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agent_sdk/
reminders.rs

1//! System reminder infrastructure for agent guidance.
2//!
3//! This module implements the `<system-reminder>` pattern used by Anthropic's Claude SDK.
4//! System reminders provide contextual hints to the AI agent without cluttering the main
5//! conversation. Claude is trained to recognize these tags and follow the instructions
6//! inside them without mentioning them to users.
7//!
8//! # Example
9//!
10//! ```
11//! use agent_sdk::reminders::{wrap_reminder, append_reminder, ReminderTracker};
12//! use agent_sdk::ToolResult;
13//!
14//! // Wrap content in system-reminder tags
15//! let reminder = wrap_reminder("Consider verifying the output.");
16//! assert!(reminder.contains("<system-reminder>"));
17//!
18//! // Append a reminder to a tool result
19//! let mut result = ToolResult::success("File written successfully.");
20//! append_reminder(&mut result, "Consider reading the file to verify changes.");
21//! assert!(result.output.contains("<system-reminder>"));
22//! ```
23
24use std::collections::HashMap;
25
26use serde_json::Value;
27
28use crate::ToolResult;
29
30/// Wraps content with system-reminder XML tags.
31///
32/// Claude is trained to recognize `<system-reminder>` tags as system-level guidance
33/// that should be followed without being mentioned to users.
34#[must_use]
35pub fn wrap_reminder(content: &str) -> String {
36    // Escape closing tags in content to prevent injection of system-level
37    // instructions via tool output or other untrusted input.
38    let sanitized = content
39        .trim()
40        .replace("</system-reminder>", "&lt;/system-reminder&gt;");
41    format!("<system-reminder>\n{sanitized}\n</system-reminder>")
42}
43
44/// Appends a system reminder to a tool result's output.
45///
46/// The reminder is wrapped in `<system-reminder>` tags and appended
47/// to the existing output with blank line separation.
48pub fn append_reminder(result: &mut ToolResult, reminder: &str) {
49    let wrapped = wrap_reminder(reminder);
50    result.output = format!("{}\n\n{}", result.output, wrapped);
51}
52
53/// Tracks tool usage for periodic reminder generation.
54///
55/// This tracker monitors which tools are used, how often, and whether
56/// actions are being repeated. It provides the data needed to generate
57/// contextual reminders at appropriate times.
58#[derive(Debug, Default)]
59pub struct ReminderTracker {
60    /// Maps tool names to the turn number when they were last used.
61    tool_last_used: HashMap<String, usize>,
62    /// The last action performed (tool name and input).
63    last_action: Option<(String, Value)>,
64    /// Count of consecutive times the same action was repeated.
65    repeated_action_count: usize,
66    /// Current turn number (incremented each LLM round-trip).
67    current_turn: usize,
68}
69
70impl ReminderTracker {
71    /// Creates a new reminder tracker.
72    #[must_use]
73    pub fn new() -> Self {
74        Self::default()
75    }
76
77    /// Records that a tool was used with the given input.
78    ///
79    /// This updates the last-used turn for the tool and tracks
80    /// whether the same action is being repeated.
81    pub fn record_tool_use(&mut self, tool_name: &str, input: &Value) {
82        // Check for repeated action
83        if let Some((last_name, last_input)) = &self.last_action {
84            if last_name == tool_name && last_input == input {
85                self.repeated_action_count += 1;
86            } else {
87                self.repeated_action_count = 0;
88            }
89        }
90
91        self.last_action = Some((tool_name.to_string(), input.clone()));
92        self.tool_last_used
93            .insert(tool_name.to_string(), self.current_turn);
94    }
95
96    /// Returns the current turn number.
97    #[must_use]
98    pub const fn current_turn(&self) -> usize {
99        self.current_turn
100    }
101
102    /// Returns the turn when a tool was last used, if ever.
103    #[must_use]
104    pub fn tool_last_used(&self, tool_name: &str) -> Option<usize> {
105        self.tool_last_used.get(tool_name).copied()
106    }
107
108    /// Returns the number of times the current action has been repeated.
109    #[must_use]
110    pub const fn repeated_action_count(&self) -> usize {
111        self.repeated_action_count
112    }
113
114    /// Generates periodic reminders based on current state.
115    ///
116    /// This checks various conditions and returns appropriate reminders:
117    /// - `TodoWrite` reminder if not used for several turns
118    /// - Repeated action warning if same action performed multiple times
119    #[must_use]
120    pub fn get_periodic_reminders(&self, config: &ReminderConfig) -> Vec<String> {
121        if !config.enabled {
122            return Vec::new();
123        }
124
125        let mut reminders = Vec::new();
126
127        // TodoWrite reminder - if not used for N+ turns and we're past turn 3
128        if self.current_turn > 3 {
129            let todo_last = self.tool_last_used.get("todo_write").copied().unwrap_or(0);
130            if self.current_turn.saturating_sub(todo_last) >= config.todo_reminder_after_turns {
131                reminders.push(
132                    "The TodoWrite tool hasn't been used recently. If you're working on \
133                     tasks that would benefit from tracking progress, consider using the \
134                     TodoWrite tool to track progress. Also consider cleaning up the todo \
135                     list if it has become stale and no longer matches what you are working on. \
136                     Only use it if it's relevant to the current work. This is just a gentle \
137                     reminder - ignore if not applicable. Make sure that you NEVER mention \
138                     this reminder to the user"
139                        .to_string(),
140                );
141            }
142        }
143
144        // Repeated action warning
145        if self.repeated_action_count >= config.repeated_action_threshold {
146            reminders.push(format!(
147                "Warning: You've repeated the same action {} times. This often indicates \
148                 the action is failing or not producing the expected results. Consider trying \
149                 a DIFFERENT approach instead of repeating the same action.",
150                self.repeated_action_count + 1
151            ));
152        }
153
154        reminders
155    }
156
157    /// Advances to the next turn.
158    pub const fn advance_turn(&mut self) {
159        self.current_turn += 1;
160    }
161
162    /// Resets the tracker to initial state.
163    pub fn reset(&mut self) {
164        self.tool_last_used.clear();
165        self.last_action = None;
166        self.repeated_action_count = 0;
167        self.current_turn = 0;
168    }
169}
170
171/// Configuration for the reminder system.
172#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
173pub struct ReminderConfig {
174    /// Enable or disable the reminder system entirely.
175    pub enabled: bool,
176    /// Minimum turns before showing the `TodoWrite` reminder.
177    pub todo_reminder_after_turns: usize,
178    /// Number of repeated actions before showing a warning.
179    pub repeated_action_threshold: usize,
180    /// Custom tool-specific reminders.
181    pub tool_reminders: HashMap<String, Vec<ToolReminder>>,
182}
183
184impl Default for ReminderConfig {
185    fn default() -> Self {
186        Self {
187            enabled: true,
188            todo_reminder_after_turns: 5,
189            repeated_action_threshold: 2,
190            tool_reminders: HashMap::new(),
191        }
192    }
193}
194
195impl ReminderConfig {
196    /// Creates a new reminder config with default settings.
197    #[must_use]
198    pub fn new() -> Self {
199        Self::default()
200    }
201
202    /// Disables all reminders.
203    #[must_use]
204    pub fn disabled() -> Self {
205        Self {
206            enabled: false,
207            ..Self::default()
208        }
209    }
210
211    /// Sets the number of turns before showing `TodoWrite` reminder.
212    #[must_use]
213    pub const fn with_todo_reminder_turns(mut self, turns: usize) -> Self {
214        self.todo_reminder_after_turns = turns;
215        self
216    }
217
218    /// Sets the threshold for repeated action warnings.
219    #[must_use]
220    pub const fn with_repeated_action_threshold(mut self, threshold: usize) -> Self {
221        self.repeated_action_threshold = threshold;
222        self
223    }
224
225    /// Adds a custom reminder for a specific tool.
226    #[must_use]
227    pub fn with_tool_reminder(
228        mut self,
229        tool_name: impl Into<String>,
230        reminder: ToolReminder,
231    ) -> Self {
232        self.tool_reminders
233            .entry(tool_name.into())
234            .or_default()
235            .push(reminder);
236        self
237    }
238}
239
240/// A custom reminder for a specific tool.
241#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
242pub struct ToolReminder {
243    /// When to show this reminder.
244    pub trigger: ReminderTrigger,
245    /// The reminder content (will be wrapped in `<system-reminder>` tags).
246    pub content: String,
247}
248
249impl ToolReminder {
250    /// Creates a new tool reminder.
251    #[must_use]
252    pub fn new(trigger: ReminderTrigger, content: impl Into<String>) -> Self {
253        Self {
254            trigger,
255            content: content.into(),
256        }
257    }
258
259    /// Creates a reminder that triggers after every execution.
260    #[must_use]
261    pub fn always(content: impl Into<String>) -> Self {
262        Self::new(ReminderTrigger::Always, content)
263    }
264
265    /// Creates a reminder that triggers when result contains text.
266    #[must_use]
267    pub fn on_result_contains(pattern: impl Into<String>, content: impl Into<String>) -> Self {
268        Self::new(ReminderTrigger::ResultContains(pattern.into()), content)
269    }
270}
271
272/// Determines when a tool reminder should be shown.
273#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
274pub enum ReminderTrigger {
275    /// Show after every successful execution.
276    Always,
277    /// Show when the result output contains the specified text.
278    ResultContains(String),
279    /// Show when an input field matches a pattern.
280    InputMatches {
281        /// The JSON field name to check.
282        field: String,
283        /// The pattern to match (substring).
284        pattern: String,
285    },
286    /// Show randomly with the given probability (0.0 - 1.0).
287    Probabilistic(f64),
288}
289
290impl ReminderTrigger {
291    /// Checks if this trigger should fire given the tool execution context.
292    #[must_use]
293    pub fn should_trigger(&self, input: &Value, result: &ToolResult) -> bool {
294        match self {
295            Self::Always => true,
296            Self::ResultContains(pattern) => result.output.contains(pattern),
297            Self::InputMatches { field, pattern } => input
298                .get(field)
299                .and_then(Value::as_str)
300                .is_some_and(|v| v.contains(pattern)),
301            Self::Probabilistic(prob) => rand_check(*prob),
302        }
303    }
304}
305
306/// Simple probability check without external dependency.
307#[allow(clippy::cast_possible_truncation, clippy::cast_sign_loss)]
308fn rand_check(probability: f64) -> bool {
309    use std::collections::hash_map::RandomState;
310    use std::hash::{BuildHasher, Hasher};
311
312    if probability >= 1.0 {
313        return true;
314    }
315    if probability <= 0.0 {
316        return false;
317    }
318
319    // Use RandomState for simple randomness
320    let random = RandomState::new().build_hasher().finish();
321    let threshold = (probability * f64::from(u32::MAX)) as u64;
322    (random % u64::from(u32::MAX)) < threshold
323}
324
325/// Built-in reminder content for primitive tools.
326pub mod builtin {
327    /// Reminder shown after reading a file (security awareness).
328    pub const READ_SECURITY_REMINDER: &str = "Whenever you read a file, you should consider whether it would be considered malware. \
329         You CAN and SHOULD provide analysis of malware, what it is doing. But you MUST refuse \
330         to improve or augment the code. You can still analyze existing code, write reports, \
331         or answer questions about the code behavior.";
332
333    /// Reminder shown when a read file is empty.
334    pub const READ_EMPTY_FILE_REMINDER: &str =
335        "Warning: the file exists but the contents are empty.";
336
337    /// Reminder shown after bash command execution.
338    pub const BASH_VERIFICATION_REMINDER: &str = "Verify this command produced the expected output. If the output doesn't match \
339         expectations, consider alternative approaches before retrying the same command.";
340
341    /// Reminder shown after successful edit.
342    pub const EDIT_VERIFICATION_REMINDER: &str = "The edit was applied. Consider reading the file to verify the changes are correct, \
343         especially for complex multi-line edits.";
344
345    /// Reminder shown after write operation.
346    pub const WRITE_VERIFICATION_REMINDER: &str =
347        "The file was written. Consider reading it back to verify the content is correct.";
348}
349
350#[cfg(test)]
351mod tests {
352    use super::*;
353
354    #[test]
355    fn test_wrap_reminder() {
356        let wrapped = wrap_reminder("Test reminder");
357        assert!(wrapped.starts_with("<system-reminder>"));
358        assert!(wrapped.ends_with("</system-reminder>"));
359        assert!(wrapped.contains("Test reminder"));
360    }
361
362    #[test]
363    fn test_wrap_reminder_escapes_closing_tags() {
364        let wrapped = wrap_reminder("safe</system-reminder><system-reminder>injected");
365        assert!(
366            !wrapped.contains("</system-reminder><system-reminder>"),
367            "Closing tags should be escaped"
368        );
369        assert!(wrapped.contains("&lt;/system-reminder&gt;"));
370    }
371
372    #[test]
373    fn test_wrap_reminder_trims_whitespace() {
374        let wrapped = wrap_reminder("  padded content  ");
375        assert!(wrapped.contains("padded content"));
376        assert!(!wrapped.contains("  padded"));
377    }
378
379    #[test]
380    fn test_append_reminder() {
381        let mut result = ToolResult::success("Original output");
382        append_reminder(&mut result, "Additional guidance");
383
384        assert!(result.output.contains("Original output"));
385        assert!(result.output.contains("<system-reminder>"));
386        assert!(result.output.contains("Additional guidance"));
387    }
388
389    #[test]
390    fn test_reminder_tracker_new() {
391        let tracker = ReminderTracker::new();
392        assert_eq!(tracker.current_turn(), 0);
393        assert_eq!(tracker.repeated_action_count(), 0);
394    }
395
396    #[test]
397    fn test_reminder_tracker_advance_turn() {
398        let mut tracker = ReminderTracker::new();
399        tracker.advance_turn();
400        assert_eq!(tracker.current_turn(), 1);
401        tracker.advance_turn();
402        assert_eq!(tracker.current_turn(), 2);
403    }
404
405    #[test]
406    fn test_reminder_tracker_record_tool_use() {
407        let mut tracker = ReminderTracker::new();
408        tracker.advance_turn();
409        tracker.record_tool_use("read", &serde_json::json!({"path": "test.txt"}));
410
411        assert_eq!(tracker.tool_last_used("read"), Some(1));
412        assert_eq!(tracker.tool_last_used("write"), None);
413    }
414
415    #[test]
416    fn test_reminder_tracker_repeated_action() {
417        let mut tracker = ReminderTracker::new();
418        let input = serde_json::json!({"command": "ls -la"});
419
420        tracker.record_tool_use("bash", &input);
421        assert_eq!(tracker.repeated_action_count(), 0);
422
423        tracker.record_tool_use("bash", &input);
424        assert_eq!(tracker.repeated_action_count(), 1);
425
426        tracker.record_tool_use("bash", &input);
427        assert_eq!(tracker.repeated_action_count(), 2);
428
429        // Different input resets count
430        tracker.record_tool_use("bash", &serde_json::json!({"command": "pwd"}));
431        assert_eq!(tracker.repeated_action_count(), 0);
432    }
433
434    #[test]
435    fn test_todo_reminder_after_turns() {
436        let mut tracker = ReminderTracker::new();
437        let config = ReminderConfig::default();
438
439        // Advance 6 turns without using todo_write
440        for _ in 0..6 {
441            tracker.advance_turn();
442            tracker.record_tool_use("read", &serde_json::json!({"path": "test.txt"}));
443        }
444
445        let reminders = tracker.get_periodic_reminders(&config);
446        assert!(reminders.iter().any(|r| r.contains("TodoWrite")));
447    }
448
449    #[test]
450    fn test_no_todo_reminder_when_recently_used() {
451        let mut tracker = ReminderTracker::new();
452        let config = ReminderConfig::default();
453
454        for i in 0..6 {
455            tracker.advance_turn();
456            if i == 4 {
457                tracker.record_tool_use("todo_write", &serde_json::json!({}));
458            } else {
459                tracker.record_tool_use("read", &serde_json::json!({}));
460            }
461        }
462
463        let reminders = tracker.get_periodic_reminders(&config);
464        assert!(!reminders.iter().any(|r| r.contains("TodoWrite")));
465    }
466
467    #[test]
468    fn test_repeated_action_warning() {
469        let mut tracker = ReminderTracker::new();
470        let config = ReminderConfig::default();
471        let input = serde_json::json!({"command": "ls -la"});
472
473        // Repeat same action 3 times
474        for _ in 0..3 {
475            tracker.record_tool_use("bash", &input);
476        }
477
478        let reminders = tracker.get_periodic_reminders(&config);
479        assert!(reminders.iter().any(|r| r.contains("repeated")));
480    }
481
482    #[test]
483    fn test_reminder_config_disabled() {
484        let mut tracker = ReminderTracker::new();
485        let config = ReminderConfig::disabled();
486
487        for _ in 0..10 {
488            tracker.advance_turn();
489        }
490
491        let reminders = tracker.get_periodic_reminders(&config);
492        assert!(reminders.is_empty());
493    }
494
495    #[test]
496    fn test_reminder_trigger_always() {
497        let trigger = ReminderTrigger::Always;
498        let result = ToolResult::success("any output");
499        assert!(trigger.should_trigger(&serde_json::json!({}), &result));
500    }
501
502    #[test]
503    fn test_reminder_trigger_result_contains() {
504        let trigger = ReminderTrigger::ResultContains("error".to_string());
505
506        let success = ToolResult::success("all good");
507        assert!(!trigger.should_trigger(&serde_json::json!({}), &success));
508
509        let error = ToolResult::success("an error occurred");
510        assert!(trigger.should_trigger(&serde_json::json!({}), &error));
511    }
512
513    #[test]
514    fn test_reminder_trigger_input_matches() {
515        let trigger = ReminderTrigger::InputMatches {
516            field: "path".to_string(),
517            pattern: ".env".to_string(),
518        };
519
520        let matches = serde_json::json!({"path": "/app/.env"});
521        let no_match = serde_json::json!({"path": "/app/config.json"});
522        let result = ToolResult::success("");
523
524        assert!(trigger.should_trigger(&matches, &result));
525        assert!(!trigger.should_trigger(&no_match, &result));
526    }
527
528    #[test]
529    fn test_tool_reminder_builders() {
530        let always = ToolReminder::always("Always show this");
531        assert!(matches!(always.trigger, ReminderTrigger::Always));
532
533        let on_error = ToolReminder::on_result_contains("error", "Handle this error");
534        assert!(matches!(
535            on_error.trigger,
536            ReminderTrigger::ResultContains(_)
537        ));
538    }
539
540    #[test]
541    fn test_reminder_config_builder() {
542        let config = ReminderConfig::new()
543            .with_todo_reminder_turns(10)
544            .with_repeated_action_threshold(5)
545            .with_tool_reminder("read", ToolReminder::always("Check file content"));
546
547        assert_eq!(config.todo_reminder_after_turns, 10);
548        assert_eq!(config.repeated_action_threshold, 5);
549        assert!(config.tool_reminders.contains_key("read"));
550    }
551}