docs(templates): document backend/templates usage + variables
This commit is contained in:
Abhimanyu Saharan
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# backend/templates/
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# `backend/templates/` — Gateway workspace templates
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This directory contains the **Jinja2 templates** used by Mission Control to provision and sync **OpenClaw agent workspaces** onto a Gateway (generating the agent’s `*.md` files like `TOOLS.md`, `HEARTBEAT.md`, etc.).
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This directory contains **Jinja2 templates** that Mission Control renders and syncs into each OpenClaw gateway agent’s on-disk workspace (the `workspace-*` folder).
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At runtime (in the backend container), these templates are copied to `/app/templates`.
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These files are the agent’s “operating manual” (instructions, heartbeat rules, tools, identity, etc.).
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## What these templates are for
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## Where templates are rendered / synced
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Mission Control renders these templates to produce the files that an agent will read inside its provisioned workspace. In other words:
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**Rendering engine**
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- Renderer: Jinja2 `Environment(FileSystemLoader(templates_root))`.
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- Config (important for safe changes):
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- `undefined=StrictUndefined` → **missing variables crash render** (good: prevents silent partial templates).
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- `autoescape=False` → markdown is rendered “verbatim” (no HTML escaping).
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- `keep_trailing_newline=True`.
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- You edit templates in `backend/templates/`.
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Evidence:
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- The backend renders them with per-agent/per-gateway context.
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- `backend/app/services/openclaw/provisioning.py::_template_env()`
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- The rendered markdown becomes the actual workspace files (e.g. `HEARTBEAT.md`) that govern agent behavior.
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These templates are **not** email templates and **not** frontend UI templates.
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**Sync workflows**
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- API: `POST /api/v1/gateways/{gateway_id}/templates/sync`
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- Router: `backend/app/api/gateways.py` (`sync_gateway_templates`).
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- DB-backed service: `backend/app/services/openclaw/provisioning_db.py::OpenClawProvisioningService.sync_gateway_templates()`.
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- CLI: `backend/scripts/sync_gateway_templates.py --gateway-id <uuid> [--board-id <uuid>] [--reset-sessions] [--rotate-tokens] [--force-bootstrap]`
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## How templates are rendered
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## Which files are provisioned
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Rendering happens in the backend provisioning code:
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Default set (rendered for each agent workspace):
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- `AGENTS.md`, `SOUL.md`, `TASK_SOUL.md`, `SELF.md`, `AUTONOMY.md`, `TOOLS.md`, `IDENTITY.md`, `USER.md`, `HEARTBEAT.md`, `BOOT.md`, `BOOTSTRAP.md`, `MEMORY.md`
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- Code path: `backend/app/services/openclaw/provisioning.py` → `_render_agent_files()`
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Evidence:
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- Engine: **Jinja2**
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- `backend/app/services/openclaw/constants.py::DEFAULT_GATEWAY_FILES`
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### Special case: `HEARTBEAT.md`
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### “Main agent” template mapping
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`HEARTBEAT.md` is not rendered directly from a same-named template. Instead it is rendered from one of:
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The gateway *main* agent uses a few different templates (prefixed `MAIN_...`) for some files:
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- `HEARTBEAT_LEAD.md` (for the board lead agent)
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| Workspace file | Main-agent template |
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- `HEARTBEAT_AGENT.md` (for normal board agents)
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| `AGENTS.md` | `MAIN_AGENTS.md` |
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| `HEARTBEAT.md` | `MAIN_HEARTBEAT.md` |
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| `USER.md` | `MAIN_USER.md` |
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| `BOOT.md` | `MAIN_BOOT.md` |
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| `TOOLS.md` | `MAIN_TOOLS.md` |
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The selection is done in `_heartbeat_template_name(agent)` and applied by `_render_agent_files()`.
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Evidence:
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- `backend/app/services/openclaw/constants.py::MAIN_TEMPLATE_MAP`
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### Overrides
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## Template variables (context)
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Provisioning supports a few override mechanisms:
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Templates are rendered with a context built from:
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- Agent + board + gateway fields
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- Mission Control backend settings (`base_url`)
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- Optional user profile fields
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- Agent identity profile fields
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- `agent.identity_template` → overrides `IDENTITY.md` content (rendered from string)
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Evidence:
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- `agent.soul_template` → overrides `SOUL.md` content (rendered from string)
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- `backend/app/services/openclaw/provisioning.py::_build_context()` (board-scoped agents)
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- `template_overrides` map → can point a target file name at an alternate template file (notably used for `HEARTBEAT.md`)
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- `backend/app/services/openclaw/provisioning.py::_build_main_context()` (main agent)
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- Identity/user mapping: `backend/app/services/openclaw/provisioning.py::_identity_context()`, `_user_context()`
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## Available templates
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### Common context keys
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Common workspace files:
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These keys are available to *all* templates (agent + main):
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- `AGENTS.md` — agent collaboration/board operating rules
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- `AUTONOMY.md` — how the agent decides when to act vs ask
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- `IDENTITY.md` — role/persona for the agent (can be overridden per agent)
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- `SOUL.md` — general behavior guidelines (can be overridden per agent)
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- `TASK_SOUL.md` — per-task lens (usually edited by the agent while working)
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- `TOOLS.md` — connection details for Mission Control API, workspace paths, etc.
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- `USER.md` — human/user profile fields the agent may need
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- `SELF.md` — evolving agent preferences
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- `MEMORY.md` — long-term curated memory
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Boot/bootstrapping:
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- `BOOT.md`, `BOOTSTRAP.md`
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Heartbeat templates:
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- `HEARTBEAT_AGENT.md`
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- `HEARTBEAT_LEAD.md`
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“Main session” variants (used for Gateway main session provisioning):
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- `MAIN_AGENTS.md`, `MAIN_BOOT.md`, `MAIN_HEARTBEAT.md`, `MAIN_TOOLS.md`, `MAIN_USER.md`
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## Template context (variables)
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The backend assembles a context dict used to render templates. Key variables include:
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- `agent_name`
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- `agent_name`
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- `agent_id`
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- `agent_id`
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@@ -77,25 +70,129 @@ The backend assembles a context dict used to render templates. Key variables inc
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- `main_session_key`
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- `main_session_key`
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- `workspace_root`
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- `workspace_root`
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Plus additional identity/user context fields (see `provisioning.py` for the authoritative list).
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User fields (may be empty strings):
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- `user_name`, `user_preferred_name`, `user_pronouns`, `user_timezone`
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- `user_notes`, `user_context`
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## Safe editing guidelines
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Identity fields (defaults apply if missing):
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- `identity_role`
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- `identity_communication_style`
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- `identity_emoji`
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These templates directly influence agent behavior and connectivity, so:
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Extra identity fields (optional; may be empty strings):
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- `identity_autonomy_level`, `identity_verbosity`, `identity_output_format`, `identity_update_cadence`
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- `identity_purpose`, `identity_personality`, `identity_custom_instructions`
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- Avoid removing or renaming required fields without a corresponding backend change.
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Evidence:
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- Treat `auth_token` and any secrets as sensitive: **do not log rendered files** or paste them into issues/PRs.
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- Defaults + mapping: `backend/app/services/openclaw/constants.py::{DEFAULT_IDENTITY_PROFILE, IDENTITY_PROFILE_FIELDS, EXTRA_IDENTITY_PROFILE_FIELDS}`
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- Keep instructions deterministic and testable.
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- Prefer additive changes; preserve backward compatibility.
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## Local preview / testing
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### Board-scoped-only keys
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Recommended basic checks after editing templates:
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Only board-scoped agents receive:
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- `board_id`, `board_name`, `board_type`
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- `board_objective`, `board_success_metrics`, `board_target_date`
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- `board_goal_confirmed`
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- `is_board_lead`
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- `workspace_path`
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- `board_*` fields above
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1) Run backend type checks/tests as usual.
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Evidence:
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2) Exercise the “templates sync” endpoint (if available in your dev environment) to verify rendered files look correct for a sample agent.
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- `backend/app/services/openclaw/provisioning.py::_build_context()`
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Where to look:
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## HEARTBEAT template selection
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- Backend container should have templates at `/app/templates`.
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`HEARTBEAT.md` is special: it renders one of two templates depending on whether the agent is a board lead:
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- Rendered agent workspace files appear under the configured gateway workspace root.
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- lead: `HEARTBEAT_LEAD.md`
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- agent: `HEARTBEAT_AGENT.md`
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Evidence:
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- Template names: `backend/app/services/openclaw/constants.py::{HEARTBEAT_LEAD_TEMPLATE, HEARTBEAT_AGENT_TEMPLATE}`
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- Selection logic: `backend/app/services/openclaw/provisioning.py::_heartbeat_template_name()`
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## Safe change guidelines
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1) **Assume templates are user-facing instructions**
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- Keep edits backwards compatible when possible.
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- Prefer additive changes (new sections) over rewriting major flows.
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2) **Do not break rendering**
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- Because `StrictUndefined` is enabled, adding `{{ new_var }}` requires also adding that key to the context builder(s).
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3) **Preserved (agent-editable) files**
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Some files are intentionally not overwritten on template sync if they already exist in the agent workspace (the agent/human may edit them):
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- `SELF.md`, `USER.md`, `MEMORY.md`, `TASK_SOUL.md`
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Evidence:
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- `backend/app/services/openclaw/constants.py::PRESERVE_AGENT_EDITABLE_FILES`
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4) **Main-agent vs board-agent differences**
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- If changing `TOOLS.md`, `HEARTBEAT.md`, etc., check whether the change should also apply to the main-agent templates (`MAIN_*`).
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5) **Prefer small PRs + keep template scope task-scoped**
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## Previewing / testing template changes locally
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### Option A (recommended): run template sync against a dev gateway
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Use either:
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- API: `POST /api/v1/gateways/{gateway_id}/templates/sync`
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- CLI: `backend/scripts/sync_gateway_templates.py --gateway-id <uuid> ...`
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Then inspect the provisioned files in the gateway’s workspace directory (the exact path is computed in `backend/app/services/openclaw/provisioning.py::_workspace_path()`).
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### Option B: quick offline render (Jinja2 only)
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This is useful for confirming Markdown formatting and variable names.
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```bash
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python3 - <<'PY'
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from pathlib import Path
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from jinja2 import Environment, FileSystemLoader, StrictUndefined
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root = Path('backend/templates')
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env = Environment(
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loader=FileSystemLoader(root),
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undefined=StrictUndefined,
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autoescape=False,
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keep_trailing_newline=True,
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)
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# Minimal dummy context (must include any variables referenced by the template).
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ctx = {
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'agent_name': 'ExampleAgent',
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'agent_id': '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000',
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'board_id': '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000',
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'board_name': 'Example Board',
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'board_type': 'general',
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'board_objective': '',
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'board_success_metrics': '{}',
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'board_target_date': '',
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'board_goal_confirmed': 'false',
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'is_board_lead': 'false',
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'session_key': 'agent:example',
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'workspace_path': '/tmp/workspace-example',
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'base_url': 'http://localhost:8000',
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'auth_token': 'REDACTED',
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'main_session_key': 'agent:gateway-main',
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'workspace_root': '/tmp',
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'user_name': '',
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'user_preferred_name': '',
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'user_pronouns': '',
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'user_timezone': '',
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'user_notes': '',
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'user_context': '',
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'identity_role': 'Generalist',
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'identity_communication_style': 'direct',
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'identity_emoji': ':gear:',
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'identity_autonomy_level': '',
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'identity_verbosity': '',
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'identity_output_format': '',
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'identity_update_cadence': '',
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'identity_purpose': '',
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'identity_personality': '',
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'identity_custom_instructions': '',
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}
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print(env.get_template('AGENTS.md').render(**ctx))
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PY
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```
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If the template references a variable not present in `ctx`, Jinja2 will raise immediately (by design).
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