Self-Modification

When to Use

• User asks to update personality or behavior
• Changing system prompt instructions
• Updating agent.yaml config (tools, model, max_turns)
• Adding or updating skills
• Restructuring memory

Interpretation Rule: "update yourself"

• If the user says "update yourself", "upgrade yourself", "pull latest", or similar — use the self_update tool.
• Do not treat those phrases as prompt/config self-modification unless the user explicitly mentions behavior, personality, system prompt, or agent config.
• If both interpretations seem plausible, prefer the software update.

CRITICAL: Never directly edit agent.yaml, system.md, or soul.md

Use the patch scripts via shell. They validate, backup, diff, and apply:

bash "$AGENT_DIR/scripts/patch-system.sh" /tmp/new-system.md
bash "$AGENT_DIR/scripts/patch-soul.sh" /tmp/new-soul.md
bash "$AGENT_DIR/scripts/patch-agent.sh" /tmp/new-agent.yaml

Where AGENT_DIR is /home/agent/.config/term-llm/agents/$AGENT_NAME.

File Locations

Adding a New Skill

mkdir -p /home/agent/.config/term-llm/skills/<name>
# Write SKILL.md with frontmatter: name, description, tools (if needed)
term-llm skills  # verify it appears