How to Configure Agent Instructions
📋 Prompt
The agent's system prompt is assembled from multiple instruction sources — date/time awareness, citation formatting, platform knowledge, user-specific guidance, and more. Each source contributes an independent section. You control which are active and what they inject.
List and Enable Sources​
za agents capabilities instruction-sources list
za agents capabilities instruction-sources configure <source-name>
Configure Provider Settings​
za agents capabilities instruction-sources settings
Instruction Sources​
| Source | CLI name | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | datetime | enabled | Injects current date and time |
| User Instructions | user-instructions | disabled | Free-text behavioral guidance |
| In-Memory Instructions | in-memory-instructions | disabled | Structured instruction blocks defined in JSON |
| Citation Instructions | citation-instructions | disabled | Citation formatting rules (auto-enabled with citation_configuration) |
| Index Explorer | index-explorer | disabled | Methodology for autonomously probing an index to generate configuration |
| Platform Documentation | platform-docs | disabled | Platform self-knowledge |
On the Zeta Alpha platform, OneDrive Saving also applies.
Date and Time​
Injects the current date and time so the agent can reason about recency. Enabled by default.
za agents capabilities instruction-sources configure datetime
Configuration​
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
timezone | str | "UTC" | IANA timezone name (e.g. "Europe/Amsterdam") |
User Instructions​
Free-text behavioral guidance added to the system prompt.
za agents capabilities instruction-sources configure user-instructions
Configuration​
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
instructions | str or null | null | Instructions to inject into the system prompt |
When prompted, provide your instructions:
Always check for recent publications (last 6 months) before answering. Prefer primary sources over reviews. Respond in the user's language.
In-Memory Instructions​
Structured, multi-section instructions defined in configuration. Each entry becomes a separate ## {header} section in the system prompt.
za agents capabilities instruction-sources configure in-memory-instructions
Configuration​
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
instructions | list[{header, body}] | [] | List of instruction blocks, each with a header and body |
{
"in_memory_instruction_source_configuration": {
"enabled": true,
"instructions": [
{ "header": "Response formatting", "body": "Use markdown tables for comparisons." },
{ "header": "Domain expertise", "body": "You are an expert in pharmaceutical R&D." }
]
}
}
Citation Instructions​
Injects citation formatting rules into the system prompt. Automatically enabled when a citation_configuration is present.
za agents capabilities instruction-sources configure citation-instructions
Configuration​
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
citable_resources | list["search_results" | "context" | "documents" | "tags" | "memories"] | ["search_results"] | Which resource types to include citation instructions for |
The actual citation format depends on citation_configuration.strategy — see Policies — Citations.
Index Explorer​
Injects a detailed methodology for autonomously probing a document collection and generating an index-tools configuration. Designed for one-time setup — enable it, run za agents dev, tell the agent "Run the Index Explorer", then disable it.
za agents capabilities instruction-sources configure index-explorer
Configuration​
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
instructions | str or null | null | Override the built-in exploration methodology |
See Index Tools — Auto-Generate with the Index Explorer for the full workflow.
Platform Documentation​
Gives the agent self-knowledge about the Zeta Alpha platform capabilities.
za agents capabilities instruction-sources configure platform-docs
Configuration​
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
instruction_override | str or null | null | Override the built-in platform knowledge text |
Pair with the Platform Docs tool source for a complete setup — instructions tell the agent what the platform can do, tools let it look up how.
OneDrive Saving​
Teaches the agent to save files from My Documents (such as its Word documents and decks) to the user's OneDrive and share them. It runs on the Zeta Alpha platform only; the agents SDK does not ship it. It adds no tools: the agent uses the Microsoft 365 MCP server's list-drives, upload-file-content and create-drive-item-share-link, so every call goes through the user's tool rules like any other Microsoft 365 call. The agent must also mount that server.
The agent uploads a file by passing my-documents://<document_id> as the upload's body, which My Documents files in tool calls replaces with the file's content. Enable it for the same server. The uploaded item's webUrl opens it in Office.
{
"onedrive_saving_instruction_source_configuration": {"enabled": true},
"my_documents_argument_resolver_configuration": {
"enabled": true,
"server_names": ["ms365"]
}
}
Configuration​
onedrive_saving_instruction_source_configuration:
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
enabled | bool | false | Teach the agent to save My Documents files to OneDrive |
server_name | str | ms365 | The MCP server that reaches Microsoft 365 as the signed-in user |
default_folder | str | Zeta Alpha | OneDrive folder the agent saves files to |
Instruction Files​
You can also manage instructions as markdown files on disk:
za agents instruction add "Response Guidelines"
za agents instruction list
This creates .md files in instructions/ that are automatically loaded into the system prompt.