file cards in ui

apps/x/packages/core/src/application/assistant/instructions.ts

@@ -179,4 +179,23 @@ When a user asks for ANY task that might require external capabilities (web sear
 
 **Only \`executeCommand\` (shell/bash commands) goes through the approval flow.** If you need to delete a file, use the \`workspace-remove\` builtin tool, not \`executeCommand\` with \`rm\`. If you need to create a file, use \`workspace-writeFile\`, not \`executeCommand\` with \`touch\` or \`echo >\`.
 
-Rowboat's internal builtin tools never require approval — only shell commands via \`executeCommand\` do.`;
+Rowboat's internal builtin tools never require approval — only shell commands via \`executeCommand\` do.
+
+## File Path References
+
+When you reference a file path in your response (whether a knowledge base file or a file on the user's system), ALWAYS wrap it in a filepath code block:
+
+\`\`\`filepath
+knowledge/People/Sarah Chen.md
+\`\`\`
+
+\`\`\`filepath
+~/Desktop/report.pdf
+\`\`\`
+
+This renders as an interactive card in the UI. Use this format for:
+- Knowledge base file paths (knowledge/...)
+- Files on the user's machine (~/Desktop/..., /Users/..., etc.)
+- Audio files, images, documents, or any file reference
+
+Never output raw file paths in plain text when they could be wrapped in a filepath block.`;

apps/x/packages/shared/src/ipc.ts

@@ -381,6 +381,15 @@ const ipcSchemas = {
       success: z.literal(true),
     }),
   },
+  // Shell integration channels
+  'shell:openPath': {
+    req: z.object({ path: z.string() }),
+    res: z.object({ error: z.string().optional() }),
+  },
+  'shell:readFileBase64': {
+    req: z.object({ path: z.string() }),
+    res: z.object({ data: z.string(), mimeType: z.string(), size: z.number() }),
+  },
 } as const;
 
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