Not enough custimization User freedom.

[0xAdamFortuna]

Feature Request: Auto-Inject USER Context Files at Session Start

Summary

I created Markdown files with personal context (communication preferences, environment rules, life goals) that I want auto-injected at the beginning of each session.

Currently, it doesn't seem like there is a way to auto-inject USER files without risk of them being overwritten during future PAI system updates.

Below are my observations and different approaches I discovered.

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The Problem

Current Behavior

1. LoadContext.hook.ts only injects skills/CORE/SKILL.md (line 164-175)
2. SKILL.md contains an instruction: "Upon loading this file, also read: ${PAI_DIR}/skills/CORE/USER/TELOS/*.md"
3. But instructions ≠ automatic injection — the AI doesn't reliably execute file reads from instructions
4. Files like USER/DAIDENTITY.md and USER/TELOS/*.md exist but are never loaded into context

What I Want

• Auto-inject USER/TELOS/*.md files at session start (personal goals, communication preferences, environment rules)
• Auto-inject USER/DAIDENTITY.md (AI personality customization)
• Have these survive PAI updates without re-applying changes

Evidence

I tested this across multiple sessions. When asked "Did you read USER/DAIDENTITY.md?" the AI consistently answered:

"No, I have not read USER/DAIDENTITY.md. The CORE skill references it as the location for personality and interaction style configuration, but I was not shown its contents."

Same result for TELOS files — they only get loaded when explicitly invoked via /Telos skill or manual file reads.

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Current Architecture Understanding

Location	Tier	Survives Updates?
hooks/*.ts	SYSTEM	No
settings.json	HYBRID	Values preserved, structure may change
skills/CORE/SKILL.md	SYSTEM	No
skills/CORE/SYSTEM/*	SYSTEM	No
skills/CORE/USER/*	USER	Yes
skills/_ALLCAPS/*	USER	Yes

The USER tier is protected, but there's no mechanism to auto-inject USER content.

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Possible Solutions

Option 1: Modify LoadContext.hook.ts (Current Workaround)

Add USER file loading after line 175:

// Read USER context files
const userContextFiles = [
  join(paiDir, 'skills/CORE/USER/DAIDENTITY.md'),
  ...globSync(join(paiDir, 'skills/CORE/USER/TELOS/*.md'))
];

let userContext = '';
for (const file of userContextFiles) {
  if (existsSync(file)) {
    userContext += `\n\n--- ${file} ---\n` + readFileSync(file, 'utf-8');
  }
}

Pros	Cons
Works immediately	hooks/ is SYSTEM tier
Clean implementation	Must re-apply after every PAI update

Option 2: Add USER Hook Support

Allow hooks to be defined in USER tier, e.g., skills/CORE/USER/hooks/:

// settings.json
"SessionStart": [
  { "command": "${PAI_DIR}/hooks/LoadContext.hook.ts" },
  { "command": "${PAI_DIR}/skills/CORE/USER/hooks/LoadUserContext.hook.ts" }
]

Pros	Cons
User hook code survives	settings.json hook config might be overwritten
Clean separation	Requires settings.json structure change

Option 3: Make USER Auto-Load a Core Feature

Modify LoadContext.hook.ts to always check for and load:

• skills/CORE/USER/DAIDENTITY.md (if exists)
• skills/CORE/USER/TELOS/*.md (if directory exists)
• skills/CORE/USER/AUTOLOAD/*.md (new convention)

Pros	Cons
Permanent solution	Requires PR acceptance
Benefits all PAI users	Increases context size
USER files naturally protected

Option 4: Environment Variable for Extra Context Files

Add a setting like:

// settings.json
"contextFiles": [
  "${PAI_DIR}/skills/CORE/USER/DAIDENTITY.md",
  "${PAI_DIR}/skills/CORE/USER/TELOS/*.md"
]

Then LoadContext.hook.ts reads this array and injects those files.

Pros	Cons
User configurable	settings.json might be overwritten
Explicit control	More complex

Option 5: Dedicated AUTOLOAD Directory

Create convention: skills/CORE/USER/AUTOLOAD/*.md — any .md file here gets auto-injected.

Pros	Cons
Simple convention	Requires LoadContext.hook.ts change
USER tier (survives updates)
Easy to manage

---

Recommended Approach

Option 3 or Option 5 — Make it a core PAI feature that USER context files are auto-loaded.

The files already exist in the right place (USER/TELOS/*.md, USER/DAIDENTITY.md). The SKILL.md already instructs reading them. The infrastructure is 90% there — just needs LoadContext.hook.ts to actually read them.

Suggested implementation:

// In LoadContext.hook.ts, after reading SKILL.md

// Auto-load USER context files (these survive PAI updates)
const userAutoloadPaths = [
  join(paiDir, 'skills/CORE/USER/DAIDENTITY.md'),
  join(paiDir, 'skills/CORE/USER/TELOS/*.md'),
  join(paiDir, 'skills/CORE/USER/AUTOLOAD/*.md')  // Optional: explicit autoload dir
];

let userContext = '\n\n--- USER CONTEXT (Auto-loaded) ---\n';
for (const pattern of userAutoloadPaths) {
  const files = globSync(pattern);
  for (const file of files) {
    if (existsSync(file)) {
      userContext += `\n### ${basename(file)}\n` + readFileSync(file, 'utf-8') + '\n';
    }
  }
}

// Append to paiContent before outputting
paiContent += userContext;

This maintains the SYSTEM/USER separation while actually delivering on the promise of USER customization.

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Environment Info

• PAI Version: 2.3
• Platform: WSL2 (Ubuntu) on Windows
• Claude Code with Claude Opus 4.5