Merge pull request #786 from rowboatlabs/feat/chat-auto-titles

Auto-name chats from the first user message

apps/x/ANALYTICS.md

@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ Every `llm_usage` emit point in the codebase:
 | `copilot_chat` | (none) | yes | User chat in renderer (turn runtime; the ALS default when no caller set a use case) | `packages/core/src/runtime/turns/bridges/real-usage-reporter.ts` (`reportModelUsage`); legacy runs (code-mode carve-out) still emit from `packages/core/src/runtime/legacy/engine.ts` (`streamLlm` finish-step) |
 | `copilot_chat` | `scheduled` | yes | Background scheduled agent runner | `packages/core/src/agent-schedule/runner.ts:167` |
 | `copilot_chat` | `file_parse` | inherits | `parseFile` builtin tool inside any chat | `packages/core/src/runtime/tools/domains/parsing.ts:179` |
+| `copilot_chat` | `chat_title` | no | Auto-naming a chat from its first user message (`generateText`) | `packages/core/src/knowledge/generate_title.ts` |
 | `live_note_agent` | `routing` | no | Pass 1 routing classifier (`generateObject`) | `packages/core/src/knowledge/live-note/routing.ts:93` |
 | `live_note_agent` | `manual` | yes | Pass 2 agent run — user clicked Run / called the `run-live-note-agent` tool | `packages/core/src/knowledge/live-note/runner.ts:140` (createRun, `subUseCase: trigger`) |
 | `live_note_agent` | `cron` | yes | Pass 2 agent run — cron expression matched | same call site |

apps/x/packages/core/src/knowledge/generate_title.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+import { generateText } from 'ai';
+import { createLanguageModel } from '../models/models.js';
+import { getChatTitleModel, resolveProviderConfig } from '../models/defaults.js';
+import { mapReasoningEffort } from '../models/reasoning.js';
+import { captureLlmUsage } from '../analytics/usage.js';
+import { withUseCase } from '../analytics/use_case.js';
+
+const SYSTEM_PROMPT = `You name chat conversations. Given the user's first message, reply with a concise title for the conversation.
+
+Rules:
+- At least 2 words, at most 5 — never a single word
+- Same language as the message
+- No quotation marks, no ending punctuation, no emoji
+- Output the title and nothing else
+
+Examples:
+- "who are the investors in supabase" -> Supabase investor list
+- "help me write a python script that renames all files in a folder" -> Python file renaming script
+- "why is my docker build so slow" -> Slow Docker build debugging
+- "draft an email to my landlord about the broken heater" -> Broken heater landlord email`;
+
+// Long first messages are usually pasted documents or code; the opening is
+// enough signal for a title and keeps the call cheap.
+const MAX_INPUT_CHARS = 500;
+
+const MAX_TITLE_CHARS = 80;
+
+/**
+ * Generate a short chat title from the first user message. Returns null when
+ * the message is empty or the model produces something unusable — callers
+ * keep the truncated-message placeholder in that case.
+ */
+export async function generateChatTitle(firstMessage: string): Promise<string | null> {
+    const text = firstMessage.trim().replace(/\s+/g, ' ');
+    if (!text) return null;
+
+    const { model: modelId, provider: providerName } = await getChatTitleModel();
+    const providerConfig = await resolveProviderConfig(providerName);
+    const model = createLanguageModel(providerConfig, modelId);
+
+    // Reasoning models (e.g. gateway gemini-3.5-flash) think by default and
+    // can starve a tight output cap — dial thinking to low and leave the cap
+    // roomy; the title itself is a handful of tokens either way.
+    const reasoning = mapReasoningEffort(providerConfig.flavor, modelId, 'low', undefined);
+    const result = await withUseCase({ useCase: 'copilot_chat', subUseCase: 'chat_title' }, () => generateText({
+        model,
+        system: SYSTEM_PROMPT,
+        prompt: text.slice(0, MAX_INPUT_CHARS),
+        maxOutputTokens: 1000,
+        ...(reasoning?.providerOptions ? { providerOptions: reasoning.providerOptions } : {}),
+    }));
+
+    captureLlmUsage({
+        useCase: 'copilot_chat',
+        subUseCase: 'chat_title',
+        model: modelId,
+        provider: providerName,
+        usage: result.usage,
+    });
+
+    const title = (result.text.trim().split(/\r?\n/)[0] ?? '')
+        .trim()
+        .replace(/^["'“”‘’]+|["'“”‘’]+$/g, '')
+        .replace(/[.!。]+$/, '')
+        .replace(/\s+/g, ' ')
+        .trim();
+    if (!title || title.length > MAX_TITLE_CHARS) return null;
+    if (!title.includes(' ')) return null;
+    return title;
+}

apps/x/packages/core/src/models/defaults.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ const SIGNED_IN_DEFAULT_PROVIDER = "rowboat";
 const SIGNED_IN_KG_MODEL = "google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite";
 const SIGNED_IN_LIVE_NOTE_AGENT_MODEL = "google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite";
 const SIGNED_IN_AUTO_PERMISSION_DECISION_MODEL = "google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite";
+// Must be on the gateway's server-side allowlist or title calls 403
+// "Model not allowed" (and silently keep the placeholder title).
+const SIGNED_IN_CHAT_TITLE_MODEL = "google/gemini-3.5-flash-lite";
 
 export type ModelSelection = z.infer<typeof ModelRef>;
 
@@ -158,6 +161,36 @@ export async function getMeetingNotesModel(): Promise<ModelSelection> {
     return getCategoryModel("meetingNotesModel", SIGNED_IN_DEFAULT_MODEL);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Model used to auto-name chat sessions from the first user message.
+ *
+ * Deliberately NOT getCategoryModel: that helper routes every signed-in user
+ * to the gateway, even one whose assistant default is a BYOK provider (the
+ * common "gateway limits exhausted, switched to own key" case) — and a title
+ * call against an exhausted gateway fails silently forever. Instead the
+ * curated model applies only when the assistant default itself routes
+ * through the gateway; otherwise titles follow the assistant provider.
+ */
+export async function getChatTitleModel(): Promise<ModelSelection> {
+    const signedIn = await isSignedIn();
+    const cfg = await readConfig();
+    const override = cfg?.chatTitleModel;
+    if (override) {
+        if (typeof override === "string") {
+            if (cfg) {
+                return { model: override, provider: cfg.provider.flavor };
+            }
+        } else if (override.provider !== "rowboat" || signedIn) {
+            return { model: override.model, provider: override.provider };
+        }
+    }
+    const dflt = await getDefaultModelAndProvider();
+    if (dflt.provider === SIGNED_IN_DEFAULT_PROVIDER) {
+        return { model: SIGNED_IN_CHAT_TITLE_MODEL, provider: SIGNED_IN_DEFAULT_PROVIDER };
+    }
+    return dflt;
+}
+
 /**
  * Model used by the background-task agent + routing classifier. Currently
  * mirrors `getLiveNoteAgentModel()` — both surfaces want a fast, reliable

apps/x/packages/core/src/runtime/sessions/sessions.ts

@@ -232,6 +232,13 @@ export class SessionsImpl implements ISessions {
             this.publishEntry(
                 sessionIndexEntry(reduceSession([...events, ...batch]), "idle"),
             );
+            if (!state.title) {
+                this.generateTitleInBackground(
+                    sessionId,
+                    defaultTitle(input),
+                    messageText(input),
+                );
+            }
             this.startTrackedAdvance(sessionId, turnId);
             return { turnId };
         });
@@ -319,6 +326,46 @@ export class SessionsImpl implements ISessions {
         this.startTrackedAdvance(sessionId, state.latestTurnId);
     }
 
+    // Fire-and-forget: replace the truncated-first-message placeholder with a
+    // short model-generated title. The placeholder stays if the call fails or
+    // the title changed in the meantime (e.g. a manual rename won the race).
+    private generateTitleInBackground(
+        sessionId: string,
+        placeholder: string,
+        firstMessage: string,
+    ): void {
+        void (async () => {
+            try {
+                // Dynamic import: generate_title reaches models/defaults →
+                // di/container, which imports this module (see traits.js note
+                // above) — a static import would close the cycle.
+                const { generateChatTitle } = await import(
+                    "../../knowledge/generate_title.js"
+                );
+                const title = await generateChatTitle(firstMessage);
+                if (!title || title === placeholder) return;
+                await this.sessionRepo.withLock(sessionId, async () => {
+                    const events = await this.sessionRepo.read(sessionId);
+                    const state = reduceSession(events);
+                    if (state.title !== placeholder) return;
+                    const batch: Array<z.infer<typeof SessionEvent>> = [
+                        { type: "title_changed", sessionId, ts: this.clock.now(), title },
+                    ];
+                    await this.sessionRepo.append(sessionId, batch);
+                    const existing = this.index.get(sessionId);
+                    this.publishEntry(
+                        sessionIndexEntry(
+                            reduceSession([...events, ...batch]),
+                            existing?.latestTurnStatus ?? "none",
+                        ),
+                    );
+                });
+            } catch {
+                // Placeholder title stays.
+            }
+        })();
+    }
+
     async setTitle(sessionId: string, title: string): Promise<void> {
         await this.sessionRepo.withLock(sessionId, async () => {
             const events = await this.sessionRepo.read(sessionId);
@@ -541,14 +588,18 @@ function withActiveSkills(
     };
 }
 
-function defaultTitle(input: z.infer<typeof UserMessage>): string {
+function messageText(input: z.infer<typeof UserMessage>): string {
     const text =
         typeof input.content === "string"
             ? input.content
             : input.content
                   .map((part) => (part.type === "text" ? part.text : ""))
                   .join(" ");
-    const collapsed = text.trim().replace(/\s+/g, " ");
+    return text.trim().replace(/\s+/g, " ");
+}
+
+function defaultTitle(input: z.infer<typeof UserMessage>): string {
+    const collapsed = messageText(input);
     if (collapsed.length === 0) {
         return "New session";
     }

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

@@ -74,4 +74,5 @@ export const LlmModelConfig = z.object({
   meetingNotesModel: ModelOverride.optional(),
   liveNoteAgentModel: ModelOverride.optional(),
   autoPermissionDecisionModel: ModelOverride.optional(),
+  chatTitleModel: ModelOverride.optional(),
 });