andreiborza · Nov 6, 2026 · Nov 6, 2026 · Nov 6, 2026
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import * as Sentry from '@sentry/node';
+import { generateText } from 'ai';
+import { MockLanguageModelV3 } from 'ai/test';
+
+const model = () =>
+  new MockLanguageModelV3({
+    doGenerate: async () => ({
+      finishReason: { unified: 'stop', raw: 'stop' },
+      usage: {
+        inputTokens: { total: 10, noCache: 10, cached: 0 },
+        outputTokens: { total: 20, noCache: 20, cached: 0 },
+        totalTokens: { total: 30, noCache: 30, cached: 0 },
+      },
+      content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'ok' }],
+      warnings: [],
+    }),
+  });
+
+const brief = { role: 'system', content: 'Be brief.' };
+const kind = { role: 'system', content: 'Be kind.' };
+
+async function run() {
+  await Sentry.startSpan({ op: 'function', name: 'main' }, async () => {
+    // v6 reads `system`, v7 reads `instructions`.
+    await generateText({
+      experimental_telemetry: { isEnabled: true, recordInputs: true },
+      system: brief,
+      instructions: brief,
+      model: model(),
+      prompt: 'hi',
+    });
+    await generateText({
+      experimental_telemetry: { isEnabled: true, recordInputs: true },
+      system: [brief, kind],
+      instructions: [brief, kind],
+      model: model(),
+      prompt: 'hi',
+    });
+  });
+}
+
+run();
@@ -1043,6 +1043,36 @@ describe.each(matrix)('Vercel AI integration (version %s)', (version, vercelAiVe
     },
   );
 
+  createEsmTests(
+    __dirname,
+    'scenario-system-message.mjs',
+    'instrument.mjs',
+    (createRunner, test) => {
+      test('records system instructions from system message objects', async () => {
+        await createRunner()
+          .expect({
+            span: container => {
+              const systemInstructions = container.items
+                .filter(span => span.attributes[SENTRY_OP]?.value === GEN_AI_INVOKE_AGENT)
+                .map(span => span.attributes[GEN_AI_SYSTEM_INSTRUCTIONS]?.value);
+
+              expect(systemInstructions).toEqual([
+                '[{"type":"text","content":"Be brief."}]',
+                '[{"type":"text","content":"Be brief."},{"type":"text","content":"Be kind."}]',
+              ]);
+            },
+          })
+          .start()
+          .completed();
+      });
+    },
+    {
+      additionalDependencies: {
+        ai: vercelAiVersion,
+      },
+    },
+  );
+
   createEsmTests(
     __dirname,
     'scenario-openai-conversation.mjs',

@@ -945,15 +945,24 @@ function resolveRecording(
   return globalDefault === true;
 }
 
+/** The `ai` SDK accepts the system prompt as `string | SystemModelMessage | SystemModelMessage[]`. */
+function getSystemInstructionParts(instructions: unknown): { type: 'text'; content: string }[] {
+  const messages = Array.isArray(instructions) ? instructions : [instructions];
+  return messages.flatMap(message => {
+    const content = asString(isObjectLike(message) ? message.content : message);
+    return content ? [{ type: 'text' as const, content }] : [];
+  });
+}
+
 function buildInputMessageAttributes(event: Record<string, unknown>): Record<string, string | number | undefined> {
   const attributes: Record<string, string | number | undefined> = {};
 
   // `ai` >= 7 forbids system messages in `messages`/`prompt` and exposes the system prompt as a
   // separate `instructions` field. The OTel path lifts the system message out of the prompt into
   // `gen_ai.system_instructions` as `[{ type: 'text', content }]`; mirror that shape here.
-  const instructions = asString(event.instructions);
-  if (instructions) {
-    attributes[GEN_AI_SYSTEM_INSTRUCTIONS] = stringify([{ type: 'text', content: instructions }]);
+  const instructions = getSystemInstructionParts(event.instructions);
+  if (instructions.length) {
+    attributes[GEN_AI_SYSTEM_INSTRUCTIONS] = stringify(instructions);
   }
 
   // The AI SDK start events extend `StandardizedPrompt`; messages live on `messages`, otherwise the

@@ -666,7 +666,7 @@ function buildTextMessage(type: 'generateText' | 'streamText' | 'generateObject'
       // The `ai` SDK takes the system prompt as a top-level `system` option (all of v4/v5/v6); the
       // shared core lifts `event.instructions` into the system-instructions attribute, matching v7's
       // native channel (which carries it as a distinct field rather than inside the messages array).
-      instructions: asString(options.system),
+      instructions: options.system,
       // Normalize to the message-array shape the shared core (and v7's channel) expects: a bare string
       // `prompt` becomes a single user message, matching the SDK's own normalization.
       messages: normalizePromptMessages(options),