fix: remove em dashes from prompt text

Author: steipete

src/agents/date-time.ts

@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ export function formatUserTime(
     const timePart = use24Hour
       ? `${map.hour}:${map.minute}`
       : `${map.hour}:${map.minute} ${map.dayPeriod ?? ""}`.trim();
-    return `${map.weekday}, ${map.month} ${dayNum}${suffix}, ${map.year} — ${timePart}`;
+    return `${map.weekday}, ${map.month} ${dayNum}${suffix}, ${map.year} - ${timePart}`;
   } catch {
     return undefined;
   }

src/agents/prompt-composition-scenarios.ts

@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ function buildCommonSystemParams(workspaceDir: string) {
       shell: "zsh",
     },
     userTimezone: "America/Los_Angeles",
-    userTime: "Monday, March 16th, 2026 — 9:00 PM",
+    userTime: "Monday, March 16th, 2026 - 9:00 PM",
     userTimeFormat: "12" as const,
     toolNames,
   };
@@ -568,7 +568,7 @@ async function createMaintenanceScenario(workspaceDir: string): Promise<PromptSc
     "Store durable memories only in memory/2026-03-15.md (create memory/ if needed).",
     "Treat workspace bootstrap/reference files such as MEMORY.md, SOUL.md, TOOLS.md, and AGENTS.md as read-only during this flush; never overwrite, replace, or edit them.",
     "If nothing to store, reply with NO_REPLY.",
-    "Current time: Sunday, March 15th, 2026 — 9:30 PM (America/Los_Angeles) / 2026-03-16 04:30 UTC",
+    "Current time: Sunday, March 15th, 2026 - 9:30 PM (America/Los_Angeles) / 2026-03-16 04:30 UTC",
   ].join("\n");
   const memoryFlushSystemPrompt = buildSystemPrompt({
     workspaceDir,
@@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ async function createMaintenanceScenario(workspaceDir: string): Promise<PromptSc
     "## Red Lines",
     "Do not delete production data.",
     "",
-    "Current time: Sunday, March 15th, 2026 — 9:30 PM (America/Los_Angeles) / 2026-03-16 04:30 UTC",
+    "Current time: Sunday, March 15th, 2026 - 9:30 PM (America/Los_Angeles) / 2026-03-16 04:30 UTC",
   ].join("\n");
   const postCompactionSystemPrompt = buildSystemPrompt({
     workspaceDir,

src/agents/system-prompt.test.ts

@@ -502,7 +502,7 @@ describe("buildAgentSystemPrompt", () => {
         params: {
           workspaceDir: "/tmp/openclaw",
           userTimezone: "America/Chicago",
-          userTime: "Monday, January 5th, 2026 — 3:26 PM",
+          userTime: "Monday, January 5th, 2026 - 3:26 PM",
           userTimeFormat: "12" as const,
         },
       },
@@ -511,7 +511,7 @@ describe("buildAgentSystemPrompt", () => {
         params: {
           workspaceDir: "/tmp/openclaw",
           userTimezone: "America/Chicago",
-          userTime: "Monday, January 5th, 2026 — 15:26",
+          userTime: "Monday, January 5th, 2026 - 15:26",
           userTimeFormat: "24" as const,
         },
       },
@@ -549,7 +549,7 @@ describe("buildAgentSystemPrompt", () => {
     const prompt = buildAgentSystemPrompt({
       workspaceDir: "/tmp/clawd",
       userTimezone: "America/Chicago",
-      userTime: "Monday, January 5th, 2026 — 3:26 PM",
+      userTime: "Monday, January 5th, 2026 - 3:26 PM",
       userTimeFormat: "12",
     });
 

src/auto-reply/reply/directive-handling.shared.ts

@@ -43,22 +43,22 @@ export const canPersistInternalVerboseDirective = canPersistInternalDirective;
 
 export const formatElevatedEvent = (level: ElevatedLevel) => {
   if (level === "full") {
-    return "Elevated FULL — exec runs on host with auto-approval.";
+    return "Elevated FULL - exec runs on host with auto-approval.";
   }
   if (level === "ask" || level === "on") {
-    return "Elevated ASK — exec runs on host; approvals may still apply.";
+    return "Elevated ASK - exec runs on host; approvals may still apply.";
   }
-  return "Elevated OFF — exec stays in sandbox.";
+  return "Elevated OFF - exec stays in sandbox.";
 };
 
 export const formatReasoningEvent = (level: ReasoningLevel) => {
   if (level === "stream") {
-    return "Reasoning STREAM — emit live <think>.";
+    return "Reasoning STREAM - emit live <think>.";
   }
   if (level === "on") {
-    return "Reasoning ON — include <think>.";
+    return "Reasoning ON - include <think>.";
   }
-  return "Reasoning OFF — hide <think>.";
+  return "Reasoning OFF - hide <think>.";
 };
 
 export function enqueueModeSwitchEvents(params: {

src/auto-reply/reply/get-reply-run.ts

@@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ export async function runPreparedReply(
   const skillsSnapshot = skillResult.skillsSnapshot;
   const mediaNote = buildInboundMediaNote(ctx);
   const mediaReplyHint = mediaNote
-    ? "To send an image back, prefer the message tool (media/path/filePath). If you must inline, use MEDIA:https://example.com/image.jpg (spaces ok, quote if needed) or a safe relative path like MEDIA:./image.jpg. Avoid absolute paths (MEDIA:/...) and ~ paths — they are blocked for security. Keep caption in the text body."
+    ? "To send an image back, prefer the message tool (media/path/filePath). If you must inline, use MEDIA:https://example.com/image.jpg (spaces ok, quote if needed) or a safe relative path like MEDIA:./image.jpg. Avoid absolute paths (MEDIA:/...) and ~ paths - they are blocked for security. Keep caption in the text body."
     : undefined;
   let { prefixedCommandBody, queuedBody } = await rebuildPromptBodies();
   if (!resolvedThinkLevel) {

src/auto-reply/reply/groups.ts

@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ export function buildGroupChatContext(params: { sessionCtx: TemplateContext }):
     lines.push(`Participants: ${members}.`);
   }
   lines.push(
-    "Your replies are automatically sent to this group chat. Do not use the message tool to send to this same group — just reply normally.",
+    "Your replies are automatically sent to this group chat. Do not use the message tool to send to this same group - just reply normally.",
   );
   return lines.join(" ");
 }

src/auto-reply/reply/post-compaction-context.test.ts

@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ Never modify memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md destructively.
     expect(result).toContain("memory/2026-03-03.md");
     expect(result).not.toContain("memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md");
     expect(result).toContain(
-      "Current time: Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 — 9:00 AM (America/New_York) / 2026-03-03 14:00 UTC",
+      "Current time: Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 - 9:00 AM (America/New_York) / 2026-03-03 14:00 UTC",
     );
   });
 

src/auto-reply/reply/post-compaction-context.ts

@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ export async function readPostCompactionContext(
     // would be misleading for deployments that use different section names.
     const prose = isDefaultSections
       ? "Session was just compacted. The conversation summary above is a hint, NOT a substitute for your startup sequence. " +
-        "Run your Session Startup sequence — read the required files before responding to the user."
+        "Run your Session Startup sequence - read the required files before responding to the user."
       : `Session was just compacted. The conversation summary above is a hint, NOT a substitute for your full startup sequence. ` +
         `Re-read the sections injected below (${displayNames.join(", ")}) and follow your configured startup procedure before responding to the user.`;
 

src/auto-reply/reply/session-reset-prompt.test.ts

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ describe("buildBareSessionResetPrompt", () => {
     const nowMs = Date.UTC(2026, 2, 3, 14, 0, 0);
     const prompt = buildBareSessionResetPrompt(cfg, nowMs);
     expect(prompt).toContain(
-      "Current time: Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 — 9:00 AM (America/New_York) / 2026-03-03 14:00 UTC",
+      "Current time: Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 - 9:00 AM (America/New_York) / 2026-03-03 14:00 UTC",
     );
   });