feat(prompt): add configurable Mecatl commit co-author guidance
@jbeda is already working on this.
Since Sep 15, 2026.
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Description
Problem
The harness currently does not give its agents a canonical commit co-author identity. As a result, PR #1591 was committed with Co-authored-by: OpenAI Codex <codex@openai.com> even though Mecatl, not Codex, performed the work.
Desired behavior
By default, the standard model-visible commit guidance instructs every agent that creates a commit to append exactly:
Co-authored-by: Mecatl <noreply@mecatl.dev>
The instruction must reach every applicable agent path through the shared standard/system-prompt assembly, rather than relying on a caller or a skill to remember it.
Configuration
Introduce an operator-tier settings.yaml system-prompt configuration section with an explicit opt-out for this guidance. Proposed shape:
system_prompt:
commit_coauthor: false
Default is enabled when the key is absent. Project-tier configuration must not be able to disable provenance guidance.
Acceptance criteria
- The default built standard prompt contains the exact Mecatl co-author instruction.
- With the operator opt-out, that instruction is absent.
- Main and child/delegated agents receive the same default guidance through the real composition path.
- The new config parses strictly, appears in generated configuration reference/skeleton output, and documents its operator-only/default-on semantics.
- Prompt-level tests assert the instruction at the layer that owns it, so a duplicate phrase elsewhere cannot mask a missing wiring path.
Non-goals
- Do not rewrite existing Git history or alter externally authored commit trailers.
- Do not add a second, ad hoc commit-message construction path.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Assessment
This issue has not been assessed yet.