Files
pipecat/tests/test_adapter_system_instruction.py
Paul Kompfner d4dea30407 Centralize system message handling in adapters; add developer message support
Two goals:

1. Centralize system_instruction vs context system message resolution into
   the LLM adapters. This eliminates duplication between in-pipeline and
   out-of-band (run_inference) code paths across ~16 locations in service
   llm.py files.

2. Add support for "developer" role messages in conversation context, which
   is facilitated by the above centralization.

Shared helpers on BaseLLMAdapter:
- _extract_initial_system_or_developer: extracts/converts messages[0]
  based on role and whether system_instruction is provided
- _resolve_system_instruction: warns on conflicts between system_instruction
  and context system messages, returns the effective instruction

Developer message handling (new):
- Non-OpenAI adapters: an initial "developer" message is promoted to the
  system instruction when no system_instruction is provided; otherwise it
  is converted to "user". Subsequent "developer" messages are always
  converted to "user". No conflict warning is emitted for developer
  messages (unlike "system" messages).
- OpenAI adapter: "developer" messages pass through in conversation
  history without triggering conflict warnings.
- OpenAI Responses adapter: "developer" messages are kept as "developer"
  role (same as "system", which is also converted to "developer" for the
  Responses API).

Other behavior changes:
- Gemini: "initial" system message detection now checks messages[0] only
  (previously searched anywhere in the list)
- Bedrock: a lone system message is now converted to "user" instead of
  being extracted to an empty message list (matches existing Anthropic
  behavior)
2026-03-24 16:02:42 -04:00

588 lines
25 KiB
Python

#
# Copyright (c) 2024-2026, Daily
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD 2-Clause License
#
"""Unit tests for system_instruction and developer message handling in LLM adapters.
Tests cover:
1. system_instruction only (no system/developer in context)
2. Initial "system" message only (no system_instruction)
3. Initial "developer" message only (no system_instruction) -> promoted to system instruction
4. Both system_instruction and initial "system" message -> warns
5. Both system_instruction and initial "developer" message -> does NOT warn; developer becomes "user"
6. Non-OpenAI adapters: subsequent "developer" messages converted to "user"
7. Non-OpenAI adapters: initial "system" discarded when system_instruction provided
8. Gemini: non-initial "system" message is converted to "user" (not extracted)
9. Single system-only message: converted to "user" instead of extracting (empty list prevention)
"""
import unittest
from unittest.mock import patch
from pipecat.adapters.services.open_ai_adapter import OpenAILLMAdapter
from pipecat.processors.aggregators.llm_context import LLMContext, LLMStandardMessage
class TestOpenAIAdapterSystemInstruction(unittest.TestCase):
"""Tests for the OpenAI ChatCompletion adapter."""
def setUp(self):
self.adapter = OpenAILLMAdapter()
def test_system_instruction_only(self):
"""system_instruction alone is prepended as a system message."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context, system_instruction="Be helpful.")
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["role"], "system")
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["content"], "Be helpful.")
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][1]["role"], "user")
def test_initial_system_message_only(self):
"""Initial system message without system_instruction passes through."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are helpful."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context)
self.assertEqual(len(params["messages"]), 2)
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["role"], "system")
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["content"], "You are helpful.")
def test_both_system_instruction_and_system_message_warns(self):
"""system_instruction + initial system message warns but allows both."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are helpful."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(
context, system_instruction="Be concise."
)
mock_logger.warning.assert_called_once()
warning_msg = mock_logger.warning.call_args[0][0]
self.assertIn("may be unintended", warning_msg)
# Both are present: prepended system_instruction + original system message
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["content"], "Be concise.")
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][1]["content"], "You are helpful.")
def test_both_system_instruction_and_developer_message_no_warning(self):
"""system_instruction + initial developer message does NOT warn."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "developer", "content": "Extra context."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(
context, system_instruction="Be concise."
)
mock_logger.warning.assert_not_called()
# system_instruction prepended, developer message stays in messages
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["content"], "Be concise.")
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][1]["role"], "developer")
def test_warning_fires_only_once(self):
"""Conflict warning fires only once per adapter instance."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are helpful."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context, system_instruction="Be concise.")
self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context, system_instruction="Be concise.")
mock_logger.warning.assert_called_once()
class TestAnthropicAdapterSystemInstruction(unittest.TestCase):
"""Tests for the Anthropic adapter."""
def setUp(self):
from pipecat.adapters.services.anthropic_adapter import AnthropicLLMAdapter
self.adapter = AnthropicLLMAdapter()
def test_system_instruction_only(self):
"""system_instruction alone becomes the system parameter."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(
context, enable_prompt_caching=False, system_instruction="Be helpful."
)
self.assertEqual(params["system"], "Be helpful.")
self.assertEqual(len(params["messages"]), 1)
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["role"], "user")
def test_initial_system_message_only(self):
"""Initial system message is extracted as the system parameter."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are helpful."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context, enable_prompt_caching=False)
self.assertEqual(params["system"], "You are helpful.")
self.assertEqual(len(params["messages"]), 1)
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["role"], "user")
def test_initial_developer_message_promoted(self):
"""Initial developer message without system_instruction is promoted to system."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "developer", "content": "Extra context."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context, enable_prompt_caching=False)
self.assertEqual(params["system"], "Extra context.")
self.assertEqual(len(params["messages"]), 1)
def test_both_system_instruction_and_system_message_warns(self):
"""system_instruction + initial system message warns and uses system_instruction."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are helpful."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(
context,
enable_prompt_caching=False,
system_instruction="Be concise.",
)
mock_logger.warning.assert_called_once()
warning_msg = mock_logger.warning.call_args[0][0]
self.assertIn("Using system_instruction", warning_msg)
self.assertEqual(params["system"], "Be concise.")
def test_both_system_instruction_and_developer_message_no_warning(self):
"""system_instruction + initial developer message: no warning, developer becomes user."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "developer", "content": "Extra context."},
{"role": "assistant", "content": "Hi"},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(
context,
enable_prompt_caching=False,
system_instruction="Be concise.",
)
mock_logger.warning.assert_not_called()
self.assertEqual(params["system"], "Be concise.")
# Developer message should have been converted to "user"
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["role"], "user")
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["content"], "Extra context.")
def test_subsequent_developer_messages_converted_to_user(self):
"""Subsequent developer messages are converted to user role."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
{"role": "assistant", "content": "Hi"},
{"role": "developer", "content": "More instructions"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context, enable_prompt_caching=False)
# Developer message was converted to "user"
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][2]["role"], "user")
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][2]["content"], "More instructions")
def test_initial_system_discarded_when_system_instruction_provided(self):
"""Initial system message is discarded when system_instruction is provided."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "Old instruction."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger"):
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(
context,
enable_prompt_caching=False,
system_instruction="New instruction.",
)
self.assertEqual(params["system"], "New instruction.")
# Only the user message should remain
self.assertEqual(len(params["messages"]), 1)
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["role"], "user")
def test_single_system_message_becomes_user(self):
"""A lone system message is converted to user (not extracted) to prevent empty history."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are helpful."},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context, enable_prompt_caching=False)
from anthropic import NOT_GIVEN
self.assertEqual(params["system"], NOT_GIVEN)
self.assertEqual(len(params["messages"]), 1)
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["role"], "user")
class TestBedrockAdapterSystemInstruction(unittest.TestCase):
"""Tests for the AWS Bedrock adapter."""
def setUp(self):
from pipecat.adapters.services.bedrock_adapter import AWSBedrockLLMAdapter
self.adapter = AWSBedrockLLMAdapter()
def test_system_instruction_only(self):
"""system_instruction alone becomes the system parameter."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context, system_instruction="Be helpful.")
self.assertEqual(params["system"], [{"text": "Be helpful."}])
def test_initial_system_message_only(self):
"""Initial system message is extracted as the system parameter."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are helpful."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context)
self.assertEqual(params["system"], [{"text": "You are helpful."}])
self.assertEqual(len(params["messages"]), 1)
def test_initial_developer_message_promoted(self):
"""Initial developer message without system_instruction is promoted."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "developer", "content": "Extra context."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context)
self.assertEqual(params["system"], [{"text": "Extra context."}])
def test_both_system_instruction_and_system_message_warns(self):
"""system_instruction + initial system message warns and uses system_instruction."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are helpful."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(
context, system_instruction="Be concise."
)
mock_logger.warning.assert_called_once()
self.assertEqual(params["system"], [{"text": "Be concise."}])
def test_both_system_instruction_and_developer_message_no_warning(self):
"""system_instruction + initial developer message: no warning, developer becomes user."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "developer", "content": "Extra context."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(
context, system_instruction="Be concise."
)
mock_logger.warning.assert_not_called()
self.assertEqual(params["system"], [{"text": "Be concise."}])
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["role"], "user")
def test_subsequent_developer_messages_converted_to_user(self):
"""Subsequent developer messages are converted to user role."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
{"role": "assistant", "content": "Hi"},
{"role": "developer", "content": "More instructions"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context)
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][2]["role"], "user")
def test_single_system_message_becomes_user(self):
"""A lone system message is converted to user to prevent empty history."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are helpful."},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context)
self.assertIsNone(params["system"])
self.assertEqual(len(params["messages"]), 1)
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][0]["role"], "user")
class TestGeminiAdapterSystemInstruction(unittest.TestCase):
"""Tests for the Gemini adapter."""
def setUp(self):
from pipecat.adapters.services.gemini_adapter import GeminiLLMAdapter
self.adapter = GeminiLLMAdapter()
def test_system_instruction_only(self):
"""system_instruction alone becomes the system_instruction parameter."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context, system_instruction="Be helpful.")
self.assertEqual(params["system_instruction"], "Be helpful.")
def test_initial_system_message_only(self):
"""Initial system message is extracted as system_instruction."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are helpful."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context)
self.assertEqual(params["system_instruction"], "You are helpful.")
self.assertEqual(len(params["messages"]), 1)
def test_initial_developer_message_promoted(self):
"""Initial developer message without system_instruction is promoted."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "developer", "content": "Extra context."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context)
self.assertEqual(params["system_instruction"], "Extra context.")
def test_both_system_instruction_and_system_message_warns(self):
"""system_instruction + initial system message warns and uses system_instruction."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "system", "content": "You are helpful."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(
context, system_instruction="Be concise."
)
mock_logger.warning.assert_called_once()
self.assertEqual(params["system_instruction"], "Be concise.")
def test_both_system_instruction_and_developer_message_no_warning(self):
"""system_instruction + initial developer message: no warning, developer becomes user."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "developer", "content": "Extra context."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(
context, system_instruction="Be concise."
)
mock_logger.warning.assert_not_called()
self.assertEqual(params["system_instruction"], "Be concise.")
def test_non_initial_system_message_not_extracted(self):
"""Non-initial system message is converted to user, not extracted as system instruction."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
{"role": "system", "content": "Late system message"},
{"role": "user", "content": "How are you?"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context)
# No system instruction should be extracted from non-initial position
self.assertIsNone(params["system_instruction"])
# The system message should have been converted to user role in the Gemini Content
# (we check that 3 messages are present, meaning no extraction happened)
self.assertEqual(len(params["messages"]), 3)
def test_subsequent_developer_messages_converted_to_user(self):
"""Subsequent developer messages are converted to user role."""
messages: list[LLMStandardMessage] = [
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
{"role": "developer", "content": "More instructions"},
]
context = LLMContext(messages=messages)
params = self.adapter.get_llm_invocation_params(context)
self.assertEqual(len(params["messages"]), 2)
# Second message (developer) should be converted to user in Google format
self.assertEqual(params["messages"][1].role, "user")
class TestBaseLLMAdapterHelpers(unittest.TestCase):
"""Tests for the shared helper methods on BaseLLMAdapter."""
def setUp(self):
# Use OpenAILLMAdapter as a concrete implementation for testing the base helpers
self.adapter = OpenAILLMAdapter()
def test_extract_system_message(self):
"""System message is extracted from messages[0]."""
messages = [
{"role": "system", "content": "Be helpful."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
content, role = self.adapter._extract_initial_system_or_developer(
messages, system_instruction=None
)
self.assertEqual(content, "Be helpful.")
self.assertEqual(role, "system")
self.assertEqual(len(messages), 1) # popped
def test_extract_developer_without_system_instruction(self):
"""Developer message is extracted when no system_instruction."""
messages = [
{"role": "developer", "content": "Context."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
content, role = self.adapter._extract_initial_system_or_developer(
messages, system_instruction=None
)
self.assertEqual(content, "Context.")
self.assertEqual(role, "developer")
self.assertEqual(len(messages), 1)
def test_developer_with_system_instruction_converts_to_user(self):
"""Developer message with system_instruction is converted to user, not extracted."""
messages = [
{"role": "developer", "content": "Context."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
content, role = self.adapter._extract_initial_system_or_developer(
messages, system_instruction="Be helpful."
)
self.assertIsNone(content)
self.assertIsNone(role)
self.assertEqual(len(messages), 2) # not popped
self.assertEqual(messages[0]["role"], "user") # converted to user
def test_single_system_message_becomes_user(self):
"""Single system message is converted to user instead of extracting (empty prevention)."""
messages = [
{"role": "system", "content": "Be helpful."},
]
content, role = self.adapter._extract_initial_system_or_developer(
messages, system_instruction=None
)
self.assertIsNone(content)
self.assertIsNone(role)
self.assertEqual(len(messages), 1) # not popped
self.assertEqual(messages[0]["role"], "user")
def test_non_system_message_ignored(self):
"""Non-system/developer first message is ignored."""
messages = [
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"},
]
content, role = self.adapter._extract_initial_system_or_developer(
messages, system_instruction=None
)
self.assertIsNone(content)
self.assertIsNone(role)
self.assertEqual(len(messages), 1)
def test_empty_messages(self):
"""Empty messages list returns None."""
messages = []
content, role = self.adapter._extract_initial_system_or_developer(
messages, system_instruction=None
)
self.assertIsNone(content)
self.assertIsNone(role)
def test_resolve_both_system_discard(self):
"""Resolve with discard=True: system_instruction wins, warns."""
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
result = self.adapter._resolve_system_instruction(
"from context", "system", "from settings", discard_context_system=True
)
mock_logger.warning.assert_called_once()
self.assertEqual(result, "from settings")
def test_resolve_both_system_keep(self):
"""Resolve with discard=False: warns but returns system_instruction."""
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
result = self.adapter._resolve_system_instruction(
"from context", "system", "from settings", discard_context_system=False
)
mock_logger.warning.assert_called_once()
self.assertEqual(result, "from settings")
def test_resolve_only_system_instruction(self):
"""Only system_instruction: returns it, no warning."""
with patch("pipecat.adapters.base_llm_adapter.logger") as mock_logger:
result = self.adapter._resolve_system_instruction(
None, None, "from settings", discard_context_system=True
)
mock_logger.warning.assert_not_called()
self.assertEqual(result, "from settings")
def test_resolve_only_context_system_discard(self):
"""Only context system (discard=True): returns it."""
result = self.adapter._resolve_system_instruction(
"from context", "system", None, discard_context_system=True
)
self.assertEqual(result, "from context")
def test_resolve_only_context_system_keep(self):
"""Only context system (discard=False): returns None (already in messages)."""
result = self.adapter._resolve_system_instruction(
"from context", "system", None, discard_context_system=False
)
self.assertIsNone(result)
if __name__ == "__main__":
unittest.main()