From 87ffad18c22b68e416eff42d51591c07ff7dc58c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Patrick Buckley <buckleypm@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2026 23:22:23 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] Use system role instead of developer for broader model
 compatibility

The developer message role is not supported by all chat templates
(e.g. Qwen). Switch to the standard system role which is universally
supported by OpenAI-compatible APIs.
---
 tests/test_session.py     | 12 ++++++------
 turnstone/core/session.py | 10 +++++-----
 2 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tests/test_session.py b/tests/test_session.py
index df7b7ad5..3094d58a 100644
--- a/tests/test_session.py
+++ b/tests/test_session.py
@@ -76,15 +76,15 @@ class TestChatSessionConstruction:
     def test_system_messages_created(self, tmp_db):
         session = _make_session()
         assert len(session.system_messages) >= 1
-        # At least one developer message
+        # At least one system message
         roles = [m["role"] for m in session.system_messages]
-        assert "developer" in roles
+        assert "system" in roles
 
-    def test_instructions_appended_to_developer_message(self, tmp_db):
+    def test_instructions_appended_to_system_message(self, tmp_db):
         session = _make_session(instructions="Always be concise.")
-        dev_msgs = [m for m in session.system_messages if m["role"] == "developer"]
-        assert len(dev_msgs) >= 1
-        assert "Always be concise." in dev_msgs[0]["content"]
+        sys_msgs = [m for m in session.system_messages if m["role"] == "system"]
+        assert len(sys_msgs) >= 1
+        assert "Always be concise." in sys_msgs[0]["content"]
 
     def test_full_messages_returns_system_plus_conversation(self, tmp_db):
         session = _make_session()
diff --git a/turnstone/core/session.py b/turnstone/core/session.py
index 78ae2d49..a2d7110b 100644
--- a/turnstone/core/session.py
+++ b/turnstone/core/session.py
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ class ChatSession:
                 model=self.model,
                 messages=[
                     {
-                        "role": "developer",
+                        "role": "system",
                         "content": (
                             "# Instructions\n\n"
                             "You are a conversation title generator. "
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ class ChatSession:
                 f"REMINDER: You currently have {len(memories)} memories stored. "
                 "Use recall to see them."
             )
-        self.system_messages.append({"role": "developer", "content": "\n".join(dev_parts)})
+        self.system_messages.append({"role": "system", "content": "\n".join(dev_parts)})
         # Agent prefix: system + developer only (no memories)
         self._agent_system_messages = list(self.system_messages)
 
@@ -971,7 +971,7 @@ class ChatSession:
         formatted = self._format_messages_for_summary(selected)
         summary_msgs = [
             {
-                "role": "developer",
+                "role": "system",
                 "content": (
                     "# Conversation Compactor\n\n"
                     "Your output REPLACES the conversation history — the assistant "
@@ -2209,7 +2209,7 @@ class ChatSession:
         """Delegate to a general-purpose autonomous sub-agent."""
         call_id, prompt = item["call_id"], item["prompt"]
         task_instruction = {
-            "role": "developer",
+            "role": "system",
             "content": (
                 "# Task Agent\n\n"
                 "You are an autonomous task agent with full tool access. "
@@ -2278,7 +2278,7 @@ class ChatSession:
                                 break
 
         agent_messages = list(self._agent_system_messages)
-        agent_messages.append({"role": "developer", "content": self._PLAN_IDENTITY})
+        agent_messages.append({"role": "system", "content": self._PLAN_IDENTITY})
         agent_messages.extend(prior_plan_msgs)
         agent_messages.append({"role": "user", "content": prompt})