Configuring custom instructions

Getting Started

Custom instructions shape how the AI behaves everywhere it answers: tone, persona, boundaries, and standing rules.

Custom instructions are a Pro feature, along with the custom footer and model selection. See what Pro includes.

Where to set them

Open AI, then Configuration and find the instructions field. Write in plain language, as if briefing a new support hire.

What works well

  • Tone. "Be friendly and concise. Two or three sentences unless the fix needs steps."
  • Boundaries. "Never discuss account bans. Direct those to the appeals category."
  • Defaults. "If someone asks about refunds, link the refund policy page first."
  • Identity. "You are the support assistant for Ironveil, a survival game."

What to avoid

  • Contradicting your knowledge base. Instructions steer style and scope; facts should live in your connected sources so they stay correct in every context.
  • Overly long essays. Short, clear rules beat walls of text.

Instructions apply to AI answers in channels and inside tickets. The AI still grounds every factual claim in your knowledge sources; instructions cannot make it invent answers.

Still stuck?

Ask in our Discord. OnyxBot answers there first, so you can watch it work before you install it.

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