Added ability to use a tag to insert the current datetime in prompts (#3697)

* Added ability to use a tag to insert the current datetime in prompts

* made tagging logic more robust

* rename

* k

---------

Co-authored-by: Yuhong Sun <yuhongsun96@gmail.com>

backend/onyx/chat/prompt_builder/answer_prompt_builder.py

@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ from onyx.llm.utils import message_to_prompt_and_imgs
 from onyx.natural_language_processing.utils import get_tokenizer
 from onyx.prompts.chat_prompts import CHAT_USER_CONTEXT_FREE_PROMPT
 from onyx.prompts.direct_qa_prompts import HISTORY_BLOCK
-from onyx.prompts.prompt_utils import add_date_time_to_prompt
 from onyx.prompts.prompt_utils import drop_messages_history_overflow
+from onyx.prompts.prompt_utils import handle_onyx_date_awareness
 from onyx.tools.force import ForceUseTool
 from onyx.tools.models import ToolCallFinalResult
 from onyx.tools.models import ToolCallKickoff
@@ -31,15 +31,16 @@ def default_build_system_message(
     prompt_config: PromptConfig,
 ) -> SystemMessage | None:
     system_prompt = prompt_config.system_prompt.strip()
-    if prompt_config.datetime_aware:
+    tag_handled_prompt = handle_onyx_date_awareness(
-        system_prompt = add_date_time_to_prompt(prompt_str=system_prompt)
+        system_prompt,
+        prompt_config,
+        add_additional_info_if_no_tag=prompt_config.datetime_aware,
+    )
 
-    if not system_prompt:
+    if not tag_handled_prompt:
         return None
 
-    system_msg = SystemMessage(content=system_prompt)
+    return SystemMessage(content=tag_handled_prompt)
-
-    return system_msg
 
 
 def default_build_user_message(
@@ -64,8 +65,11 @@ def default_build_user_message(
         else user_query
     )
     user_prompt = user_prompt.strip()
+    tag_handled_prompt = handle_onyx_date_awareness(user_prompt, prompt_config)
     user_msg = HumanMessage(
-        content=build_content_with_imgs(user_prompt, files) if files else user_prompt
+        content=build_content_with_imgs(tag_handled_prompt, files)
+        if files
+        else tag_handled_prompt
     )
     return user_msg
 

backend/onyx/chat/prompt_builder/citations_prompt.py

@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@ from onyx.prompts.constants import DEFAULT_IGNORE_STATEMENT
 from onyx.prompts.direct_qa_prompts import CITATIONS_PROMPT
 from onyx.prompts.direct_qa_prompts import CITATIONS_PROMPT_FOR_TOOL_CALLING
 from onyx.prompts.direct_qa_prompts import HISTORY_BLOCK
-from onyx.prompts.prompt_utils import add_date_time_to_prompt
 from onyx.prompts.prompt_utils import build_complete_context_str
 from onyx.prompts.prompt_utils import build_task_prompt_reminders
+from onyx.prompts.prompt_utils import handle_onyx_date_awareness
 from onyx.prompts.token_counts import ADDITIONAL_INFO_TOKEN_CNT
 from onyx.prompts.token_counts import (
     CHAT_USER_PROMPT_WITH_CONTEXT_OVERHEAD_TOKEN_CNT,
@@ -127,10 +127,11 @@ def build_citations_system_message(
     system_prompt = prompt_config.system_prompt.strip()
     if prompt_config.include_citations:
         system_prompt += REQUIRE_CITATION_STATEMENT
-    if prompt_config.datetime_aware:
+    tag_handled_prompt = handle_onyx_date_awareness(
-        system_prompt = add_date_time_to_prompt(prompt_str=system_prompt)
+        system_prompt, prompt_config, add_additional_info_if_no_tag=True
+    )
 
-    return SystemMessage(content=system_prompt)
+    return SystemMessage(content=tag_handled_prompt)
 
 
 def build_citations_user_message(

backend/onyx/chat/prompt_builder/quotes_prompt.py

@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ from onyx.llm.utils import message_to_prompt_and_imgs
 from onyx.prompts.direct_qa_prompts import CONTEXT_BLOCK
 from onyx.prompts.direct_qa_prompts import HISTORY_BLOCK
 from onyx.prompts.direct_qa_prompts import JSON_PROMPT
-from onyx.prompts.prompt_utils import add_date_time_to_prompt
 from onyx.prompts.prompt_utils import build_complete_context_str
+from onyx.prompts.prompt_utils import handle_onyx_date_awareness
 
 
 def _build_strong_llm_quotes_prompt(
@@ -39,10 +39,11 @@ def _build_strong_llm_quotes_prompt(
         language_hint_or_none=LANGUAGE_HINT.strip() if use_language_hint else "",
     ).strip()
 
-    if prompt.datetime_aware:
+    tag_handled_prompt = handle_onyx_date_awareness(
-        full_prompt = add_date_time_to_prompt(prompt_str=full_prompt)
+        full_prompt, prompt, add_additional_info_if_no_tag=True
+    )
 
-    return HumanMessage(content=full_prompt)
+    return HumanMessage(content=tag_handled_prompt)
 
 
 def build_quotes_user_message(

backend/onyx/prompts/prompt_utils.py

@@ -19,9 +19,8 @@ from onyx.utils.logger import setup_logger
 logger = setup_logger()
 
 
-MOST_BASIC_PROMPT = "You are a helpful AI assistant."
+_DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT_PAT = "[[CURRENT_DATETIME]]"
-DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT = "DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT"
+_BASIC_TIME_STR = "The current date is {datetime_info}."
-BASIC_TIME_STR = "The current date is {datetime_info}."
 
 
 def get_current_llm_day_time(
@@ -38,23 +37,36 @@ def get_current_llm_day_time(
     return f"{formatted_datetime}"
 
 
-def add_date_time_to_prompt(prompt_str: str) -> str:
+def build_date_time_string() -> str:
-    if DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT in prompt_str:
+    return ADDITIONAL_INFO.format(
+        datetime_info=_BASIC_TIME_STR.format(datetime_info=get_current_llm_day_time())
+    )
+
+
+def handle_onyx_date_awareness(
+    prompt_str: str,
+    prompt_config: PromptConfig,
+    add_additional_info_if_no_tag: bool = False,
+) -> str:
+    """
+    If there is a [[CURRENT_DATETIME]] tag, replace it with the current date and time no matter what.
+    If the prompt is datetime aware, and there are no [[CURRENT_DATETIME]] tags, add it to the prompt.
+    do nothing otherwise.
+    This can later be expanded to support other tags.
+    """
+
+    if _DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT_PAT in prompt_str:
         return prompt_str.replace(
-            DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT,
+            _DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT_PAT,
             get_current_llm_day_time(full_sentence=False, include_day_of_week=True),
         )
-
+    any_tag_present = any(
-    if prompt_str:
+        _DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT_PAT in text
-        return prompt_str + ADDITIONAL_INFO.format(
+        for text in [prompt_str, prompt_config.system_prompt, prompt_config.task_prompt]
-            datetime_info=get_current_llm_day_time()
+    )
-        )
+    if add_additional_info_if_no_tag and not any_tag_present:
-    else:
+        return prompt_str + build_date_time_string()
-        return (
+    return prompt_str
-            MOST_BASIC_PROMPT
-            + " "
-            + BASIC_TIME_STR.format(datetime_info=get_current_llm_day_time())
-        )
 
 
 def build_task_prompt_reminders(

backend/onyx/seeding/prompts.yaml

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ prompts:
     # System Prompt (as shown in UI)
     system: >
       You are a question answering system that is constantly learning and improving.
-      The current date is DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT.
+      The current date is [[CURRENT_DATETIME]].
 
       You can process and comprehend vast amounts of text and utilize this knowledge to provide
       grounded, accurate, and concise answers to diverse queries.
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ prompts:
 
       If there are no relevant documents, refer to the chat history and your internal knowledge.
     # Inject a statement at the end of system prompt to inform the LLM of the current date/time
-    # If the DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT is set, the date/time is inserted there instead
+    # If the [[CURRENT_DATETIME]] is set, the date/time is inserted there instead
     # Format looks like: "October 16, 2023 14:30"
     datetime_aware: true
     # Prompts the LLM to include citations in the for [1], [2] etc.
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ prompts:
   - name: "OnlyLLM"
     description: "Chat directly with the LLM!"
     system: >
-      You are a helpful AI assistant. The current date is DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT
+      You are a helpful AI assistant. The current date is [[CURRENT_DATETIME]]
 
 
       You give concise responses to very simple questions, but provide more thorough responses to
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ prompts:
     system: >
       You are a text summarizing assistant that highlights the most important knowledge from the
       context provided, prioritizing the information that relates to the user query.
-      The current date is DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT.
+      The current date is [[CURRENT_DATETIME]].
 
       You ARE NOT creative and always stick to the provided documents.
       If there are no documents, refer to the conversation history.
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ prompts:
     description: "Recites information from retrieved context! Least creative but most safe!"
     system: >
       Quote and cite relevant information from provided context based on the user query.
-      The current date is DANSWER_DATETIME_REPLACEMENT.
+      The current date is [[CURRENT_DATETIME]].
 
       You only provide quotes that are EXACT substrings from provided documents!
 

backend/onyx/server/features/persona/api.py

@@ -192,8 +192,7 @@ def create_persona(
         name=build_prompt_name_from_persona_name(persona_upsert_request.name),
         system_prompt=persona_upsert_request.system_prompt,
         task_prompt=persona_upsert_request.task_prompt,
-        # TODO: The PersonaUpsertRequest should provide the value for datetime_aware
+        datetime_aware=persona_upsert_request.datetime_aware,
-        datetime_aware=False,
         include_citations=persona_upsert_request.include_citations,
         prompt_id=prompt_id,
     )
@@ -237,8 +236,7 @@ def update_persona(
         db_session=db_session,
         user=user,
         name=build_prompt_name_from_persona_name(persona_upsert_request.name),
-        # TODO: The PersonaUpsertRequest should provide the value for datetime_aware
+        datetime_aware=persona_upsert_request.datetime_aware,
-        datetime_aware=False,
         system_prompt=persona_upsert_request.system_prompt,
         task_prompt=persona_upsert_request.task_prompt,
         include_citations=persona_upsert_request.include_citations,

backend/onyx/server/features/persona/models.py

@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ class PersonaUpsertRequest(BaseModel):
     description: str
     system_prompt: str
     task_prompt: str
+    datetime_aware: bool
     document_set_ids: list[int]
     num_chunks: float
     include_citations: bool

backend/tests/integration/common_utils/managers/persona.py

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ class PersonaManager:
         is_public: bool = True,
         llm_filter_extraction: bool = True,
         recency_bias: RecencyBiasSetting = RecencyBiasSetting.AUTO,
+        datetime_aware: bool = False,
         prompt_ids: list[int] | None = None,
         document_set_ids: list[int] | None = None,
         tool_ids: list[int] | None = None,
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ class PersonaManager:
             description=description,
             system_prompt=system_prompt,
             task_prompt=task_prompt,
+            datetime_aware=datetime_aware,
             include_citations=include_citations,
             num_chunks=num_chunks,
             llm_relevance_filter=llm_relevance_filter,
@@ -104,6 +106,7 @@ class PersonaManager:
         is_public: bool | None = None,
         llm_filter_extraction: bool | None = None,
         recency_bias: RecencyBiasSetting | None = None,
+        datetime_aware: bool = False,
         prompt_ids: list[int] | None = None,
         document_set_ids: list[int] | None = None,
         tool_ids: list[int] | None = None,
@@ -121,6 +124,7 @@ class PersonaManager:
             description=description or persona.description,
             system_prompt=system_prompt,
             task_prompt=task_prompt,
+            datetime_aware=datetime_aware,
             include_citations=include_citations,
             num_chunks=num_chunks or persona.num_chunks,
             llm_relevance_filter=llm_relevance_filter or persona.llm_relevance_filter,

web/src/app/admin/assistants/AssistantEditor.tsx

@@ -221,6 +221,7 @@ export function AssistantEditor({
   const initialValues = {
     name: existingPersona?.name ?? "",
     description: existingPersona?.description ?? "",
+    datetime_aware: existingPrompt?.datetime_aware ?? false,
     system_prompt: existingPrompt?.system_prompt ?? "",
     task_prompt: existingPrompt?.task_prompt ?? "",
     is_public: existingPersona?.is_public ?? defaultPublic,
@@ -1372,6 +1373,17 @@ export function AssistantEditor({
                   </div>
                   <Separator />
 
+                  <BooleanFormField
+                    small
+                    removeIndent
+                    alignTop
+                    name="datetime_aware"
+                    label="Date and Time Aware"
+                    subtext='Toggle this option to let the assistant know the current date and time (formatted like: "Thursday Jan 1, 1970 00:01"). To inject it in a specific place in the prompt, use the pattern [[CURRENT_DATETIME]]'
+                  />
+
+                  <Separator />
+
                   <TextFormField
                     maxWidth="max-w-4xl"
                     name="task_prompt"

web/src/app/admin/assistants/lib.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ interface PersonaUpsertRequest {
   description: string;
   system_prompt: string;
   task_prompt: string;
+  datetime_aware: boolean;
   document_set_ids: number[];
   num_chunks: number | null;
   include_citations: boolean;
@@ -36,6 +37,7 @@ export interface PersonaUpsertParameters {
   system_prompt: string;
   existing_prompt_id: number | null;
   task_prompt: string;
+  datetime_aware: boolean;
   document_set_ids: number[];
   num_chunks: number | null;
   include_citations: boolean;
@@ -105,6 +107,7 @@ function buildPersonaUpsertRequest(
     is_public,
     groups,
     existing_prompt_id,
+    datetime_aware,
     users,
     tool_ids,
     icon_color,
@@ -129,6 +132,7 @@ function buildPersonaUpsertRequest(
     icon_shape,
     remove_image,
     search_start_date,
+    datetime_aware,
     is_default_persona: creationRequest.is_default_persona ?? false,
     recency_bias: "base_decay",
     prompt_ids: existing_prompt_id ? [existing_prompt_id] : [],