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 |
| Onboarding | onboarding | disabled | Behavioral guidance for introducing platform features |
| Platform Documentation | platform-docs | disabled | Platform self-knowledge |
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" | "documents" | "tags"] | ["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.
Onboarding​
Behavioral guidance that encourages the agent to naturally introduce platform features during conversations — not as a feature tour, but contextually.
za agents capabilities instruction-sources configure onboarding
Configuration​
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
guidance | str or null | null | Override the built-in onboarding guidance |
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.
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.