fix(skills): omit content hashes from prompts (#126951)

docs/concepts/system-prompt.md

@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ See [Timezones](/concepts/timezone) and [Date & Time](/date-time) for full behav
 
 ## Skills
 
-When eligible skills exist, OpenClaw injects a compact `<available_skills>` list (`formatSkillsForPrompt`) with the **file path** and a content-derived `<version>sha256:...</version>` marker per skill. The prompt instructs the model to use `read` to load the SKILL.md at the listed location (workspace, managed, or bundled), and to re-read a skill when its `<version>` differs from a previous turn. If no skills are eligible, the Skills section is omitted.
+When eligible skills exist, OpenClaw injects a compact `<available_skills>` list (`formatSkillsForPrompt`) with the **file path** for each skill. The prompt instructs the model to use `read` to load the SKILL.md at the listed location (workspace, managed, or bundled). If no skills are eligible, the Skills section is omitted.
 
 Native Codex turns receive this list as turn-scoped collaboration developer instructions instead of per-turn user input, except lightweight cron turns that preserve the exact scheduled prompt. Other harnesses keep the normal prompt section.
 
@@ -157,7 +157,6 @@ Eligibility includes skill metadata gates, runtime environment/config checks, an
     <name>...</name>
     <description>...</description>
     <location>...</location>
-    <version>sha256:...</version>
   </skill>
 </available_skills>
 ```

src/agents/system-prompt.test.ts

@@ -378,7 +378,6 @@ describe("buildAgentSystemPrompt", () => {
 
     expect(prompt).toContain("## Skills");
     expect(prompt).toContain("<available_skills>");
-    expect(prompt).toContain("Changed <version>: re-read");
     expect(prompt).toContain("External writes: batch safely");
   });
 
@@ -922,7 +921,6 @@ describe("buildAgentSystemPrompt", () => {
       "Scan <available_skills>. Clear match: read exact <location> with `Read`; obey.",
     );
     expect(prompt).not.toContain("<location>/SKILL.md");
-    expect(prompt).toContain("Changed <version>: re-read");
     expect(prompt).toContain("Several: most specific");
     expect(prompt).toContain("Docs: /tmp/openclaw/docs");
     expect(prompt).toContain(
@@ -1186,7 +1184,6 @@ describe("buildAgentSystemPrompt", () => {
       "Scan <available_skills>. Clear match: read exact <location> with `read`; obey.",
     );
     expect(prompt).not.toContain("<location>/SKILL.md");
-    expect(prompt).toContain("Changed <version>: re-read");
     expect(prompt).toContain("Several: most specific");
   });
 

src/agents/system-prompt.ts

@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ function buildSkillsSection(params: {
     params.codeModeActive
       ? 'Scan <available_skills>. Clear match: use `skills.read("<name>")` inside `exec`; obey.'
       : `Scan <available_skills>. Clear match: read exact <location> with \`${params.readToolName}\`; obey.`,
-    "Changed <version>: re-read. Several: most specific. None: read none.",
+    "Several: most specific. None: read none.",
     "Up-front max one. Never invent paths.",
     "External writes: batch safely; no tight loops; honor 429/Retry-After.",
     trimmed,

src/skills/loading/local-loader.ts

@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import {
   resolveSkillDisplayName,
   type Skill,
 } from "./skill-contract.js";
-import { computeSkillPromptVersion } from "./skill-version.js";
 
 type LoadedLocalSkill = {
   skill: Skill;
@@ -112,7 +111,6 @@ function loadSingleSkillDirectory(params: {
       description,
       filePath,
       baseDir,
-      promptVersion: computeSkillPromptVersion(raw),
       source: params.source,
       sourceInfo: createSyntheticSourceInfo(filePath, {
         source: params.source,

src/skills/loading/session.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ import { getArchivedSkillFiles } from "../workshop/curator.js";
 import { parseSkillFrontmatter, resolveSkillInvocationPolicy } from "./frontmatter.js";
 import { resolveSkillDisplayName } from "./skill-contract.js";
 import { formatSkillsForPromptBounded } from "./skill-prompt-limits.js";
-import { computeSkillPromptVersion } from "./skill-version.js";
 
 /** Max name length per spec */
 const MAX_NAME_LENGTH = 64;
@@ -30,6 +29,7 @@ export interface Skill {
   description: string;
   filePath: string;
   baseDir: string;
+  /** @deprecated Ignored; retained for API compatibility until the next Plugin SDK major. */
   promptVersion?: string;
   source: string;
   sourceInfo: SourceInfo;
@@ -254,7 +254,6 @@ function loadSkillFromFile(
         description: frontmatter.description,
         filePath,
         baseDir: skillDir,
-        promptVersion: computeSkillPromptVersion(rawContent),
         source,
         sourceInfo: createSkillSourceInfo(filePath, skillDir, source),
         disableModelInvocation: invocation.disableModelInvocation,

src/skills/loading/skill-contract.test.ts

@@ -42,7 +42,9 @@ describe("formatSkillsCompact", () => {
       makeSkill("notes", "Summarize notes", "/tmp/notes/SKILL.md"),
       { ...makeSkill("weather", "Get weather <data> & forecasts"), promptVersion: "sha256:abc123" },
     ];
-    expect(formatSkillsForPromptCore(skills)).toBe(upstreamFormatSkillsForPrompt(skills));
+    const out = formatSkillsForPromptCore(skills);
+    expect(out).toBe(upstreamFormatSkillsForPrompt(skills));
+    expect(out).not.toContain("<version>");
   });
 
   it("renders all passed skills in the full formatter without reapplying visibility policy", () => {
@@ -56,14 +58,16 @@ describe("formatSkillsCompact", () => {
     expect(formatSkillsCompact([])).toBe("");
   });
 
-  it("keeps compact descriptions with name, location, and version", () => {
-    const out = formatSkillsCompact([
-      { ...makeSkill("weather", "Get weather data"), promptVersion: "sha256:abc123" },
-    ]);
+  it("keeps compact descriptions with name and location", () => {
+    const skill = {
+      ...makeSkill("weather", "Get weather data"),
+      promptVersion: "sha256:abc123",
+    };
+    const out = formatSkillsCompact([skill]);
     expect(out).toContain("<name>weather</name>");
     expect(out).toContain("<description>Get weather data</description>");
     expect(out).toContain("<location>/skills/weather/SKILL.md</location>");
-    expect(out).toContain("<version>sha256:abc123</version>");
+    expect(out).not.toContain("<version>");
   });
 
   it("omits descriptions when their compact budget is zero", () => {

src/skills/loading/skill-contract.ts

@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@ export interface Skill {
   readContent?: string;
   filePath: string;
   baseDir: string;
-  /** Deterministic marker for the SKILL.md content rendered as <version>. */
-  promptVersion?: string;
   sourceInfo: SourceInfo;
   disableModelInvocation: boolean;
   // Preserve legacy source reads while keeping the canonical upstream shape.
@@ -75,7 +73,6 @@ export function formatSkillsForPromptCore(skills: Skill[]): string {
   const lines = [
     "\n\nThe following skills provide specialized instructions for specific tasks.",
     "Use the read tool to load a skill's file when the task matches its description.",
-    "If a skill's <version> differs from a previous turn, re-read its SKILL.md before using it.",
     "When a skill file references a relative path, resolve it against the skill directory (parent of SKILL.md / dirname of the path) and use that absolute path in tool commands.",
     "",
     "<available_skills>",
@@ -88,9 +85,6 @@ export function formatSkillsForPromptCore(skills: Skill[]): string {
     if (skill.locationNote) {
       lines.push(`    <location_note>${escapeSkillXml(skill.locationNote)}</location_note>`);
     }
-    if (skill.promptVersion) {
-      lines.push(`    <version>${escapeSkillXml(skill.promptVersion)}</version>`);
-    }
     lines.push("  </skill>");
   }
   lines.push("</available_skills>");
@@ -114,7 +108,6 @@ export function formatSkillsCompactForPrompt(
     descriptionMaxChars > 0
       ? "Use the read tool to load a skill's file when the task matches its name or description."
       : "Use the read tool to load a skill's file when the task matches its name.",
-    "If a skill's <version> differs from a previous turn, re-read its SKILL.md before using it.",
     "When a skill file references a relative path, resolve it against the skill directory (parent of SKILL.md / dirname of the path) and use that absolute path in tool commands.",
     "",
     "<available_skills>",
@@ -132,9 +125,6 @@ export function formatSkillsCompactForPrompt(
     if (skill.locationNote) {
       lines.push(`    <location_note>${escapeSkillXml(skill.locationNote)}</location_note>`);
     }
-    if (skill.promptVersion) {
-      lines.push(`    <version>${escapeSkillXml(skill.promptVersion)}</version>`);
-    }
     lines.push("  </skill>");
   }
   lines.push("</available_skills>");

src/skills/loading/skill-version.ts

@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-// Skill prompt versions are deterministic content markers for model-visible skill catalogs.
-import { sha256HexPrefixCore } from "../../infra/crypto-digest.js";
-
-export function computeSkillPromptVersion(content: string): string {
-  return `sha256:${sha256HexPrefixCore(content, 16)}`;
-}

src/skills/loading/workspace-skill-prompt.test.ts

@@ -254,21 +254,17 @@ describe("applySkillsPromptLimits (via buildWorkspaceSkillsPrompt)", () => {
     expect(prompt.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(expected.length);
   });
 
-  it("budgets the final rendered prompt including versions and limit notices", () => {
-    const skills = Array.from({ length: 24 }, (_, i) => ({
-      ...makeSkill(`skill-${i}`, "A".repeat(160)),
-      promptVersion: `sha256:${String(i).padStart(16, "0")}`,
-    }));
+  it("budgets the final rendered prompt including limit notices", () => {
+    const skills = Array.from({ length: 24 }, (_, i) => makeSkill(`skill-${i}`, "A".repeat(160)));
     const budget = 2_200;
 
     const prompt = buildPrompt(skills, { maxChars: budget });
 
     expect(prompt.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(budget);
-    expect(prompt).toContain("<version>sha256:");
     expect(prompt).toContain("included");
   });
 
-  it("keeps no-skill catalogs empty instead of emitting version guidance", () => {
+  it("keeps no-skill catalogs empty", () => {
     const prompt = buildWorkspaceSkillsPrompt("/fake", {
       entries: [],
     });

src/skills/loading/workspace-skill-snapshot.test.ts

@@ -428,33 +428,6 @@ describe("buildSkillSnapshot", () => {
     expect(snapshot.prompt).toBe(prompt);
   });
 
-  it("renders a deterministic version that changes when SKILL.md content changes", async () => {
-    const workspaceDir = await fixtureSuite.createCaseDir("workspace");
-    const skillDir = path.join(workspaceDir, "skills", "visible");
-    await writeSkill({
-      dir: skillDir,
-      name: "visible",
-      description: "Visible",
-      body: "# Visible\nfirst body\n",
-    });
-
-    const before = buildSnapshot(workspaceDir);
-    await writeSkill({
-      dir: skillDir,
-      name: "visible",
-      description: "Visible",
-      body: "# Visible\nsecond body\n",
-    });
-    const after = buildSnapshot(workspaceDir);
-
-    const beforeVersion = before.prompt.match(/<version>([^<]+)<\/version>/)?.[1];
-    const afterVersion = after.prompt.match(/<version>([^<]+)<\/version>/)?.[1];
-    expect(beforeVersion).toMatch(/^sha256:[a-f0-9]{16}$/);
-    expect(afterVersion).toMatch(/^sha256:[a-f0-9]{16}$/);
-    expect(afterVersion).not.toBe(beforeVersion);
-    expect(after.prompt).toContain("If a skill's <version> differs from a previous turn");
-  });
-
   it("truncates the skills prompt when it exceeds the configured char budget", async () => {
     const workspaceDir = await cloneTemplateDir(truncationWorkspaceTemplateDir, "workspace");
 
@@ -464,7 +437,7 @@ describe("buildSkillSnapshot", () => {
           skills: {
             limits: {
               maxSkillsInPrompt: 100,
-              maxSkillsPromptChars: 500,
+              maxSkillsPromptChars: 700,
             },
           },
         },

src/skills/runtime/remote-skills.ts

@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ import { createSyntheticSourceInfo } from "../../agents/sessions/source-info.js"
 import { createSubsystemLogger } from "../../logging/subsystem.js";
 import { resolveNodeIdFromNodeList } from "../../shared/node-resolve.js";
 import { parseSkillFrontmatter, resolveSkillInvocationPolicy } from "../loading/frontmatter.js";
-import { computeSkillPromptVersion } from "../loading/skill-version.js";
 import type { ParsedSkillFrontmatter, SkillEntry } from "../types.js";
 import { bumpSkillsSnapshotVersion } from "./refresh-state.js";
 
@@ -236,7 +235,6 @@ export function mergeRemoteNodeSkillEntries(
         readContent: skill.content,
         filePath,
         baseDir: filePath.slice(0, -"/SKILL.md".length),
-        promptVersion: computeSkillPromptVersion(skill.content),
         source: "openclaw-node",
         sourceInfo: createSyntheticSourceInfo(filePath, {
           source: "openclaw-node",

src/skills/test-support/test-helpers.ts

@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ export function createCanonicalFixtureSkill(params: {
   filePath: string;
   baseDir: string;
   source: string;
-  promptVersion?: string;
   disableModelInvocation?: boolean;
 }): Skill {
   return {
@@ -16,7 +15,6 @@ export function createCanonicalFixtureSkill(params: {
     description: params.description,
     filePath: params.filePath,
     baseDir: params.baseDir,
-    promptVersion: params.promptVersion,
     source: params.source,
     sourceInfo: createSyntheticSourceInfo(params.filePath, {
       source: params.source,

src/skills/types.ts

@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ export type SkillEligibilityContext = {
   };
 };
 
-export const WORKSPACE_SKILLS_PROMPT_FORMAT_VERSION = 3;
+export const WORKSPACE_SKILLS_PROMPT_FORMAT_VERSION = 4;
 
 export type SkillSnapshot = {
   prompt: string;