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OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt #810

Description

@aidandaly24

Description

The OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP agent templates ship with no system prompt. The agent has zero baseline instructions — it doesn't know it's supposed to be helpful, use tools, or behave in any particular way.

The Strands and Google ADK templates both include a system prompt ("You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."), but OpenAI Agents and LangGraph were missed.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. agentcore create --name test --defaults --framework OpenAIAgents (or LangChain_LangGraph)
  2. Inspect app/test/main.py
  3. Observe there is no instructions= on the OpenAI Agent() constructor, or no prompt= on create_react_agent()

Expected Behavior

All templates should include a baseline system prompt consistent with the other frameworks, so agents have a default personality and know to use available tools.

Actual Behavior

  • OpenAI Agents: Agent() constructor has no instructions= parameter — the agent runs with no system prompt.
  • LangGraph: create_react_agent() has no prompt= parameter — same issue.

Additional Context

This is inconsistent with the Strands and Google ADK templates which both include:

"You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."

Without a system prompt, the agent's behavior is unpredictable and it may not reliably use the tools registered to it.

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      , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Add copy buttons to all
       blocks
      (function() {
      function addCopyButtons() {
      document.querySelectorAll('pre code').forEach(function(codeBlock) {
      if (codeBlock.parentElement.hasAttribute('data-copy-added')) return;
      codeBlock.parentElement.setAttribute('data-copy-added', 'true');
      var btn = document.createElement('button');
      btn.textContent = 'Copy';
      btn.style.cssText = 'position:absolute;top:4px;right:4px;padding:2px 8px;font-size:11px;background:#4ecdc4;border:none;border-radius:4px;color:#1a1a2e;cursor:pointer;opacity:0.7;transition:opacity 0.2s;';
      btn.onmouseover = function() { this.style.opacity = '1'; };
      btn.onmouseout = function() { this.style.opacity = '0.7'; };
      btn.onclick = function() {
      navigator.clipboard.writeText(codeBlock.textContent).then(function() {
      btn.textContent = 'Copied!';
      setTimeout(function() { btn.textContent = 'Copy'; }, 1500);
      });
      };
      codeBlock.parentElement.style.position = 'relative';
      codeBlock.parentElement.appendChild(btn);
      });
      }
      addCopyButtons();
      // Re-run on dynamic content
      var observer = new MutationObserver(addCopyButtons);
      observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true });
      })();
      }
      } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:Add Copy Buttons to Code Blocks]', __e); }
      })();
      (function(){
      try {
      var __m = "github.com";
      var __re = new RegExp('^' + "github\\.com" + '
      OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt · Issue #810 · aws/agentcore-cli · GitHub
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      OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt #810

      Description

      @aidandaly24

      Description

      The OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP agent templates ship with no system prompt. The agent has zero baseline instructions — it doesn't know it's supposed to be helpful, use tools, or behave in any particular way.

      The Strands and Google ADK templates both include a system prompt ("You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."), but OpenAI Agents and LangGraph were missed.

      Steps to Reproduce

      1. agentcore create --name test --defaults --framework OpenAIAgents (or LangChain_LangGraph)
      2. Inspect app/test/main.py
      3. Observe there is no instructions= on the OpenAI Agent() constructor, or no prompt= on create_react_agent()

      Expected Behavior

      All templates should include a baseline system prompt consistent with the other frameworks, so agents have a default personality and know to use available tools.

      Actual Behavior

      • OpenAI Agents: Agent() constructor has no instructions= parameter — the agent runs with no system prompt.
      • LangGraph: create_react_agent() has no prompt= parameter — same issue.

      Additional Context

      This is inconsistent with the Strands and Google ADK templates which both include:

      "You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."
      

      Without a system prompt, the agent's behavior is unpredictable and it may not reliably use the tools registered to it.

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          , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Force GitHub README to respect dark mode (function() { var style = document.createElement('style'); style.textContent = ' .markdown-body { color-scheme: dark light; } .markdown-body pre { background: #161b22 !important; } .markdown-body code { background: rgba(110, 118, 129, 0.4) !important; } .markdown-body table th, .markdown-body table td { border-color: #30363d !important; } .markdown-body img { background: #0d1117; } .markdown-body blockquote { border-left-color: #8b949e; } .markdown-body hr { border-color: #30363d; } '; document.head.appendChild(style); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:GitHub Dark Mode README Fix]', __e); } })(); (function(){ try { var __m = "*"; var __re = new RegExp('^' + ".*" + ' OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt · Issue #810 · aws/agentcore-cli · GitHub
          Skip to content

          OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt #810

          Description

          @aidandaly24

          Description

          The OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP agent templates ship with no system prompt. The agent has zero baseline instructions — it doesn't know it's supposed to be helpful, use tools, or behave in any particular way.

          The Strands and Google ADK templates both include a system prompt ("You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."), but OpenAI Agents and LangGraph were missed.

          Steps to Reproduce

          1. agentcore create --name test --defaults --framework OpenAIAgents (or LangChain_LangGraph)
          2. Inspect app/test/main.py
          3. Observe there is no instructions= on the OpenAI Agent() constructor, or no prompt= on create_react_agent()

          Expected Behavior

          All templates should include a baseline system prompt consistent with the other frameworks, so agents have a default personality and know to use available tools.

          Actual Behavior

          • OpenAI Agents: Agent() constructor has no instructions= parameter — the agent runs with no system prompt.
          • LangGraph: create_react_agent() has no prompt= parameter — same issue.

          Additional Context

          This is inconsistent with the Strands and Google ADK templates which both include:

          "You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."
          

          Without a system prompt, the agent's behavior is unpredictable and it may not reliably use the tools registered to it.

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          Metadata

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          No one assigned

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            bugSomething isn't working

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            No type

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              No milestone

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              None yet

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              No branches or pull requests

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              , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Highlight search terms from Google/DuckDuckGo/Bing referrer (function() { var ref = document.referrer; var terms = []; if (ref.includes('google.com') || ref.includes('duckduckgo.com') || ref.includes('bing.com')) { var url = new URL(ref); var q = url.searchParams.get('q') || url.searchParams.get('p'); if (q) { terms = q.split(/\s+/).filter(function(t) { return t.length > 2; }); } } if (terms.length === 0) return; var style = document.createElement('style'); style.textContent = '.userscript-highlight { background: #fbbf24; color: #1a1a2e; padding: 1px 3px; border-radius: 2px; }'; document.head.appendChild(style); function highlight(node) { if (node.nodeType === 3) { // text node var text = node.textContent; var found = false; terms.forEach(function(term) { var regex = new RegExp('(' + term.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\') + ')', 'gi'); if (regex.test(text)) { found = true; var frag = document.createDocumentFragment(); var parts = text.split(regex); parts.forEach(function(part, i) { if (i % 2 === 0) { frag.appendChild(document.createTextNode(part)); } else { var span = document.createElement('span'); span.className = 'userscript-highlight'; span.textContent = part; frag.appendChild(span); } }); node.parentNode.replaceChild(frag, node); } }); } else if (node.nodeType === 1 && node.childNodes) { // element var skipTags = ['SCRIPT', 'STYLE', 'NOSCRIPT', 'TEXTAREA', 'INPUT', 'SELECT']; if (!skipTags.includes(node.tagName)) { Array.from(node.childNodes).forEach(highlight); } } } highlight(document.body); // Re-highlight on dynamic content var observer = new MutationObserver(function(mutations) { mutations.forEach(function(m) { m.addedNodes.forEach(function(node) { if (node.nodeType === 1 || node.nodeType === 3) highlight(node); }); }); }); observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true }); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:Highlight Search Terms]', __e); } })(); (function(){ try { var __m = "*"; var __re = new RegExp('^' + ".*" + ' OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt · Issue #810 · aws/agentcore-cli · GitHub
              Skip to content

              OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt #810

              Description

              @aidandaly24

              Description

              The OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP agent templates ship with no system prompt. The agent has zero baseline instructions — it doesn't know it's supposed to be helpful, use tools, or behave in any particular way.

              The Strands and Google ADK templates both include a system prompt ("You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."), but OpenAI Agents and LangGraph were missed.

              Steps to Reproduce

              1. agentcore create --name test --defaults --framework OpenAIAgents (or LangChain_LangGraph)
              2. Inspect app/test/main.py
              3. Observe there is no instructions= on the OpenAI Agent() constructor, or no prompt= on create_react_agent()

              Expected Behavior

              All templates should include a baseline system prompt consistent with the other frameworks, so agents have a default personality and know to use available tools.

              Actual Behavior

              • OpenAI Agents: Agent() constructor has no instructions= parameter — the agent runs with no system prompt.
              • LangGraph: create_react_agent() has no prompt= parameter — same issue.

              Additional Context

              This is inconsistent with the Strands and Google ADK templates which both include:

              "You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."
              

              Without a system prompt, the agent's behavior is unpredictable and it may not reliably use the tools registered to it.

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              No one assigned

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                bugSomething isn't working

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                  , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Strip utm_, fbclid, gclid, etc. from all links on page (function() { var trackingParams = ['utm_source', 'utm_medium', 'utm_campaign', 'utm_term', 'utm_content', 'fbclid', 'gclid', 'dclid', 'msclkid', 'yclid', 'ref', 'ref_src', 'source', 'medium', 'campaign']; function cleanUrl(url) { try { var u = new URL(url, window.location.origin); var changed = false; trackingParams.forEach(function(p) { if (u.searchParams.has(p)) { u.searchParams.delete(p); changed = true; } }); return changed ? u.toString() : url; } catch (e) { return url; } } function cleanLinks() { document.querySelectorAll('a[href]').forEach(function(a) { var clean = cleanUrl(a.href); if (clean !== a.href) a.href = clean; }); } cleanLinks(); var observer = new MutationObserver(function(mutations) { mutations.forEach(function(m) { m.addedNodes.forEach(function(node) { if (node.nodeType === 1) { if (node.tagName === 'A') cleanLinks(); node.querySelectorAll('a[href]').forEach(function(a) { var clean = cleanUrl(a.href); if (clean !== a.href) a.href = clean; }); } }); }); }); observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true }); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:Remove Tracking Parameters from Links]', __e); } })(); (function(){ try { var __m = "youtube.com"; var __re = new RegExp('^' + "youtube\\.com" + ' OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt · Issue #810 · aws/agentcore-cli · GitHub
                  Skip to content

                  OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt #810

                  Description

                  @aidandaly24

                  Description

                  The OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP agent templates ship with no system prompt. The agent has zero baseline instructions — it doesn't know it's supposed to be helpful, use tools, or behave in any particular way.

                  The Strands and Google ADK templates both include a system prompt ("You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."), but OpenAI Agents and LangGraph were missed.

                  Steps to Reproduce

                  1. agentcore create --name test --defaults --framework OpenAIAgents (or LangChain_LangGraph)
                  2. Inspect app/test/main.py
                  3. Observe there is no instructions= on the OpenAI Agent() constructor, or no prompt= on create_react_agent()

                  Expected Behavior

                  All templates should include a baseline system prompt consistent with the other frameworks, so agents have a default personality and know to use available tools.

                  Actual Behavior

                  • OpenAI Agents: Agent() constructor has no instructions= parameter — the agent runs with no system prompt.
                  • LangGraph: create_react_agent() has no prompt= parameter — same issue.

                  Additional Context

                  This is inconsistent with the Strands and Google ADK templates which both include:

                  "You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."
                  

                  Without a system prompt, the agent's behavior is unpredictable and it may not reliably use the tools registered to it.

                  Metadata

                  Metadata

                  Assignees

                  No one assigned

                    Labels

                    bugSomething isn't working

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                    No type

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                      , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Auto-enable theater mode on YouTube (function() { function tryTheater() { var btn = document.querySelector('button[aria-label="Theater mode"], ytd-player #player button[title="Theater mode"]'); if (btn && !btn.classList.contains('activated')) { btn.click(); } } // Try immediately tryTheater(); // Try after navigation (SPA) var lastUrl = location.href; setInterval(function() { if (location.href !== lastUrl) { lastUrl = location.href; setTimeout(tryTheater, 500); } }, 1000); // Also try on player load var observer = new MutationObserver(tryTheater); observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true }); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:YouTube Theater Mode Default]', __e); } })(); (function(){ try { var __m = "*"; var __re = new RegExp('^' + ".*" + ' OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt · Issue #810 · aws/agentcore-cli · GitHub
                      Skip to content

                      OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt #810

                      Description

                      @aidandaly24

                      Description

                      The OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP agent templates ship with no system prompt. The agent has zero baseline instructions — it doesn't know it's supposed to be helpful, use tools, or behave in any particular way.

                      The Strands and Google ADK templates both include a system prompt ("You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."), but OpenAI Agents and LangGraph were missed.

                      Steps to Reproduce

                      1. agentcore create --name test --defaults --framework OpenAIAgents (or LangChain_LangGraph)
                      2. Inspect app/test/main.py
                      3. Observe there is no instructions= on the OpenAI Agent() constructor, or no prompt= on create_react_agent()

                      Expected Behavior

                      All templates should include a baseline system prompt consistent with the other frameworks, so agents have a default personality and know to use available tools.

                      Actual Behavior

                      • OpenAI Agents: Agent() constructor has no instructions= parameter — the agent runs with no system prompt.
                      • LangGraph: create_react_agent() has no prompt= parameter — same issue.

                      Additional Context

                      This is inconsistent with the Strands and Google ADK templates which both include:

                      "You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."
                      

                      Without a system prompt, the agent's behavior is unpredictable and it may not reliably use the tools registered to it.

                      Metadata

                      Metadata

                      Assignees

                      No one assigned

                        Labels

                        bugSomething isn't working

                        Type

                        No type

                        Projects

                        No projects

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                          No milestone

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                          , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Remove or un-stick sticky/fixed headers that block content (function() { function unstick() { document.querySelectorAll('header, nav, [role="banner"], .header, .navbar, .sticky, .fixed-top, [style*="position: fixed"], [style*="position:sticky"]').forEach(function(el) { if (el.style.position === 'fixed' || el.style.position === 'sticky' || getComputedStyle(el).position === 'fixed' || getComputedStyle(el).position === 'sticky') { el.style.position = 'static'; el.style.top = 'auto'; el.style.zIndex = 'auto'; } }); } unstick(); var observer = new MutationObserver(unstick); observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true, attributes: true, attributeFilter: ['style', 'class'] }); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:Kill Sticky Headers]', __e); } })(); (function(){ try { var __m = "*"; var __re = new RegExp('^' + ".*" + ' OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt · Issue #810 · aws/agentcore-cli · GitHub
                          Skip to content

                          OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt #810

                          Description

                          @aidandaly24

                          Description

                          The OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP agent templates ship with no system prompt. The agent has zero baseline instructions — it doesn't know it's supposed to be helpful, use tools, or behave in any particular way.

                          The Strands and Google ADK templates both include a system prompt ("You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."), but OpenAI Agents and LangGraph were missed.

                          Steps to Reproduce

                          1. agentcore create --name test --defaults --framework OpenAIAgents (or LangChain_LangGraph)
                          2. Inspect app/test/main.py
                          3. Observe there is no instructions= on the OpenAI Agent() constructor, or no prompt= on create_react_agent()

                          Expected Behavior

                          All templates should include a baseline system prompt consistent with the other frameworks, so agents have a default personality and know to use available tools.

                          Actual Behavior

                          • OpenAI Agents: Agent() constructor has no instructions= parameter — the agent runs with no system prompt.
                          • LangGraph: create_react_agent() has no prompt= parameter — same issue.

                          Additional Context

                          This is inconsistent with the Strands and Google ADK templates which both include:

                          "You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."
                          

                          Without a system prompt, the agent's behavior is unpredictable and it may not reliably use the tools registered to it.

                          Metadata

                          Metadata

                          Assignees

                          No one assigned

                            Labels

                            bugSomething isn't working

                            Type

                            No type

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                            No projects

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                              No milestone

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                              , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Universal Dark Mode - works on any site (function() { var enabled = true; function applyDarkMode() { if (!enabled) return; // Create style element if it doesn't exist var style = document.getElementById('universal-dark-mode-style'); if (!style) { style = document.createElement('style'); style.id = 'universal-dark-mode-style'; document.head.appendChild(style); } // Dark mode CSS - inverts colors but preserves images/video style.textContent = ' /* Invert everything except media */ html { filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg) !important; background: #1a1a2e !important; } /* Restore images, videos, iframes, canvas */ img, video, iframe, canvas, svg, picture, [style*="background-image"] { filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg) !important; } /* Preserve specific elements that should not be inverted */ .no-dark-mode, .no-dark-mode *, [data-theme="light"], [data-theme="light"], .ace_editor, .ace_editor *, .CodeMirror, .CodeMirror *, .monaco-editor, .monaco-editor *, .markdown-body pre, .markdown-body pre *, .highlight, .highlight *, pre code, pre code * { filter: none !important; } /* Fix common UI elements */ .modal, .popup, .dropdown-menu, .tooltip, .popover { filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg) !important; background: #2d2d44 !important; border-color: #444 !important; } /* Scrollbars */ ::-webkit-scrollbar { background: #1a1a2e !important; } ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb { background: #444 !important; } ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb:hover { background: #555 !important; } /* Selection */ ::selection { background: #4ecdc4 !important; color: #1a1a2e !important; } ::-moz-selection { background: #4ecdc4 !important; color: #1a1a2e !important; } '; } function removeDarkMode() { var style = document.getElementById('universal-dark-mode-style'); if (style) style.remove(); } // Toggle with Alt+Shift+D document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) { if (e.altKey && e.shiftKey && e.key === 'D') { e.preventDefault(); enabled = !enabled; if (enabled) { applyDarkMode(); console.log('[Universal Dark Mode] Enabled'); } else { removeDarkMode(); console.log('[Universal Dark Mode] Disabled'); } } }); // Apply on load applyDarkMode(); // Re-apply on dynamic content var observer = new MutationObserver(function(mutations) { if (enabled && !document.getElementById('universal-dark-mode-style')) { applyDarkMode(); } }); observer.observe(document.head, { childList: true }); console.log('[Universal Dark Mode] Loaded - Press Alt+Shift+D to toggle'); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:Universal Dark Mode]', __e); } })(); })(); OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt · Issue #810 · aws/agentcore-cli · GitHub
                              Skip to content

                              OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP templates have no system prompt #810

                              Description

                              @aidandaly24

                              Description

                              The OpenAI Agents and LangGraph HTTP agent templates ship with no system prompt. The agent has zero baseline instructions — it doesn't know it's supposed to be helpful, use tools, or behave in any particular way.

                              The Strands and Google ADK templates both include a system prompt ("You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."), but OpenAI Agents and LangGraph were missed.

                              Steps to Reproduce

                              1. agentcore create --name test --defaults --framework OpenAIAgents (or LangChain_LangGraph)
                              2. Inspect app/test/main.py
                              3. Observe there is no instructions= on the OpenAI Agent() constructor, or no prompt= on create_react_agent()

                              Expected Behavior

                              All templates should include a baseline system prompt consistent with the other frameworks, so agents have a default personality and know to use available tools.

                              Actual Behavior

                              • OpenAI Agents: Agent() constructor has no instructions= parameter — the agent runs with no system prompt.
                              • LangGraph: create_react_agent() has no prompt= parameter — same issue.

                              Additional Context

                              This is inconsistent with the Strands and Google ADK templates which both include:

                              "You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."
                              

                              Without a system prompt, the agent's behavior is unpredictable and it may not reliably use the tools registered to it.

                              Metadata

                              Metadata

                              Assignees

                              No one assigned

                                Labels

                                bugSomething isn't working

                                Type

                                No type

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                                No projects

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                                  None yet

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