ConversationManager

Last updated: January 26, 2026

Location: /inc/Engine/AI/ConversationManager.php

Since: v0.2.0 (Universal Engine Architecture)

Namespace: DataMachineEngineAI

Overview

ConversationManager provides standardized message formatting utilities for all AI agents (Pipeline and Chat). All methods are static with no state management, enabling consistent conversation structure across the Data Machine ecosystem.

Purpose

Centralizes conversation message building, tool call formatting, result messaging, and duplicate detection logic used by AIConversationLoop, RequestBuilder, and both Pipeline and Chat agents.

Core Methods

Message Building

buildConversationMessage()

Build standardized conversation message structure.

Signature:

public static function buildConversationMessage(string $role, string $content): array

Parameters:

$role (string) – Role identifier: user, assistant, system
$content (string) – Message content

Returns: Array with role and content keys

Example:

$message = ConversationManager::buildConversationMessage('user', 'Create a pipeline');
// Returns: ['role' => 'user', 'content' => 'Create a pipeline']

Usage: Foundation for all message formatting methods

Tool Call Formatting

formatToolCallMessage()

Format tool call as conversation message with turn tracking.

Signature:

public static function formatToolCallMessage(
    string $tool_name,
    array $tool_parameters,
    int $turn_count
): array

Parameters:

$tool_name (string) – Tool identifier (e.g., google_search, wordpress_publish)
$tool_parameters (array) – Tool call parameters
$turn_count (int) – Current conversation turn (0 = no turn display)

Returns: Formatted assistant message with tool call details

Message Format:

AI ACTION (Turn {$turn_count}): Executing {Tool Display Name} with parameters: key: value, key2: value2

Parameter Truncation: String values over 50 characters are truncated to 50...

Example:

$message = ConversationManager::formatToolCallMessage(
    'google_search',
    ['query' => 'WordPress best practices', 'num_results' => 5],
    1
);
// Returns: ['role' => 'assistant', 'content' => 'AI ACTION (Turn 1): Executing Google Search with parameters: query: WordPress best practices, num_results: 5']

Integration: Used by AIConversationLoop during multi-turn conversation execution

Tool Result Formatting

formatToolResultMessage()

Format tool execution result as conversation message.

Signature:

public static function formatToolResultMessage(
    string $tool_name,
    array $tool_result,
    array $tool_parameters,
    bool $is_handler_tool = false,
    int $turn_count = 0
): array

Parameters:

$tool_name (string) – Tool identifier
$tool_result (array) – Tool execution result with success, data, error keys
$tool_parameters (array) – Original tool parameters
$is_handler_tool (bool) – Whether tool is handler-specific (affects data inclusion)
$turn_count (int) – Current conversation turn (0 = no turn display)

Returns: Formatted user message with tool result

Message Format:

TOOL RESPONSE (Turn {$turn_count}): {Success Message}

{JSON-encoded data for non-handler tools}

Data Inclusion:

Handler tools: Success message only (no raw data)
Non-handler tools: Success message + JSON-encoded data field

Example:

$result = [
    'success' => true,
    'data' => ['id' => 123, 'title' => 'New Post']
];

$message = ConversationManager::formatToolResultMessage(
    'wordpress_publish',
    $result,
    ['content' => 'Post content'],
    true, // is_handler_tool
    2
);
// Returns user message with success message only (no raw data)

$search_result = [
    'success' => true,
    'data' => ['results' => [...]]
];

$message2 = ConversationManager::formatToolResultMessage(
    'google_search',
    $search_result,
    ['query' => 'test'],
    false, // not a handler tool
    3
);
// Returns user message with success message + JSON data

Success Message Generation

generateSuccessMessage()

Generate success or failure message from tool result with filter-based customization.

Signature:

public static function generateSuccessMessage(
    string $tool_name,
    array $tool_result,
    array $tool_parameters
): string

Parameters:

$tool_name (string) – Tool identifier
$tool_result (array) – Tool execution result
$tool_parameters (array) – Original tool parameters

Returns: Human-readable success/failure message

Default Success Message:

SUCCESS: {Tool Display Name} completed successfully. The requested operation has been finished as requested.

Failure Message:

TOOL FAILED: {tool_name} execution failed - {error}

Filter Hook: datamachine_tool_success_message allows handlers to customize success messages

Example:

// Success
$result = ['success' => true, 'data' => []];
$message = ConversationManager::generateSuccessMessage('twitter_publish', $result, []);
// Returns: "SUCCESS: Twitter Publish completed successfully. The requested operation has been finished as requested."

// Failure
$result = ['success' => false, 'error' => 'Invalid credentials'];
$message = ConversationManager::generateSuccessMessage('twitter_publish', $result, []);
// Returns: "TOOL FAILED: twitter_publish execution failed - Invalid credentials"

// Custom via filter
add_filter('datamachine_tool_success_message', function($message, $tool_name, $result, $params) {
    if ($tool_name === 'wordpress_publish' && isset($result['data']['url'])) {
        return "SUCCESS: Post published at {$result['data']['url']}";
    }
    return $message;
}, 10, 4);

generateFailureMessage()

Generate standardized failure message.

Signature:

public static function generateFailureMessage(string $tool_name, string $error_message): string

Parameters:

$tool_name (string) – Tool identifier
$error_message (string) – Error details

Returns: Formatted failure message with guidance

Format:

TOOL FAILED: {Tool Display Name} execution failed - {error_message}. Please review the error and adjust your approach if needed.

Example:

$message = ConversationManager::generateFailureMessage(
    'google_search',
    'API quota exceeded'
);
// Returns: "TOOL FAILED: Google Search execution failed - API quota exceeded. Please review the error and adjust your approach if needed."

Duplicate Tool Call Detection

validateToolCall()

Validate if a tool call is a duplicate of the previous tool call in conversation history.

Signature:

public static function validateToolCall(
    string $tool_name,
    array $tool_parameters,
    array $conversation_messages
): array

Parameters:

$tool_name (string) – Tool name to validate
$tool_parameters (array) – Tool parameters to validate
$conversation_messages (array) – Full conversation history

Returns: Array with is_duplicate (bool) and message (string) keys

Detection Logic:

Search conversation history backwards for most recent assistant message with "AI ACTION" prefix
Extract tool name and parameters from that message
Compare with current tool call
Return duplicate status and correction message if duplicate

Example:

$conversation = [
    ['role' => 'user', 'content' => 'Search for WordPress'],
    ['role' => 'assistant', 'content' => 'AI ACTION (Turn 1): Executing Google Search with parameters: query: WordPress, num_results: 5'],
    ['role' => 'user', 'content' => 'TOOL RESPONSE (Turn 1): ...']
];

$validation = ConversationManager::validateToolCall(
    'google_search',
    ['query' => 'WordPress', 'num_results' => 5],
    $conversation
);
// Returns: ['is_duplicate' => true, 'message' => 'You just called the google_search tool with the exact same parameters...']

$validation2 = ConversationManager::validateToolCall(
    'google_search',
    ['query' => 'WordPress plugins', 'num_results' => 5],
    $conversation
);
// Returns: ['is_duplicate' => false, 'message' => '']

Integration: Used by AIConversationLoop to prevent infinite loops from duplicate tool calls

extractToolCallFromMessage()

Extract tool call details from a conversation message.

Signature:

public static function extractToolCallFromMessage(array $message): ?array

Parameters:

$message (array) – Conversation message to parse

Returns: Array with tool_name and parameters keys, or null if not a tool call message

Recognition Pattern: Messages matching AI ACTION (Turn N): Executing {Tool} with parameters: ...

Parameter Parsing:

Splits on , delimiter
Parses key: value pairs
JSON-decodes values where possible
Handles truncated values (appends _truncated_{timestamp} to prevent false duplicates)

Example:

$message = [
    'role' => 'assistant',
    'content' => 'AI ACTION (Turn 1): Executing Google Search with parameters: query: WordPress, num_results: 5'
];

$extracted = ConversationManager::extractToolCallFromMessage($message);
// Returns: [
//     'tool_name' => 'google_search',
//     'parameters' => ['query' => 'WordPress', 'num_results' => 5]
// ]

Usage: Internal utility for duplicate detection

generateDuplicateToolCallMessage()

Generate a user message for duplicate tool call prevention.

Signature:

public static function generateDuplicateToolCallMessage(string $tool_name): array

Parameters:

$tool_name (string) – Tool name that was duplicated

Returns: Formatted user message with correction guidance

Example:

$message = ConversationManager::generateDuplicateToolCallMessage('google_search');
// Returns: ['role' => 'user', 'content' => 'You just called the Google Search tool with the exact same parameters as your previous action. Please try a different approach or use different parameters instead.']

Integration with Universal Engine

AIConversationLoop Integration

AIConversationLoop uses ConversationManager for:

Tool Call Messages: Format each tool call with turn tracking
Tool Result Messages: Format tool execution results with success/failure details
Duplicate Detection: Validate tool calls before execution to prevent infinite loops

Conversation Flow:

// 1. Format tool call message
$tool_call_msg = ConversationManager::formatToolCallMessage($tool_name, $params, $turn_count);
$conversation[] = $tool_call_msg;

// 2. Execute tool via ToolExecutor
$result = ToolExecutor::executeTool(...);

// 3. Format tool result message
$result_msg = ConversationManager::formatToolResultMessage($tool_name, $result, $params, $is_handler_tool, $turn_count);
$conversation[] = $result_msg;

// 4. Validate next tool call for duplicates
$validation = ConversationManager::validateToolCall($next_tool, $next_params, $conversation);
if ($validation['is_duplicate']) {
    $conversation[] = ConversationManager::buildConversationMessage('user', $validation['message']);
}

RequestBuilder Integration

RequestBuilder uses ConversationManager for:

System Messages: Build directive messages with proper role assignment
User Context: Format user-provided context as conversation messages

Handler Tool Integration

Publish/Update handlers use ConversationManager indirectly through:

Success Message Filter: Customize tool result messages via datamachine_tool_success_message filter

Custom Success Message Example:

add_filter('datamachine_tool_success_message', function($message, $tool_name, $result, $params) {
    if ($tool_name === 'twitter_publish' && isset($result['data']['url'])) {
        $tweet_url = $result['data']['url'];
        return "SUCCESS: Tweet published successfully at {$tweet_url}. The content is now live on Twitter.";
    }
    return $message;
}, 10, 4);

Architecture Principles

Static Methods Only

All methods are static with no instance state:

Benefit: No dependency injection required, simple utility usage
Pattern: Pure functions for message transformation
Thread Safety: No state mutations, safe for concurrent usage

Standardized Message Format

Consistent message structure across all agents:

Role: user, assistant, system
Content: String message content
Turn Tracking: Explicit turn numbers in tool messages
Result Clarity: Clear SUCCESS/FAILED prefixes

Filter-Based Extensibility

Handlers can customize messages via WordPress filters:

datamachine_tool_success_message: Override default success messages
Parameters: $message, $tool_name, $tool_result, $tool_parameters
Use Cases: Platform-specific messaging, URL inclusion, custom formatting

Duplicate Prevention

Sophisticated duplicate detection prevents infinite loops:

Backward Search: Finds most recent tool call in conversation history
Exact Matching: Compares tool name and parameters
Truncation Handling: Prevents false duplicates from truncated parameters
Guidance Messaging: Provides clear correction instructions to AI

Usage Examples

Basic Message Building

// Simple user message
$msg = ConversationManager::buildConversationMessage('user', 'Create a pipeline');

// System directive
$directive = ConversationManager::buildConversationMessage('system', 'You are a helpful assistant');

Tool Call Workflow

// 1. Format tool call
$tool_call = ConversationManager::formatToolCallMessage(
    'wordpress_publish',
    ['title' => 'My Post', 'content' => 'Post content'],
    1
);

// 2. Execute tool (via ToolExecutor)
$result = ToolExecutor::executeTool(...);

// 3. Format result
$result_msg = ConversationManager::formatToolResultMessage(
    'wordpress_publish',
    $result,
    ['title' => 'My Post', 'content' => 'Post content'],
    true, // is_handler_tool
    1
);

Duplicate Detection

$conversation = [...]; // Full conversation history

// Validate before execution
$validation = ConversationManager::validateToolCall(
    'google_search',
    ['query' => 'test'],
    $conversation
);

if ($validation['is_duplicate']) {
    $correction = ConversationManager::buildConversationMessage(
        'user',
        $validation['message']
    );
    $conversation[] = $correction;
    // Skip tool execution, continue conversation with correction
}

Related Components

AIConversationLoop – Multi-turn conversation execution using ConversationManager
ToolExecutor – Tool discovery and execution
RequestBuilder – AI request construction
Parameter Systems – Tool parameter building and architecture
Universal Engine Architecture – Shared AI infrastructure

Location: /inc/Engine/AI/ConversationManager.php
Namespace: DataMachineEngineAI
Type: Static utility class
Since: v0.2.0

ConversationManager

Overview

Purpose

Core Methods

Message Building

buildConversationMessage()

Tool Call Formatting

formatToolCallMessage()

Tool Result Formatting

formatToolResultMessage()

Success Message Generation

generateSuccessMessage()

generateFailureMessage()

Duplicate Tool Call Detection

validateToolCall()

extractToolCallFromMessage()

generateDuplicateToolCallMessage()

Integration with Universal Engine

AIConversationLoop Integration

RequestBuilder Integration

Handler Tool Integration

Architecture Principles

Static Methods Only

Standardized Message Format

Filter-Based Extensibility

Duplicate Prevention

Usage Examples

Basic Message Building

Tool Call Workflow

Duplicate Detection

Related Components

More in Core System

Engine Execution System

Settings Display Service

Direct Execution (Ephemeral Workflows)