working dir dedup**: `slices.Contains` guard prevents reading the
same instruction file from both `InstructionsDirs` and the working
directory
- **MCP server dedup**: first-occurrence-wins dedup prevents leaking
duplicate connections from overlapping config files
- **ResolvePath safety**: returns `""` for relative paths when `baseDir`
is empty, so `ResolvePaths` filters them out

### Files changed

| File | Change |
|---|---|
| `agent/agentcontextconfig/` | New package — path resolution + HTTP
endpoint |
| `codersdk/workspacesdk/agentconn.go` | `ContextConfigResponse` type,
default constants, client method |
| `agent/agent.go` + `agent/api.go` | Wire up endpoint, pass config to
MCP |
| `agent/x/agentmcp/manager.go` | Accept `[]string` MCP config paths,
dedup by name |
| `coderd/x/chatd/chatd.go` | Fetch config, thread through, named
returns |
| `coderd/x/chatd/instruction.go` | Accept configurable dir + file name,
`skillMetaFileFromParts` |
| `coderd/x/chatd/chattool/skill.go` | Accept configurable dirs + meta
file |
| `codersdk/chats.go` | `ContextFileSkillMetaFile` field for persistence
|

### Test coverage

- `TestConfig` (4 cases): defaults, custom env vars, whitespace
trimming, comma-separated dirs
- `TestResolvePath` / `TestResolvePaths`: including empty baseDir edge
case
- `TestPersistInstructionFilesFallbackOnOlderAgent`: backward-compat
path when `ContextConfig` returns 404
- `TestChatMessagePartVariantTags`: updated exclusion list for new
internal field

### Backward compatibility

Older agents return 404 for the new endpoint. `chatd` catches this and
falls back to today's defaults via `readHomeInstructionFile` (using
`LSRelativityHome`). Existing workspaces work with no changes.

</details>
2026-04-01 12:28:47 -04:00

531 lines
14 KiB
Go

package chattool
import (
"context"
"fmt"
"io"
"path"
"regexp"
"strings"
"charm.land/fantasy"
"golang.org/x/xerrors"
"cdr.dev/slog/v3"
"github.com/coder/coder/v2/codersdk/workspacesdk"
)
const (
maxSkillMetaBytes = 64 * 1024
maxSkillFileBytes = 512 * 1024
)
// skillNamePattern validates kebab-case skill names. Each segment
// must start with a lowercase letter or digit, and segments are
// separated by single hyphens.
var skillNamePattern = regexp.MustCompile(
`^[a-z0-9]+(-[a-z0-9]+)*$`,
)
// markdownCommentRe strips HTML comments from skill bodies so
// they don't leak into the prompt. Matches the same pattern
// used by instruction.go in the parent package.
var markdownCommentRe = regexp.MustCompile(`<!--[\s\S]*?-->`)
// SkillMeta is the frontmatter from a skill meta file discovered in a
// workspace. It carries just enough information to list the skill
// in the prompt index without reading the full body.
type SkillMeta struct {
Name string
Description string
// Dir is the absolute path to the skill directory inside
// the workspace filesystem.
Dir string
}
// SkillContent is the full body of a skill, loaded on demand
// when the model calls read_skill.
type SkillContent struct {
SkillMeta
// Body is the markdown content after the frontmatter
// delimiters have been stripped.
Body string
// Files lists relative paths of supporting files in the
// skill directory (everything except the skill meta file).
Files []string
}
// DiscoverSkills walks the given skills directories and returns
// metadata for every valid skill it finds. Missing directories
// or individual read errors are silently skipped so that a
// partially broken skills tree never blocks the conversation.
// Skill names must be unique across directories; first
// occurrence wins.
func DiscoverSkills(
ctx context.Context,
logger slog.Logger,
conn workspacesdk.AgentConn,
skillsDirs []string,
metaFile string,
) ([]SkillMeta, error) {
seen := make(map[string]struct{})
var skills []SkillMeta
for _, skillsDirPath := range skillsDirs {
lsResp, err := conn.LS(ctx, "", workspacesdk.LSRequest{
Path: []string{skillsDirPath},
Relativity: workspacesdk.LSRelativityRoot,
})
if err != nil {
// The skills directory is entirely optional.
// Skip on any error.
continue
}
for _, entry := range lsResp.Contents {
if !entry.IsDir {
continue
}
metaPath := path.Join(
entry.AbsolutePathString, metaFile,
)
reader, _, err := conn.ReadFile(
ctx, metaPath, 0, maxSkillMetaBytes+1,
)
if err != nil {
// The directory may have been removed between
// the LS and this read, or it simply lacks the
// meta file. Any error is non-fatal.
continue
}
raw, err := io.ReadAll(io.LimitReader(reader, maxSkillMetaBytes+1))
reader.Close()
if err != nil {
logger.Debug(ctx, "failed to read skill meta file",
slog.F("path", metaPath), slog.Error(err))
continue
}
// Silently truncate oversized metadata files so
// a single large file cannot exhaust memory.
if int64(len(raw)) > maxSkillMetaBytes {
raw = raw[:maxSkillMetaBytes]
}
name, description, _, err := parseSkillFrontmatter(
string(raw),
)
if err != nil {
logger.Debug(ctx, "failed to parse skill frontmatter",
slog.F("path", metaPath), slog.Error(err))
continue
}
// The directory name must match the declared name
// so skill references are unambiguous.
if name != entry.Name {
logger.Debug(ctx, "skill name does not match directory",
slog.F("dir", entry.Name), slog.F("declared_name", name))
continue
}
if !skillNamePattern.MatchString(name) {
logger.Debug(ctx, "skill name does not match pattern",
slog.F("name", name))
continue
}
// First occurrence wins across directories.
if _, ok := seen[name]; ok {
continue
}
seen[name] = struct{}{}
skills = append(skills, SkillMeta{
Name: name,
Description: description,
Dir: entry.AbsolutePathString,
})
}
}
return skills, nil
}
// parseSkillFrontmatter extracts name, description, and the
// markdown body from a skill meta file. The frontmatter uses a
// simple `key: value` format between `---` delimiters, and no
// full YAML parser is needed.
func parseSkillFrontmatter(
content string,
) (name, description, body string, err error) {
content = strings.TrimPrefix(content, "\xef\xbb\xbf")
lines := strings.Split(content, "\n")
if len(lines) == 0 || strings.TrimSpace(lines[0]) != "---" {
return "", "", "", xerrors.New(
"missing opening frontmatter delimiter",
)
}
closingIdx := -1
for i := 1; i < len(lines); i++ {
if strings.TrimSpace(lines[i]) == "---" {
closingIdx = i
break
}
}
if closingIdx < 0 {
return "", "", "", xerrors.New(
"missing closing frontmatter delimiter",
)
}
for _, line := range lines[1:closingIdx] {
key, value, ok := strings.Cut(line, ":")
if !ok {
continue
}
key = strings.TrimSpace(key)
value = strings.TrimSpace(value)
// Strip surrounding quotes from YAML string values.
if len(value) >= 2 {
if (value[0] == '"' && value[len(value)-1] == '"') ||
(value[0] == '\'' && value[len(value)-1] == '\'') {
value = value[1 : len(value)-1]
}
}
switch strings.ToLower(key) {
case "name":
name = value
case "description":
description = value
}
}
if name == "" {
return "", "", "", xerrors.New(
"frontmatter missing required 'name' field",
)
}
// Everything after the closing delimiter is the body.
body = strings.Join(lines[closingIdx+1:], "\n")
body = markdownCommentRe.ReplaceAllString(body, "")
body = strings.TrimSpace(body)
return name, description, body, nil
}
// FormatSkillIndex renders an XML block listing all discovered
// skills. This block is injected into the system prompt so the
// model knows which skills are available and how to load them.
func FormatSkillIndex(skills []SkillMeta) string {
if len(skills) == 0 {
return ""
}
var b strings.Builder
_, _ = b.WriteString("<available-skills>\n")
_, _ = b.WriteString(
"Use read_skill to load a skill's full instructions " +
"before following them.\n" +
"Use read_skill_file to read supporting files " +
"referenced by a skill.\n\n",
)
for _, s := range skills {
_, _ = b.WriteString("- ")
_, _ = b.WriteString(s.Name)
if s.Description != "" {
_, _ = b.WriteString(": ")
_, _ = b.WriteString(s.Description)
}
_, _ = b.WriteString("\n")
}
_, _ = b.WriteString("</available-skills>")
return b.String()
}
// LoadSkillBody reads the full skill meta file for a discovered skill
// and lists the supporting files in its directory. The caller
// should have already obtained the SkillMeta from DiscoverSkills.
func LoadSkillBody(
ctx context.Context,
conn workspacesdk.AgentConn,
skill SkillMeta,
metaFile string,
) (SkillContent, error) {
metaPath := path.Join(skill.Dir, metaFile)
reader, _, err := conn.ReadFile(
ctx, metaPath, 0, maxSkillMetaBytes+1,
)
if err != nil {
return SkillContent{}, xerrors.Errorf(
"read skill body: %w", err,
)
}
raw, err := io.ReadAll(io.LimitReader(reader, maxSkillMetaBytes+1))
reader.Close()
if err != nil {
return SkillContent{}, xerrors.Errorf(
"read skill body bytes: %w", err,
)
}
if int64(len(raw)) > maxSkillMetaBytes {
raw = raw[:maxSkillMetaBytes]
}
_, _, body, err := parseSkillFrontmatter(string(raw))
if err != nil {
return SkillContent{}, xerrors.Errorf(
"parse skill frontmatter: %w", err,
)
}
// List supporting files so the model knows what it can
// request via read_skill_file.
lsResp, err := conn.LS(ctx, "", workspacesdk.LSRequest{
Path: []string{skill.Dir},
Relativity: workspacesdk.LSRelativityRoot,
})
if err != nil {
return SkillContent{}, xerrors.Errorf(
"list skill directory: %w", err,
)
}
var files []string
for _, entry := range lsResp.Contents {
if entry.Name == metaFile {
continue
}
name := entry.Name
if entry.IsDir {
name += "/"
}
files = append(files, name)
}
return SkillContent{
SkillMeta: skill,
Body: body,
Files: files,
}, nil
}
// LoadSkillFile reads a supporting file from a skill's directory.
// The relativePath is validated to prevent directory traversal and
// access to hidden files.
func LoadSkillFile(
ctx context.Context,
conn workspacesdk.AgentConn,
skill SkillMeta,
relativePath string,
) (string, error) {
if err := validateSkillFilePath(relativePath); err != nil {
return "", err
}
fullPath := path.Join(skill.Dir, relativePath)
reader, _, err := conn.ReadFile(
ctx, fullPath, 0, maxSkillFileBytes+1,
)
if err != nil {
return "", xerrors.Errorf(
"read skill file: %w", err,
)
}
raw, err := io.ReadAll(io.LimitReader(reader, maxSkillFileBytes+1))
reader.Close()
if err != nil {
return "", xerrors.Errorf(
"read skill file bytes: %w", err,
)
}
if int64(len(raw)) > maxSkillFileBytes {
raw = raw[:maxSkillFileBytes]
}
return string(raw), nil
}
// validateSkillFilePath rejects paths that could escape the skill
// directory or access hidden files. Only forward-relative,
// non-hidden paths are allowed.
func validateSkillFilePath(p string) error {
if p == "" {
return xerrors.New("path is required")
}
if strings.HasPrefix(p, "/") {
return xerrors.New(
"absolute paths are not allowed",
)
}
for _, component := range strings.Split(p, "/") {
if component == ".." {
return xerrors.New(
"path traversal is not allowed",
)
}
if strings.HasPrefix(component, ".") {
return xerrors.New(
"hidden file components are not allowed",
)
}
}
return nil
}
// ReadSkillOptions configures the read_skill and read_skill_file
// tools.
type ReadSkillOptions struct {
GetWorkspaceConn func(context.Context) (workspacesdk.AgentConn, error)
GetSkills func() []SkillMeta
SkillMetaFile string
}
// ReadSkillArgs are the parameters accepted by read_skill.
type ReadSkillArgs struct {
Name string `json:"name" description:"The kebab-case name of the skill to read."`
}
// ReadSkill returns an AgentTool that reads the full instructions
// for a skill by name. The model should call this before
// following any skill's instructions.
func ReadSkill(options ReadSkillOptions) fantasy.AgentTool {
return fantasy.NewAgentTool(
"read_skill",
"Read the full instructions for a skill by name. "+
"Returns the skill meta file body and a list of "+
"supporting files. Use read_skill before "+
"following a skill's instructions.",
func(ctx context.Context, args ReadSkillArgs, _ fantasy.ToolCall) (fantasy.ToolResponse, error) {
if options.GetWorkspaceConn == nil {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
"workspace connection resolver is not configured",
), nil
}
if args.Name == "" {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
"name is required",
), nil
}
skill, ok := findSkill(options.GetSkills, args.Name)
if !ok {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
fmt.Sprintf("skill %q not found", args.Name),
), nil
}
conn, err := options.GetWorkspaceConn(ctx)
if err != nil {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
err.Error(),
), nil
}
content, err := LoadSkillBody(ctx, conn, skill, options.SkillMetaFile)
if err != nil {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
err.Error(),
), nil
}
return toolResponse(map[string]any{
"name": content.Name,
"body": content.Body,
"files": content.Files,
}), nil
},
)
}
// ReadSkillFileArgs are the parameters accepted by
// read_skill_file.
type ReadSkillFileArgs struct {
Name string `json:"name" description:"The kebab-case name of the skill."`
Path string `json:"path" description:"Relative path to a file in the skill directory (e.g. roles/security-reviewer.md)."`
}
// ReadSkillFile returns an AgentTool that reads a supporting file
// from a skill's directory.
func ReadSkillFile(options ReadSkillOptions) fantasy.AgentTool {
return fantasy.NewAgentTool(
"read_skill_file",
"Read a supporting file from a skill's directory "+
"(e.g. roles/security-reviewer.md).",
func(ctx context.Context, args ReadSkillFileArgs, _ fantasy.ToolCall) (fantasy.ToolResponse, error) {
if options.GetWorkspaceConn == nil {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
"workspace connection resolver is not configured",
), nil
}
if args.Name == "" {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
"name is required",
), nil
}
if args.Path == "" {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
"path is required",
), nil
}
skill, ok := findSkill(options.GetSkills, args.Name)
if !ok {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
fmt.Sprintf("skill %q not found", args.Name),
), nil
}
// Validate the path early so we reject bad
// inputs before dialing the workspace agent.
if err := validateSkillFilePath(args.Path); err != nil {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
err.Error(),
), nil
}
conn, err := options.GetWorkspaceConn(ctx)
if err != nil {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
err.Error(),
), nil
}
content, err := LoadSkillFile(
ctx, conn, skill, args.Path,
)
if err != nil {
return fantasy.NewTextErrorResponse(
err.Error(),
), nil
}
return toolResponse(map[string]any{
"content": content,
}), nil
},
)
}
// findSkill looks up a skill by name in the current skill list.
func findSkill(
getSkills func() []SkillMeta,
name string,
) (SkillMeta, bool) {
if getSkills == nil {
return SkillMeta{}, false
}
for _, s := range getSkills() {
if s.Name == name {
return s, true
}
}
return SkillMeta{}, false
}