Show timezone abbreviation in system prompt#4901
Show timezone abbreviation in system prompt#4901dpalfox wants to merge 1 commit intoopenclaw:mainfrom
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Adds getTimezoneAbbreviation() to convert IANA timezone names (e.g. America/New_York) to friendly abbreviations (e.g. EST). The system prompt now shows: Time zone: America/New_York (EST) instead of just: Time zone: America/New_York
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| export function getTimezoneAbbreviation(timezone: string): string { | ||
| try { | ||
| const formatter = new Intl.DateTimeFormat("en-US", { | ||
| timeZone: timezone, | ||
| timeZoneName: "short", | ||
| }); | ||
| const parts = formatter.formatToParts(new Date()); | ||
| const tzPart = parts.find((p) => p.type === "timeZoneName"); | ||
| return tzPart?.value ?? timezone; | ||
| } catch { | ||
| return timezone; | ||
| } | ||
| } |
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[P2] timeZoneName: "short" may not yield true abbreviations across environments
Intl.DateTimeFormat(..., { timeZoneName: "short" }) often returns offsets like GMT-5/UTC−05:00 or localized strings (and can vary by Node/ICU build), so getTimezoneAbbreviation() may not reliably produce EST/PST as the PR description implies. If the goal is a stable, friendly label, consider renaming the function (e.g. to getTimezoneShortName) or using timeZoneName: "shortGeneric"/"shortOffset" depending on the desired output semantics.
Prompt To Fix With AI
This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: src/agents/date-time.ts
Line: 26:38
Comment:
[P2] `timeZoneName: "short"` may not yield true abbreviations across environments
`Intl.DateTimeFormat(..., { timeZoneName: "short" })` often returns offsets like `GMT-5`/`UTC−05:00` or localized strings (and can vary by Node/ICU build), so `getTimezoneAbbreviation()` may not reliably produce `EST/PST` as the PR description implies. If the goal is a stable, friendly label, consider renaming the function (e.g. to `getTimezoneShortName`) or using `timeZoneName: "shortGeneric"`/`"shortOffset"` depending on the desired output semantics.
How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.| function buildTimeSection(params: { userTimezone?: string }) { | ||
| if (!params.userTimezone) return []; | ||
| return ["## Current Date & Time", `Time zone: ${params.userTimezone}`, ""]; | ||
| const abbrev = getTimezoneAbbreviation(params.userTimezone); | ||
| // Show both IANA name and abbreviation if they differ | ||
| const tzDisplay = | ||
| abbrev !== params.userTimezone ? `${params.userTimezone} (${abbrev})` : params.userTimezone; | ||
| return ["## Current Date & Time", `Time zone: ${tzDisplay}`, ""]; | ||
| } |
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[P3] Consider trimming before comparing to avoid duplicate display from whitespace/casing
buildTimeSection() compares abbrev !== params.userTimezone, but params.userTimezone can include whitespace (it’s trimmed later in buildAgentSystemPrompt). If buildTimeSection is ever reused elsewhere, you could end up with America/New_York (America/New_York)-style output due purely to whitespace. Passing the already-trimmed userTimezone down (or trimming locally before both the call and the comparison) keeps the display stable.
Prompt To Fix With AI
This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: src/agents/system-prompt.ts
Line: 52:59
Comment:
[P3] Consider trimming before comparing to avoid duplicate display from whitespace/casing
`buildTimeSection()` compares `abbrev !== params.userTimezone`, but `params.userTimezone` can include whitespace (it’s trimmed later in `buildAgentSystemPrompt`). If `buildTimeSection` is ever reused elsewhere, you could end up with `America/New_York (America/New_York)`-style output due purely to whitespace. Passing the already-trimmed `userTimezone` down (or trimming locally before both the call and the comparison) keeps the display stable.
How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.
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This pull request has been automatically marked as stale due to inactivity. |
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Still relevant — this is a small quality-of-life improvement that helps the AI reason about timezones more naturally. Happy to rebase if needed. |
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This pull request has been automatically marked as stale due to inactivity. |
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Closing due to inactivity. |
2 participants
Adds \getTimezoneAbbreviation()\ to convert IANA timezone names (e.g. \America/New_York) to friendly abbreviations (e.g. \EST).
The system prompt now shows:
\
Time zone: America/New_York (EST)
\
instead of just:
\
Time zone: America/New_York
\\
This makes it easier for the AI to understand and communicate about timezones.
Greptile Overview
Greptile Summary
This PR adds
getTimezoneAbbreviation()insrc/agents/date-time.tsand updatesbuildTimeSection()insrc/agents/system-prompt.tsto display the user’s IANA timezone along with a shortIntl.DateTimeFormat-derived timezone label (e.g.,America/New_York (EST)) when they differ.The change integrates into the system prompt construction path by enriching the existing “Current Date & Time” section, without altering other prompt sections or the timezone resolution logic.
Confidence Score: 4/5
Intlreturns for “short” timezone names.Intl.DateTimeFormatAPI with a try/catch fallback. The main risk is thattimeZoneName: "short"does not reliably produce abbreviations likeEST/PSTacross environments/locales and can yield GMT offsets (e.g.,GMT-5) or localized strings, which may reduce the intended benefit but shouldn’t break functionality.(2/5) Greptile learns from your feedback when you react with thumbs up/down!