* Python: Preserve structured instructions when merging chat options
`instructions` is declared as `str` on `ChatOptions`, but chat clients may widen it
to a provider-native structured form. Three merge paths combined it with an f-string,
which coerced any non-string value to its `repr`, turning structured metadata into
literal text before any client could see it:
- `merge_chat_options` (`_types.py`)
- `_merge_options` (`_agents.py`, agent defaults + per-run options)
- provider-contributed instructions in `_prepare_session_and_messages` (`_agents.py`)
The last of these is the reported case: once any context provider (for example
`SkillsProvider`) contributes instructions, structured instructions were replaced by
their `repr`, so the model received Python dict syntax as its system prompt and
Anthropic prompt caching silently stopped working.
Add a shared `_append_instructions` helper that concatenates strings as before and
otherwise extends element-wise, always appending so the leading portion stays
unchanged for providers that treat it as a stable, structure-sensitive prefix. A lone
mapping is treated as a single element rather than iterated into its keys.
On the Anthropic side, `_extract_structured_instructions` now normalizes bare strings
into text blocks, since appended instructions arrive alongside caller-supplied blocks.
Fixes#7700
Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot-Session: f428b149-a306-484a-b423-4e9de69f0b90
* Python: address review feedback on structured instructions fix
Parameterize the Anthropic regression test over both the with- and
without-SkillsProvider configurations so the structure-preserving behavior
is asserted in the baseline case too.
Normalize structured instructions in `_get_instructions_from_options` so
telemetry records the instruction text for provider-native block shapes,
extracting only `text` values to keep provider metadata out of spans.
Use `cast` for the structured `default_options` in both regression tests so
the test type checkers resolve the client options type correctly.
Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot-Session: f428b149-a306-484a-b423-4e9de69f0b90
---------
Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Evan Mattson <35585003+moonbox3@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot-Session: f428b149-a306-484a-b423-4e9de69f0b90
Giles Odigwe
8be7c93063