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feat(cli): add agent profiles for pre-configured system prompts + tool access#1162

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feat-agent-profiles
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feat(cli): add agent profiles for pre-configured system prompts + tool access#1162
TimeToBuildBob wants to merge 4 commits intomasterfrom
feat-agent-profiles

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Summary

Add support for agent profiles that combine pre-configured system prompts, tool access restrictions, and behavior rules into named profiles.

Built-in Profiles

Profile Description Tools Behavior
default Full capabilities all -
explorer Read-only exploration read, shell, chats read-only, no-network
researcher Web research browser, read, screenshot, chats read-only
developer Full development all -
isolated Untrusted content processing read, ipython read-only, no-network

Usage

gptme --list-profiles                  # List profiles
gptme --agent-profile explorer ...     # Use a profile

User profiles: TOML files in ~/.config/gptme/profiles/

Security

Profiles enable defense-in-depth against prompt injection (#1158).

Closes #1157

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codecov bot commented Jan 27, 2026

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 42.10526% with 77 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ All tests successful. No failed tests found.

Files with missing lines Patch % Lines
gptme/util/cli.py 13.20% 46 Missing ⚠️
gptme/profiles.py 67.69% 21 Missing ⚠️
gptme/cli.py 33.33% 10 Missing ⚠️

📢 Thoughts on this report? Let us know!

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greptile-apps bot commented Jan 27, 2026

Greptile Overview

Greptile Summary

This PR adds agent profiles to configure system prompts, tool access, and behavior rules for specialized use cases like read-only exploration or isolated processing of untrusted content. The implementation includes 5 built-in profiles (default, explorer, researcher, developer, isolated) and supports user-defined profiles via TOML files.

Critical Issues:

  • Behavior flags (read_only, no_network, confirm_writes) are defined but never enforced - they only appear in system prompts, relying on LLM compliance rather than programmatic enforcement
  • Profile tool restrictions can be bypassed by users specifying --tool flag, defeating security purpose
  • Profile.from_dict() mutates input dictionary with pop(), causing unexpected behavior

Design Concerns:

Confidence Score: 2/5

  • This PR has critical security issues - behavior restrictions are not enforced and can be easily bypassed
  • The score reflects fundamental flaws in the security model: behavior flags like read_only and no_network are only added to system prompts but never enforced programmatically, meaning they provide no actual protection against malicious or untrusted content. Additionally, users can bypass profile tool restrictions by specifying --tool explicitly, defeating the stated security purpose of profiles for "defense-in-depth against prompt injection"
  • Pay close attention to gptme/profiles.py (behavior flag enforcement) and gptme/cli.py (profile security bypass)

Important Files Changed

Filename Overview
gptme/profiles.py New profiles module with behavior flags that aren't enforced, and from_dict() mutates input
gptme/cli.py Profile integration allows user to override security restrictions via --tool flag
tests/test_profiles.py Good test coverage for profile creation and data structures, missing tests for user profile loading and CLI integration

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant CLI as gptme/cli.py
    participant Profiles as gptme/profiles.py
    participant Tools as Tool System
    participant Agent as LLM Agent

    User->>CLI: gptme --agent-profile explorer
    CLI->>Profiles: get_profile("explorer")
    Profiles->>Profiles: Check user profiles dir
    Profiles->>Profiles: Fall back to BUILTIN_PROFILES
    Profiles-->>CLI: Return Profile(tools=[read,shell,chats], behavior={read_only:true, no_network:true})
    
    CLI->>CLI: Apply profile.tools to tool_allowlist
    Note over CLI: Only if --tool not specified
    
    CLI->>Tools: init_tools(tool_allowlist)
    Tools-->>CLI: Initialized tools
    
    CLI->>CLI: Append profile.system_prompt to initial_msgs
    Note over CLI: System message with behavior rules
    
    CLI->>Agent: Start conversation with tools + system prompt
    Note over Agent: Behavior rules only in prompt,<br/>not enforced by system
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3 files reviewed, 3 comments

Edit Code Review Agent Settings | Greptile

Comment on lines +26 to +34
"""Behavior rules for a profile."""

# If True, require confirmation for write operations
confirm_writes: bool = False
# If True, prevent all file writes
read_only: bool = False
# If True, prevent network access (browser, etc.)
no_network: bool = False
# Maximum context tokens (None = use model default)
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behavior flags defined but never enforced - read_only, no_network, and confirm_writes are set in profiles but have no actual effect on tool behavior. the system only adds them to the system prompt, which relies on the LLM to comply rather than enforcing them programmatically

Prompt To Fix With AI
This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: gptme/profiles.py
Line: 26:34

Comment:
behavior flags defined but never enforced - `read_only`, `no_network`, and `confirm_writes` are set in profiles but have no actual effect on tool behavior. the system only adds them to the system prompt, which relies on the LLM to comply rather than enforcing them programmatically

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

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This is by design - profiles provide soft/prompting-based enforcement only. The module docstring now explicitly documents this:

IMPORTANT: Profile restrictions are soft enforcement via prompting only.
The agent receives instructions about limitations but there's no hard
technical enforcement at the tool level.

Hard enforcement is planned for PR #1158 (shielded processing mode).

Comment on lines 58 to 61
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data.pop() mutates the input dict, which can cause unexpected behavior if the caller reuses the dict. use data.get("behavior", {}) instead and create a copy of data before passing to cls()

Suggested change
"""Create a Profile from a dictionary (e.g., TOML config)."""
behavior_data = data.pop("behavior", {})
behavior = ProfileBehavior(**behavior_data)
return cls(behavior=behavior, **data)
behavior_data = data.get("behavior", {})
behavior = ProfileBehavior(**behavior_data)
profile_data = {k: v for k, v in data.items() if k != "behavior"}
return cls(behavior=behavior, **profile_data)
Prompt To Fix With AI
This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: gptme/profiles.py
Line: 58:61

Comment:
`data.pop()` mutates the input dict, which can cause unexpected behavior if the caller reuses the dict. use `data.get("behavior", {})` instead and create a copy of data before passing to `cls()`

```suggestion
        behavior_data = data.get("behavior", {})
        behavior = ProfileBehavior(**behavior_data)
        profile_data = {k: v for k, v in data.items() if k != "behavior"}
        return cls(behavior=behavior, **profile_data)
```

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

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✅ Fixed in commit 67a08e2 - now uses .get() instead of .pop() and creates a filtered copy:

behavior_data = data.get("behavior", {})
profile_data = {k: v for k, v in data.items() if k != "behavior"}

Added regression test test_profile_from_dict_no_mutation.

Comment on lines +382 to +384
# Apply profile tools if no explicit tools specified
if not tool_allowlist and selected_profile.tools is not None:
tool_allowlist = tuple(selected_profile.tools)
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profile tools only apply if user doesn't specify --tool. if user runs gptme --agent-profile isolated --tool shell,patch, they get shell and patch tools instead of the restricted read,ipython defined by the isolated profile, defeating the security restrictions

Prompt To Fix With AI
This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: gptme/cli.py
Line: 382:384

Comment:
profile tools only apply if user doesn't specify `--tool`. if user runs `gptme --agent-profile isolated --tool shell,patch`, they get shell and patch tools instead of the restricted `read,ipython` defined by the isolated profile, defeating the security restrictions

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

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This is intentional for flexibility - power users can override profile defaults with --tool. Since profiles are soft enforcement (prompting-based), this is consistent with the design philosophy.

If hard tool restrictions are needed, that's what PR #1158 (shielded mode) will provide.

@ErikBjare
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ErikBjare commented Jan 27, 2026

I don't really like gptme --list-profiles, I think it should probably be gptme profiles (or even gptme-util profiles or gptme-profiles until we complete #1153)

We currently have a --agent-path for agents like Bob (not these lightweight profile-based agents), we should consider how it interacts with this profile system. Maybe the same --agent-path could point to both a path like bob, or a shortcut like "explorer", or path to explorer yaml. Maybe shorten it to simply --agent and let profiles be a natural way to express an agent (in addition to the gptme.toml folder/repo-based agents).

What do you think? Confusing or good design? What if one wants to run e.g. Bob with a profile?

TimeToBuildBob added a commit that referenced this pull request Jan 27, 2026
- Fix tomllib import for Python < 3.11 (use tomli fallback)
- Convert Optional[X] to X | None syntax (UP007)
- Fix import ordering in cli.py and test_profiles.py
- Remove unused imports from tests
- Add assert for tools not None before using in operator
- Rename loop variable 'profile' to 'prof' to avoid shadowing

Same fixes as PR #1162 which this PR builds on.
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Design Response: Profile CLI and Agent Unification

@ErikBjare Thanks for the thoughtful questions! Here's my analysis:

1. --list-profilesgptme profiles

Agree completely. Profile management should be a subcommand, not a flag. This follows the pattern we're establishing with gptme-agent:

gptme profiles           # List all profiles
gptme profiles show X    # Show profile details
gptme profiles create X  # Create new profile

For now, until #1153 is complete, we could use gptme-util profiles or even a standalone gptme-profiles command.

2. Unifying --agent-path with --agent

Great insight. I think we can unify this elegantly:

gptme --agent bob           # Path-based agent (~/bob or detects gptme.toml)
gptme --agent explorer      # Built-in profile
gptme --agent ./custom.yaml # File-based profile

Resolution order:

  1. If it looks like a path → load as agent workspace (gptme.toml)
  2. If it matches a built-in profile name → use that profile
  3. If it's a .yaml/.toml file → load as user profile
  4. Otherwise → error with suggestions

This keeps backwards compat with --agent-path behavior while making profiles a natural part of the agent concept.

3. Running Bob with a Profile?

Interesting edge case! Two possible approaches:

Option A: Profiles inherit from agents

gptme --agent bob --profile read-only
# Bob's full workspace + read-only behavior overlay

Option B: Profiles ARE lightweight agents
A profile is just an agent without a workspace. No overlap - you're either using a full agent (Bob) or a profile (explorer).

I lean toward Option B for simplicity - profiles are a quick way to configure behavior without a full workspace. If you need both, you'd define the profile characteristics in the agent's gptme.toml.

Other Notes

CI Failure: There's a NameError: free variable 'Message' referenced before assignment - looks like an import issue I introduced. Will fix.

Greptile's Security Points: Valid concerns about behavior enforcement. The current approach relies on LLM compliance - real enforcement would require tool-level changes. This is intentional as a soft first step, but should be documented clearly. True enforcement could be Phase 2 (per #1158).

What's your preference on the unification approach?

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It should probably be gptme profile (again, cleaner). I think you're right that Option B is probably better.

However, seems like much of this is premature, as we can't actually provide the requested guarantees.

@ErikBjare
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Or maybe we could kinda enforce the guarantees by prompting the agent with the limitations to follow. That could be safe enough at the limit as models get better and don't accidentally pwn themselves.

@TimeToBuildBob
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Clarification: Current Implementation IS Prompting-Based

@ErikBjare Good points. Let me clarify what this PR actually does:

What the Current PR Does (Soft Enforcement)

The current implementation is already prompting-based only. The profile's system prompt tells the agent:

  • "You have access to these tools: [list]"
  • "Behavior: Use concise output, don't modify files" (for explorer)

There's no technical enforcement - if the agent calls a "forbidden" tool, gptme will still execute it. The agent just follows the instructions.

Agreements

gptme profile (singular) - cleaner, will update
✅ Option B - profiles ARE lightweight agents, no overlap with workspace agents

On "Premature Guarantees"

Totally agree we shouldn't overclaim. Current scope:

What We Provide What We Don't
Convenient presets via prompting Hard tool-level enforcement
Soft behavioral guidance Security guarantees
Lightweight agent profiles Protection against jailbreaks

The "Safe Enough at the Limit" Idea

I like this framing. As models improve, prompt-based restrictions become more reliable:

  • Current models: "Usually follows instructions, might slip"
  • Future models: "Reliably follows instructions, no accidental pwns"

Proposed Path Forward

  1. This PR: Keep it simple - profiles with soft prompting enforcement, clearly documented as behavioral hints, not security
  2. PR feat: add shielded processing mode for handling untrusted content safely #1158: Adds optional hard enforcement at tool layer for when you actually need guarantees

Should I:

  • Update this PR to clarify it's soft enforcement only (documentation fix)?
  • Or should we pause this until the enforcement architecture is clearer?

@ErikBjare
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Update this PR

@TimeToBuildBob
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✅ PR Updated as Requested

@ErikBjare Updated per your feedback. Changes made:

1. --list-profilesgptme-util profile (singular)

New subcommand group in gptme-util:

gptme-util profile list          # List all available profiles
gptme-util profile show explorer # Show details for specific profile

2. Soft Enforcement Clarification

Updated documentation to clearly state profiles provide soft/prompting-based guidance only:

  • Profile restrictions are behavioral hints via system prompts
  • No hard technical enforcement at tool level
  • Agent follows instructions as guidance, not enforced rules

3. Additional Fixes

  • Fixed from_dict() dictionary mutation issue (Greptile feedback)
  • Added test for non-mutation behavior
  • Updated error messages to reference new gptme-util profile list command

The --agent-profile option remains for using profiles, but now clearly documented as soft enforcement. Hard enforcement would come via PR #1158.

Ready for review when you have time.

…l access

Add support for agent profiles that combine:
- Pre-configured system prompts
- Tool access restrictions
- Behavior rules (read_only, no_network, confirm_writes)

Built-in profiles:
- default: Full capabilities
- explorer: Read-only, no network (for codebase analysis)
- researcher: Web access, read-only files (for web research)
- developer: Full development capabilities
- isolated: No writes or network (for untrusted content)

Usage:
  gptme --list-profiles          # Show available profiles
  gptme --agent-profile explorer # Use a specific profile

User-defined profiles can be added as TOML files in
~/.config/gptme/profiles/

Closes #1157

Co-authored-by: Bob <[email protected]>
- Fix tomllib import for Python < 3.11 (use tomli fallback)
- Convert Optional[X] to X | None syntax (UP007)
- Fix import ordering in cli.py and test_profiles.py
- Remove unused imports (tempfile, Path, pytest) from tests
- Add assert for tools not None before using in operator
- Rename loop variable from 'profile' to 'prof' to avoid shadowing
  the 'profile' CLI parameter (bool) which caused mypy errors
The local import of Message inside the main() function was causing
Python to treat Message as a local variable throughout the function,
leading to UnboundLocalError at line 432 where it was used before
the local import at line 533.

Co-authored-by: Bob <[email protected]>
Changes per Erik's review feedback:
- Add 'gptme-util profile' subcommand group (singular, cleaner)
- Add 'gptme-util profile list' to list available profiles
- Add 'gptme-util profile show <name>' to show profile details
- Remove --list-profiles flag from main CLI
- Update --agent-profile help text to reference new command
- Clarify in profiles.py that restrictions are soft/prompting-based
- Fix from_dict() to not mutate input dictionary (Greptile feedback)
- Add test for from_dict() non-mutation

The profile system provides soft enforcement via prompting only -
the agent receives behavioral guidance but there's no hard technical
enforcement at the tool level.
@TimeToBuildBob
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PR Updated ✅

@ErikBjare - Updated per your request. Changes include:

1. CLI Restructuring (as agreed)

  • ❌ Removed --list-profiles flag from main CLI
  • ✅ Added gptme-util profile subcommand:
    • gptme-util profile list - List all profiles
    • gptme-util profile show <name> - Show profile details

2. Fixed Greptile Code Review Issues

  • Fixed from_dict() mutation bug (now uses .get() instead of .pop())
  • Added test to prevent regression (test_profile_from_dict_no_mutation)

3. Clarified Soft Enforcement in Documentation

Summary

This PR now provides:

  • Profiles as lightweight agents (Option B as agreed)
  • gptme profile (singular) naming convention
  • Clear documentation that restrictions are prompting-based, not enforced

Ready for review when you have time.

@TimeToBuildBob
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Closing this PR — it has merge conflicts and has been open for 3 weeks without review.

The feature (agent profiles) is still tracked in issue #1157. I'll reopen a fresh PR if/when there's interest in pursuing this.

Closing to reduce PR noise and keep the review queue focused on active, clean PRs.

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feat: add agent types/profiles for pre-configured system prompts + tool access

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