diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/backend.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/backend.ts
index 534636af2..5599fc0e6 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/backend.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/backend.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import {
 	type HindsightMessage,
 	prepareRetentionTranscript,
 	sliceLastTurnsByUserBoundary,
-	stripMemoryTags,
 	truncateRecallQuery,
 } from "./content";
 import { extractMessages } from "./transcript";
@@ -111,7 +110,11 @@ async function recallForContext(
 	}
 }
 
-async function retainSession(state: HindsightSessionState, sessionId: string, messages: HindsightMessage[]): Promise<void> {
+async function retainSession(
+	state: HindsightSessionState,
+	sessionId: string,
+	messages: HindsightMessage[],
+): Promise<void> {
 	const { client, bankId, config, missionsSet } = state;
 	const retainFullWindow = config.retainMode === "full-session";
 
@@ -174,11 +177,13 @@ async function maybeRecallOnAgentStart(state: HindsightSessionState): Promise<vo
 	const messages = extractMessages(state.session.sessionManager);
 	const lastUser = [...messages].reverse().find(m => m.role === "user");
 	if (!lastUser) return;
-	state.hasRecalledForFirstTurn = true;
 
 	const query = composeRecallQuery(lastUser.content, messages, state.config.recallContextTurns);
 	const truncated = truncateRecallQuery(query, lastUser.content, state.config.recallMaxQueryChars);
-	const { context } = await recallForContext(state, truncated);
+	const { context, ok } = await recallForContext(state, truncated);
+	if (!ok) return;
+
+	state.hasRecalledForFirstTurn = true;
 	if (!context) return;
 
 	state.lastRecallSnippet = context;
@@ -254,11 +259,34 @@ export const hindsightBackend: MemoryBackend = {
 
 		const parts = [STATIC_INSTRUCTIONS];
 		if (recallSnippet) {
-			parts.push(stripMemoryTags(recallSnippet) || recallSnippet);
+			parts.push(recallSnippet);
 		}
 		return parts.join("\n\n");
 	},
 
+	async beforeAgentStartPrompt(session: AgentSession, promptText: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+		const sessionId = session.sessionId;
+		if (!sessionId) return undefined;
+		const state = STATE_BY_SESSION_ID.get(sessionId);
+		if (!state?.config.autoRecall || state.hasRecalledForFirstTurn) return undefined;
+
+		const latestPrompt = promptText.trim();
+		if (!latestPrompt) return undefined;
+
+		const history = extractMessages(session.sessionManager);
+		const queryMessages = [...history, { role: "user", content: latestPrompt }];
+		const query = composeRecallQuery(latestPrompt, queryMessages, state.config.recallContextTurns);
+		const truncated = truncateRecallQuery(query, latestPrompt, state.config.recallMaxQueryChars);
+		const { context, ok } = await recallForContext(state, truncated);
+		if (!ok) return undefined;
+
+		state.hasRecalledForFirstTurn = true;
+		if (!context) return undefined;
+
+		state.lastRecallSnippet = context;
+		return context;
+	},
+
 	async clear(_agentDir, _cwd): Promise<void> {
 		// Hindsight memory is server-side. The local cache (per-session WeakMap-
 		// equivalent) is what we can wipe — operators who want to delete the
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/config.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/config.ts
index 159f4810d..ebc074cfb 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/config.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/config.ts
@@ -148,6 +148,8 @@ export function loadHindsightConfig(settings: Settings, env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv =
 }
 
 /** Whether the caller has enough config to talk to a Hindsight server. */
-export function isHindsightConfigured(config: HindsightConfig): config is HindsightConfig & { hindsightApiUrl: string } {
+export function isHindsightConfigured(
+	config: HindsightConfig,
+): config is HindsightConfig & { hindsightApiUrl: string } {
 	return typeof config.hindsightApiUrl === "string" && config.hindsightApiUrl.length > 0;
 }
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/content.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/content.ts
index 3eeb13bc0..fb954045a 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/content.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/hindsight/content.ts
@@ -167,7 +167,10 @@ export interface RetentionTranscript {
  * Messages are tag-stripped before framing to break the recall→retain loop.
  * Returns `{ transcript: null }` when nothing meaningful survives.
  */
-export function prepareRetentionTranscript(messages: HindsightMessage[], retainFullWindow = false): RetentionTranscript {
+export function prepareRetentionTranscript(
+	messages: HindsightMessage[],
+	retainFullWindow = false,
+): RetentionTranscript {
 	if (messages.length === 0) return { transcript: null, messageCount: 0 };
 
 	let targetMessages: HindsightMessage[];
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/memory-backend/types.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/memory-backend/types.ts
index 1215aa75a..67e83b082 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/memory-backend/types.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/memory-backend/types.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,17 @@ export interface MemoryBackend {
 	/** Force consolidation/retain to happen now (slash `/memory enqueue`). */
 	enqueue(agentDir: string, cwd: string): Promise<void>;
 
+	/**
+	 * Optional hook to inject a backend-specific block into the current turn's
+	 * system prompt before the agent starts generating.
+	 *
+	 * This is the only place a backend can affect the very first answer of a
+	 * fresh session. The returned text is appended to the already-built base
+	 * system prompt for this turn only; callers may separately cache it and
+	 * surface it through `buildDeveloperInstructions()` on later rebuilds.
+	 */
+	beforeAgentStartPrompt?(session: AgentSession, promptText: string): Promise<string | undefined>;
+
 	/**
 	 * Optional hook to splice extra context into a compaction summarization.
 	 *
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/session/agent-session.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/session/agent-session.ts
index e39fb031e..ef1f6191a 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/session/agent-session.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/session/agent-session.ts
@@ -2290,6 +2290,23 @@ export class AgentSession {
 		this.#lastAppliedToolSignature = this.#computeAppliedToolSignature(activeToolNames, activeTools);
 	}
 
+	async #buildSystemPromptForAgentStart(promptText: string): Promise<string> {
+		const backend = resolveMemoryBackend(this.settings);
+		if (!backend.beforeAgentStartPrompt) return this.#baseSystemPrompt;
+
+		try {
+			const injected = await backend.beforeAgentStartPrompt(this, promptText);
+			if (!injected) return this.#baseSystemPrompt;
+			return `${this.#baseSystemPrompt}\n\n${injected}`;
+		} catch (err) {
+			logger.debug("Memory backend beforeAgentStartPrompt failed", {
+				backend: backend.id,
+				error: String(err),
+			});
+			return this.#baseSystemPrompt;
+		}
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Compose a stable signature for the inputs that `rebuildSystemPrompt` reads.
 	 * Two calls producing identical signatures are guaranteed to produce identical
@@ -2909,12 +2926,14 @@ export class AgentSession {
 				messages.push(...fileMentionMessages);
 			}
 
+			const beforeAgentStartSystemPrompt = await this.#buildSystemPromptForAgentStart(expandedText);
+
 			// Emit before_agent_start extension event
 			if (this.#extensionRunner) {
 				const result = await this.#extensionRunner.emitBeforeAgentStart(
 					expandedText,
 					options?.images,
-					this.#baseSystemPrompt,
+					beforeAgentStartSystemPrompt,
 				);
 				if (result?.messages) {
 					const promptAttribution: "user" | "agent" | undefined =
@@ -2935,8 +2954,10 @@ export class AgentSession {
 				if (result?.systemPrompt !== undefined) {
 					this.agent.setSystemPrompt(result.systemPrompt);
 				} else {
-					this.agent.setSystemPrompt(this.#baseSystemPrompt);
+					this.agent.setSystemPrompt(beforeAgentStartSystemPrompt);
 				}
+			} else {
+				this.agent.setSystemPrompt(beforeAgentStartSystemPrompt);
 			}
 
 			// Bail out if a newer abort/prompt cycle has started since we began setup
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/hindsight-reflect.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/hindsight-reflect.ts
index 72c151b9e..2dcba20aa 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/hindsight-reflect.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/hindsight-reflect.ts
@@ -7,17 +7,15 @@ import type { ToolSession } from ".";
 
 const hindsightReflectSchema = Type.Object({
 	query: Type.String({ description: "The question to answer using long-term memory." }),
-	context: Type.Optional(
-		Type.String({ description: "Optional additional context to guide the reflection." }),
-	),
+	context: Type.Optional(Type.String({ description: "Optional additional context to guide the reflection." })),
 });
 
 export type HindsightReflectParams = Static<typeof hindsightReflectSchema>;
 
 const DESCRIPTION = [
 	"Generate a synthesised answer using long-term memory. Unlike recall (which returns raw memories),",
-	"reflect blends memories into a coherent answer. Use for questions like \"What do you know about",
-	"this user?\" or \"Summarize project decisions.\"",
+	'reflect blends memories into a coherent answer. Use for questions like "What do you know about',
+	'this user?" or "Summarize project decisions."',
 ].join(" ");
 
 export class HindsightReflectTool implements AgentTool<typeof hindsightReflectSchema> {
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/index.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/index.ts
index 0cc780032..31dba4479 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/index.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/index.ts
@@ -30,10 +30,10 @@ import { EvalTool } from "./eval";
 import { ExitPlanModeTool } from "./exit-plan-mode";
 import { FindTool } from "./find";
 import { GithubTool } from "./gh";
-import { InspectImageTool } from "./inspect-image";
 import { HindsightRecallTool } from "./hindsight-recall";
 import { HindsightReflectTool } from "./hindsight-reflect";
 import { HindsightRetainTool } from "./hindsight-retain";
+import { InspectImageTool } from "./inspect-image";
 import { IrcTool } from "./irc";
 import { JobTool } from "./job";
 import { NotebookTool } from "./notebook";
@@ -72,11 +72,11 @@ export * from "./eval";
 export * from "./exit-plan-mode";
 export * from "./find";
 export * from "./gh";
-export * from "./image-gen";
-export * from "./inspect-image";
 export * from "./hindsight-recall";
 export * from "./hindsight-reflect";
 export * from "./hindsight-retain";
+export * from "./image-gen";
+export * from "./inspect-image";
 export * from "./irc";
 export * from "./job";
 export * from "./notebook";
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-backend.test.ts b/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-backend.test.ts
index 743ef4da7..25c0f4b3a 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-backend.test.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-backend.test.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "bun:test";
 import type { AgentMessage } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-agent-core";
-import { Settings, _resetSettingsForTest } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent/config/settings";
+import { _resetSettingsForTest, Settings } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent/config/settings";
 import {
 	clearHindsightSessionStateForTest,
 	getHindsightSessionState,
@@ -182,9 +182,7 @@ describe("hindsightBackend.preCompactionContext", () => {
 
 	it("returns undefined when no apiUrl is configured", async () => {
 		const settings = Settings.isolated({ "memory.backend": "hindsight", "hindsight.apiUrl": "" });
-		const messages: AgentMessage[] = [
-			{ role: "user", content: "hi", timestamp: 0 } as never,
-		];
+		const messages: AgentMessage[] = [{ role: "user", content: "hi", timestamp: 0 } as never];
 		const ctx = await hindsightBackend.preCompactionContext?.(messages, settings);
 		expect(ctx).toBeUndefined();
 	});
@@ -207,9 +205,7 @@ describe("hindsightBackend.preCompactionContext", () => {
 			results: [{ id: "1", text: "remembered fact" }],
 		} as never);
 
-		const messages: AgentMessage[] = [
-			{ role: "user", content: "What did we decide?", timestamp: 0 } as never,
-		];
+		const messages: AgentMessage[] = [{ role: "user", content: "What did we decide?", timestamp: 0 } as never];
 		const ctx = await hindsightBackend.preCompactionContext?.(messages, settings);
 		expect(ctx).toBeDefined();
 		expect(ctx).toContain("<hindsight_memories>");
@@ -237,6 +233,73 @@ describe("hindsightBackend.preCompactionContext", () => {
 	});
 });
 
+describe("hindsightBackend first-turn injection", () => {
+	beforeEach(() => {
+		_resetSettingsForTest();
+		clearHindsightSessionStateForTest();
+	});
+
+	afterEach(() => {
+		vi.restoreAllMocks();
+		clearHindsightSessionStateForTest();
+	});
+
+	it("returns a tagged block for the current first turn before agent_start", async () => {
+		const settings = Settings.isolated({
+			"memory.backend": "hindsight",
+			"hindsight.apiUrl": "http://localhost:8888",
+		});
+		const session = makeFakeSession({
+			sessionId: "s8",
+			entries: [{ role: "assistant", text: "previous assistant context" }],
+		});
+		await hindsightBackend.start({
+			session: session as never,
+			settings,
+			modelRegistry: {} as never,
+			agentDir: "/tmp",
+			taskDepth: 0,
+		});
+
+		vi.spyOn(HindsightClient.prototype, "recall").mockResolvedValue({
+			results: [{ id: "1", text: "Can prefers concise communication" }],
+		} as never);
+
+		const block = await hindsightBackend.beforeAgentStartPrompt?.(
+			session as never,
+			"What do I know about this user?",
+		);
+		expect(block).toContain("<hindsight_memories>");
+		expect(block).toContain("Can prefers concise communication");
+		expect(getHindsightSessionState("s8")?.hasRecalledForFirstTurn).toBe(true);
+		expect(getHindsightSessionState("s8")?.lastRecallSnippet).toBe(block);
+	});
+
+	it("keeps the <hindsight_memories> wrapper in buildDeveloperInstructions", async () => {
+		const settings = Settings.isolated({
+			"memory.backend": "hindsight",
+			"hindsight.apiUrl": "http://localhost:8888",
+		});
+		const session = makeFakeSession({ sessionId: "s9" });
+		await hindsightBackend.start({
+			session: session as never,
+			settings,
+			modelRegistry: {} as never,
+			agentDir: "/tmp",
+			taskDepth: 0,
+		});
+
+		const state = getHindsightSessionState("s9");
+		expect(state).toBeDefined();
+		state!.lastRecallSnippet = "<hindsight_memories>\nremembered fact\n</hindsight_memories>";
+
+		const prompt = await hindsightBackend.buildDeveloperInstructions("/tmp", settings);
+		expect(prompt).toContain("<hindsight_memories>");
+		expect(prompt).toContain("</hindsight_memories>");
+		expect(prompt).toContain("remembered fact");
+	});
+});
+
 describe("hindsightBackend.clear", () => {
 	beforeEach(() => {
 		_resetSettingsForTest();
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-bank.test.ts b/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-bank.test.ts
index d1aa08b0a..54e566a56 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-bank.test.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-bank.test.ts
@@ -114,9 +114,7 @@ describe("ensureBankMission", () => {
 	});
 
 	it("swallows API failures and does not mark the bank as initialised", async () => {
-		createSpy = vi
-			.spyOn(HindsightClient.prototype, "createBank")
-			.mockRejectedValue(new Error("HTTP 500"));
+		createSpy = vi.spyOn(HindsightClient.prototype, "createBank").mockRejectedValue(new Error("HTTP 500"));
 		const seen = new Set<string>();
 		const config = baseConfig({ bankMission: "do the thing" });
 
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-config.test.ts b/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-config.test.ts
index b99492917..95fcf342c 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-config.test.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-config.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "bun:test";
-import { Settings, _resetSettingsForTest } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent/config/settings";
+import { _resetSettingsForTest, Settings } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent/config/settings";
 import { isHindsightConfigured, loadHindsightConfig } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent/hindsight/config";
 
 describe("loadHindsightConfig", () => {
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-content.test.ts b/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-content.test.ts
index 5990672dc..b9cbf4359 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-content.test.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-content.test.ts
@@ -162,7 +162,10 @@ describe("prepareRetentionTranscript", () => {
 	});
 
 	it("returns null when nothing meaningful remains", () => {
-		const empty = prepareRetentionTranscript([{ role: "user", content: "<hindsight_memories>x</hindsight_memories>" }], true);
+		const empty = prepareRetentionTranscript(
+			[{ role: "user", content: "<hindsight_memories>x</hindsight_memories>" }],
+			true,
+		);
 		expect(empty.transcript).toBeNull();
 	});
 });
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-tools.test.ts b/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-tools.test.ts
index 628d63c09..77182fe73 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-tools.test.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/test/hindsight-tools.test.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
  */
 
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "bun:test";
-import { Settings, _resetSettingsForTest } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent/config/settings";
+import { _resetSettingsForTest, Settings } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent/config/settings";
 import {
 	clearHindsightSessionStateForTest,
 	setHindsightSessionStateForTest,
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/test/memory-backend-resolve.test.ts b/packages/coding-agent/test/memory-backend-resolve.test.ts
index 1c47fb444..590a6584b 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/test/memory-backend-resolve.test.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/test/memory-backend-resolve.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "bun:test";
-import { Settings, _resetSettingsForTest } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent/config/settings";
+import { _resetSettingsForTest, Settings } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent/config/settings";
 import { resolveMemoryBackend } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent/memory-backend";
 
 describe("resolveMemoryBackend", () => {