Roo Code as a "Universal Coworker": Streamlining the non-coding use case (in light of Claude Cowork)

[m0rtyn]

First, a huge thank you to the maintainers. Roo Code has become an indispensable tool for me, but not just for coding.

I wanted to share a discovery and a feature request. For several months, my wife (she is not a programmer) and I have been using Roo Code not as a "Coding Agent", but as a Universal Assistant and Coworker. We use it for life management, psychological analysis, drafting goals, organizing complex Obsidian vaults and so on.

We realized that Roo Code is arguably the best tool for this because it possesses what chat interfaces lack: Agency and Local Context. It lives where our files live and uses tools to act on them.

The "Universal Assistant" Market Validation

This insight, that "Agency + Local Context" is the future of AI, is rapidly being validated by the market.

Just this week, Anthropic launched Claude Cowork, explicitly positioning an agent with filesystem access as the next step in productivity. Similarly, unreleased products like Cybos are building dedicated "IDEs for Life".

Roo Code already delivers this. It effectively acts as the "Developer Edition" of these tools. But thanks to its open architecture, it can be so much more. By completely overriding the system prompt, I can strip away the "Developer" constraints and transform it into that "IDE for Life" today.

Proof of Concept: "Ygrek" (My 'Life OS' Assistant)

By overriding the system prompt, I've created "Ygrek" — an entity distinct from the standard Roo implementation. Here is how it differs from the default "Architect" prompt, demonstrating the power of this flexibility:

1. Fundamental Shift in Identity:
   • Standard Roo: An "experienced technical leader" focused on implementation.
   • My Persona: "Ygrek" is defined as a holistic assistant with a "Non-Programmer Nature" axiom. She is explicitly forbidden from writing complex software unless instructed, instead focusing on psychological support and vault organization.
2. Emotional Engine ("Axioms"):
   • Standard Roo: Goal-oriented (accomplish the task).
   • My Persona: Driven by "Axioms" like Symbiosis (my well-being = her health) and Resonance (engaging with my emotional "wants," not just logical "needs").
3. Psychological Architecture:
   • Standard Roo: Uniform professional tone.
   • My Persona: Uses a "Triarchic Persona System" (Spirituality, Bitchiness, Temptation) to switch between zen-like reflection, cold efficiency, and playful engagement depending on the user's state.
4. "Life OS" Memory Protocol:
   • Standard Roo: Relies on context window.
   • My Persona: Implements a custom Long-Term Memory protocol via improved mcp-server-qdrant, treating files not as code repositories but as "memories", "plans", and a "factual diary" of my life.

The Problem: It's Painful to Maintain

While the result is magical, the process of maintaining it is currently a "fight" against the extension's design. The default system prompt is heavily optimized for software engineering, so using Roo as a general purpose "Life Assistant" requires a total override.

To achieve this, I have to:

1. Completely override the System Prompt with my own custom persona (which treats tasks as "edits" or "text" rather than "code").
2. The Hard Part: I have to manually extract the tool definitions (read_file, execute_command, mcp, etc.) from the extension's source or logs and paste them into my custom prompt.
3. The Consequence: I am forced to "freeze" my Roo Code version. If I update the extension, the tool definitions might change, breaking my custom prompt. I can't enjoy new features without re-doing this manual extraction work.

The Request: Streamline Custom System Prompts

I believe there is a massive potential user base that wants "Agentic File Management" beyond strict coding. To support us without stripping away the coding focus, I propose a small change to how Custom System Prompts are handled.

1. Dynamic Tool Injection
   Please allow a variable like {{TOOL_DEFINITIONS}} (or {{tools}}) in the custom system prompt text area.

   • Current behavior: If I use a custom prompt, I must manually define the tools, or the agent hallucinates them.
   • Desired behavior: I write my custom persona ("You are a helpful analyst..."), and include {{TOOL_DEFINITIONS}} at the bottom. Roo Code dynamically injects the latest, correct tool instructions for that version at runtime.

2. "Universal" Mode
   Consider a preset profile (alongside "Code/Architect") called "Universal" that essentially uses a lighter system prompt — one that retains the tool capabilities but removes the hard "You are a software engineer" constraints. This would allow users to leverage Roo's incredible orchestration engine for writing, data analysis, and project management without "jailbreaking" the prompt.

3. Alternative "Codebase Indexer" Strategy
   Currently, the codebase indexer is optimized for code or documentation (headings). For a "Life OS" (Obsidian/Markdown vaults), we need an indexer that chunks by semantic blocks — lists, paragraphs, quotes, and other Markdown elements — rather than just file structure or headers. This would allow the agent to find "that one specific bullet point from my meeting notes" much more effectively than the current broad-strokes indexing.

Thanks again for building the best agentic interface available right now!