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Instruction files are named documents a bot reads right after its instructions, on every run. Use them for the facts the bot must always know:
  • A rulebook or policy
  • A price list
  • Opening hours and delivery areas
  • Answers to common questions

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Add a file

  1. Open the bot’s settings and find Files, under Instructions.
  2. Click Add file, type a File name and click Add.
  3. Click the file to open it, then paste or type its content. It saves when you click away.
The bot reads the files in the order shown. Use Move up and Move down to change the order. Empty files are skipped.

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Limits

Anyone who can edit the bot can edit its files.

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History and restore

Click File history on a file to see its recent versions, each marked as an edit, a rename or a restore, with its date. Click Restore to bring a version back. The 20 most recent versions of each file are listed there.

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The forever archive

Nothing in an instruction file is ever lost. Every edit, rename, restore and delete keeps the version it replaced in a permanent archive. A deleted file stays in the archive with all of its content. You do not browse the archive yourself. You ask the bot.

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Ask the bot what changed

The bot has a read-only tool, instruction_file_history, that reads the archive. Ask questions like:
  • “When did the express delivery fee change?”
  • “What did the returns policy say on 1 October?”
  • “Show me what was in the price list before it was deleted.”
Without at, the tool lists changes newest first, with the lines taken out and the lines put in. With at, it returns the full text of each file as it was on that date.
Bots read instruction files but do not edit them. Only people change them, from bot settings or the API.