[GH-ISSUE #11829] feat: automatically add temporal information in every prompt by default (switchable off in preference) #16370

New Issue

GiteaMirror · 2026-04-19T22:18:26-05:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-19 22:18:26 -05:00

Originally created by @Fade78 on GitHub (Mar 18, 2025).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/issues/11829

Check Existing Issues

I have searched the existing issues and discussions.

Problem Description

LLM doesn't now the date and time. You have multiple way to add it into context (I tried with tools but tools doesn't seem to understand the timezone, unless specified by the user). I have some very newbies users and it shouldn't require any setting to have temporal information.

Desired Solution you'd like

A setting that an administrator could switch on would include the following in every prompt made by any user of the system. There could be an additional setting to use 12AM/PM or 24H, if the user didn't specify anything.

Here are temporal information, in case you need them. Use the 24H format by default.
* Current date: {{CURRENT_DATE}}
* Current time: {{CURRENT_TIME}}
* Current timezone: {{CURRENT_TIMEZONE}}
* Current week day: {{CURRENT_WEEKDAY}}

Emphasis on user timezone which is the main difficulty on my side.

Alternatives Considered

Putting this prompt snippet in every model.
Asking every user to put it in his own settings.
Using a tool (didn't find a way to get timezone information without user adding them to their context. Also, a tool for that may be too heavy?)

Additional Context

"Give me some news from march 2025"

[Difficult] Connect to internet -> success
[Difficult] Find sources -> success
[Difficult] Parse source and vectorize them -> success
[Difficult] Understanding and summerizing -> success
[Difficult] Everything happens in a multi-user environment -> success

Use case is a success.

"Give me the latest news"

[Difficulty level: 3 year old] Get current time (in the user time zone) -> failure
other steps can't execute

Use case is a failure.

Originally created by @Fade78 on GitHub (Mar 18, 2025). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/issues/11829 ### Check Existing Issues - [x] I have searched the existing issues and discussions. ### Problem Description LLM doesn't now the date and time. You have multiple way to add it into context (I tried with tools but tools doesn't seem to understand the timezone, unless specified by the user). I have some very newbies users and it shouldn't require any setting to have temporal information. ### Desired Solution you'd like A setting that an administrator could switch on would include the following in every prompt made by any user of the system. There could be an additional setting to use 12AM/PM or 24H, if the user didn't specify anything. ``` Here are temporal information, in case you need them. Use the 24H format by default. * Current date: {{CURRENT_DATE}} * Current time: {{CURRENT_TIME}} * Current timezone: {{CURRENT_TIMEZONE}} * Current week day: {{CURRENT_WEEKDAY}} ``` Emphasis on user timezone which is the main difficulty on my side. ### Alternatives Considered * Putting this prompt snippet in every model. * Asking every user to put it in his own settings. * Using a tool (didn't find a way to get timezone information without user adding them to their context. Also, a tool for that may be too heavy?) ### Additional Context #### "Give me some news from march 2025" - [Difficult] Connect to internet -> success - [Difficult] Find sources -> success - [Difficult] Parse source and vectorize them -> success - [Difficult] Understanding and summerizing -> success - [Difficult] Everything happens in a multi-user environment -> success Use case is a success. #### "Give me the latest news" - [Difficulty level: 3 year old] Get current time (in the user time zone) -> failure - other steps can't execute Use case is a failure.

GiteaMirror closed this issue

2026-04-19 22:18:26 -05:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-19 22:18:27 -05:00

@Classic298 commented on GitHub (Mar 18, 2025):

You can just add this in the system prompt of every model you add in the admin panel (not sure if that's what you meant by "Putting this prompt snippet in every model").

Adding an extra toggle for such a simple thing will extra complexity to OpenWebUI.
"I have some very newbies users and it shouldn't require any setting to have temporal information."
So did or did you not try to add this to the system prompt of a model? This would ultimately solve this problem you are facing.

@Classic298 commented on GitHub (Mar 18, 2025): You can just add this in the system prompt of every model you add in the admin panel (not sure if that's what you meant by "Putting this prompt snippet in every model"). Adding an extra toggle for such a simple thing will extra complexity to OpenWebUI. "I have some very newbies users and it shouldn't require any setting to have temporal information." So did or did you not try to add this to the system prompt of a model? This would ultimately solve this problem you are facing.

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-19 22:18:27 -05:00

@Fade78 commented on GitHub (Mar 19, 2025):

You can just add this in the system prompt of every model you add in the admin panel (not sure if that's what you meant by "Putting this prompt snippet in every model").

Adding an extra toggle for such a simple thing will extra complexity to OpenWebUI. "I have some very newbies users and it shouldn't require any setting to have temporal information." So did or did you not try to add this to the system prompt of a model? This would ultimately solve this problem you are facing.

I tried and succeeded to add this to the model prompt. But I have currently 84 models ready to be served and it's a lot to do by hand, especially if you want this to be switchable to off for testing or other purpose.

@Fade78 commented on GitHub (Mar 19, 2025): > You can just add this in the system prompt of every model you add in the admin panel (not sure if that's what you meant by "Putting this prompt snippet in every model"). > > Adding an extra toggle for such a simple thing will extra complexity to OpenWebUI. "I have some very newbies users and it shouldn't require any setting to have temporal information." So did or did you not try to add this to the system prompt of a model? This would ultimately solve this problem you are facing. I tried and succeeded to add this to the model prompt. But I have currently 84 models ready to be served and it's a lot to do by hand, especially if you want this to be switchable to off for testing or other purpose.

GiteaMirror referenced this issue

2026-04-19 23:46:11 -05:00

[GH-ISSUE #16370] issue: Public Sharing Still Possible When Disabled in Admin Panel #17876

GiteaMirror referenced this issue

2026-04-25 07:18:50 -05:00

[GH-ISSUE #16370] issue: Public Sharing Still Possible When Disabled in Admin Panel #33405

GiteaMirror referenced this issue

2026-05-05 19:40:15 -05:00

[GH-ISSUE #16370] issue: Public Sharing Still Possible When Disabled in Admin Panel #56542

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