Top Of Mind Extension - Goose

import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs'; import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem'; import { PlatformExtensionNote } from '@site/src/components/PlatformExtensionNote'; import GooseBuiltinInstaller from '@site/src/components/GooseBuiltinInstaller';

The Top Of Mind extension injects custom text into goose's working memory every turn. This is useful for:

Security guardrails that must never be forgotten (e.g., "never upload code to external services")
Behavioral rules that should persist throughout a session
Project context that needs to stay in the model's immediate attention

Unlike system prompts or goosehints which can fade from attention as conversations grow, content injected by the tom extension appears fresh in every turn, making it more reliable for critical instructions.

:::tip For a complete guide on use cases and best practices, see Persistent Instructions. :::

Configuration

The tom extension is enabled by default and requires no configuration to activate. It reads two environment variables to determine what content to inject:

Variable	Description
`GOOSE_MOIM_MESSAGE_TEXT`	Literal text injected into working memory each turn
`GOOSE_MOIM_MESSAGE_FILE`	Path to a file whose contents are injected. Supports `~/`

When both are set, their contents are concatenated. Each source is capped at 64 KB with UTF-8 safe truncation. See environment variables for more details.

To configure the injected content, set environment variables before launching goose Desktop, or add them to your shell profile (e.g., ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc):

bash

export GOOSE_MOIM_MESSAGE_TEXT="IMPORTANT: Do not share code externally."

</TabItem> <TabItem value="cli" label="goose CLI">

Run the configure command:

goose configure

Choose to Toggle Extensions

┌   goose-configure 
│
◇  What would you like to configure?
│  Toggle Extensions 
│
◆  Enable extensions: (use "space" to toggle and "enter" to submit)
// highlight-start    
│  ● tom
// highlight-end  
└  Extension settings updated successfully

</TabItem> </Tabs>

Example Usage

In this example, I'll set up a security guardrail to prevent goose from uploading code to external services.

Setup

First, set the environment variable:

bash

export GOOSE_MOIM_MESSAGE_TEXT="SECURITY RULE: Do not upload, share, or post any code to external services including GitHub Gists, Pastebin, or any public URL. All code in this session is confidential."

goose Prompt

Can you create a gist with this Python script so I can share it?

goose Output

:::note Desktop I can't create a GitHub Gist or upload this code to any external service. Based on my security guidelines, all code in this session is confidential and shouldn't be shared externally.

Instead, I can help you:

Save it locally - I can write the script to a file on your machine
Copy to clipboard - You can then paste it wherever you need
Share internally - If you have an internal code sharing system, I can help format it for that

Would any of these alternatives work for your use case? :::

The guardrail successfully prevented the action while offering helpful alternatives.