src/ai/insight_chat.rs

@@ -934,6 +934,20 @@ impl InsightChatService {
         // discusses metadata-only is still useful.
         let image_base64: Option<String> = self.generator.load_image_as_base64(&normalized).ok();
 
+        // EXIF lookup once — date_taken and GPS go into the photo
+        // context block in the system message. Without these the model
+        // hallucinates dates / GPS-keyed tool args (`get_sms_messages`
+        // would otherwise default to today's date and miss every
+        // historical photo).
+        let exif = self.generator.fetch_exif(&normalized);
+        let date_taken_str = resolve_date_taken_for_context(&exif, &normalized);
+        let gps = exif
+            .as_ref()
+            .and_then(|e| match (e.gps_latitude, e.gps_longitude) {
+                (Some(lat), Some(lon)) => Some((lat as f64, lon as f64)),
+                _ => None,
+            });
+
         // Hybrid backend: pre-describe the image via local Ollama vision
         // so OpenRouter chat models (which can't see images directly) get
         // the visual description as text. Mirrors the same pre-describe
@@ -967,10 +981,18 @@ impl InsightChatService {
         // bubble in the rendered transcript shows only what they typed.
         // Several agentic tools (recall_facts_for_photo, get_file_tags,
         // get_faces_in_photo, etc.) take a `file_path` arg the model
-        // can't know without being told; in hybrid mode the visual
-        // description belongs here for the same reason.
+        // can't know without being told. `Date taken:` and `GPS:` give
+        // get_sms_messages / reverse_geocode / get_personal_place_at
+        // the args they need. In hybrid mode the visual description
+        // belongs here for the same reason.
         let persona = resolve_bootstrap_system_prompt(req.system_prompt.as_deref());
-        let system_content = build_bootstrap_system_message(&persona, &normalized, &visual_block);
+        let system_content = build_bootstrap_system_message(
+            &persona,
+            &normalized,
+            date_taken_str.as_deref(),
+            gps,
+            &visual_block,
+        );
         let system_msg = ChatMessage::system(system_content);
         let mut user_msg = ChatMessage::user(req.user_message.clone());
         if !is_hybrid && let Some(ref img) = image_base64 {
@@ -1309,18 +1331,29 @@ fn resolve_bootstrap_system_prompt(supplied: Option<&str>) -> String {
 }
 
 /// Compose the bootstrap system message: the persona on top, followed
-/// by a photo-context block carrying the file path (and, in hybrid
-/// mode, the local-vision visual description). Lives in the system
-/// message — not the user turn — so the rendered transcript shows
-/// only what the user typed.
+/// by a photo-context block carrying the file path, date taken (when
+/// known), GPS (when present), and — in hybrid mode — the local-vision
+/// visual description. Lives in the system message — not the user
+/// turn — so the rendered transcript shows only what the user typed.
 fn build_bootstrap_system_message(
     persona: &str,
     normalized_path: &str,
+    date_taken: Option<&str>,
+    gps: Option<(f64, f64)>,
     visual_block: &str,
 ) -> String {
     let mut out = persona.trim_end().to_string();
     out.push_str("\n\n--- PHOTO CONTEXT ---\n");
     out.push_str(&format!("Photo file path: {}\n", normalized_path));
+    out.push_str(&format!(
+        "Date taken: {}\n",
+        date_taken.unwrap_or("unknown")
+    ));
+    if let Some((lat, lon)) = gps {
+        // Four decimal places ≈ 11 m of precision — plenty for any
+        // place-lookup tool, and keeps the prompt short.
+        out.push_str(&format!("GPS: {:.4}, {:.4}\n", lat, lon));
+    }
     if !visual_block.is_empty() {
         // visual_block already ends with a newline; no extra separator
         // needed.
@@ -1329,6 +1362,27 @@ fn build_bootstrap_system_message(
     out
 }
 
+/// Resolve a human-readable `YYYY-MM-DD` date string for the photo
+/// context block. Waterfall: EXIF `date_taken` → filename pattern →
+/// `None`. The fs-time fallback that `generate_agentic_insight_for_photo`
+/// uses is intentionally NOT applied here — for chat we'd rather show
+/// "unknown" than a misleading inode mtime as the photo's date.
+fn resolve_date_taken_for_context(
+    exif: &Option<crate::database::models::ImageExif>,
+    file_path: &str,
+) -> Option<String> {
+    let from_exif = exif
+        .as_ref()
+        .and_then(|e| e.date_taken)
+        .and_then(|ts| chrono::DateTime::from_timestamp(ts, 0))
+        .map(|dt| dt.format("%Y-%m-%d").to_string());
+    if from_exif.is_some() {
+        return from_exif;
+    }
+    crate::memories::extract_date_from_filename(file_path)
+        .map(|dt| dt.format("%Y-%m-%d").to_string())
+}
+
 /// Pick the backend label for bootstrap. Bootstrap has no stored insight
 /// to defer to (that's continuation's behaviour), so the default is
 /// `"local"`. Returns an error if the supplied label is non-empty but
@@ -1960,32 +2014,117 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn bootstrap_system_message_includes_path_and_persona() {
-        let out = build_bootstrap_system_message("you are helpful", "pics/IMG.jpg", "");
+        let out = build_bootstrap_system_message("you are helpful", "pics/IMG.jpg", None, None, "");
         assert!(out.starts_with("you are helpful"));
         assert!(out.contains("--- PHOTO CONTEXT ---"));
         assert!(out.contains("Photo file path: pics/IMG.jpg"));
-        // No visual block — should not introduce a stray "Visual" line.
+        // No date supplied → "unknown" so the model doesn't guess.
+        assert!(out.contains("Date taken: unknown"));
+        assert!(!out.contains("GPS:"));
         assert!(!out.contains("Visual description"));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn bootstrap_system_message_includes_date_when_supplied() {
+        let out =
+            build_bootstrap_system_message("voice", "pics/IMG.jpg", Some("2014-11-08"), None, "");
+        assert!(out.contains("Date taken: 2014-11-08"));
+        assert!(!out.contains("Date taken: unknown"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn bootstrap_system_message_includes_gps_when_present() {
+        let out = build_bootstrap_system_message(
+            "voice",
+            "p.jpg",
+            Some("2020-01-01"),
+            Some((42.36123, -71.05789)),
+            "",
+        );
+        // Four decimals — enough for place lookup, short enough to
+        // not bloat the system prompt.
+        assert!(out.contains("GPS: 42.3612, -71.0579"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn bootstrap_system_message_omits_gps_when_none() {
+        let out = build_bootstrap_system_message("voice", "p.jpg", Some("2020-01-01"), None, "");
+        assert!(!out.contains("GPS:"));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn bootstrap_system_message_includes_visual_block_when_supplied() {
         let visual = "Visual description (from local vision model):\nA dog in a park.\n";
-        let out = build_bootstrap_system_message("voice", "p.jpg", visual);
+        let out =
+            build_bootstrap_system_message("voice", "p.jpg", Some("2020-01-01"), None, visual);
         assert!(out.contains("Photo file path: p.jpg"));
         assert!(out.contains("A dog in a park"));
-        // Path appears before visual.
+        // Path before date before visual.
         let path_pos = out.find("Photo file path:").unwrap();
+        let date_pos = out.find("Date taken:").unwrap();
         let visual_pos = out.find("A dog in a park").unwrap();
-        assert!(path_pos < visual_pos);
+        assert!(path_pos < date_pos);
+        assert!(date_pos < visual_pos);
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn bootstrap_system_message_trims_persona_trailing_whitespace() {
-        // Two consecutive newlines before the photo-context divider —
-        // any trailing whitespace from the persona must be collapsed
-        // so we don't end up with `\n\n\n\n--- PHOTO CONTEXT ---`.
-        let out = build_bootstrap_system_message("voice  \n\n\n", "p.jpg", "");
+        let out = build_bootstrap_system_message("voice  \n\n\n", "p.jpg", None, None, "");
         assert!(out.contains("voice\n\n--- PHOTO CONTEXT ---"));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn date_taken_for_context_prefers_exif_over_filename() {
+        // EXIF wins when both are present (matches the canonical
+        // date_resolver waterfall — EXIF is more reliable than
+        // import-named filenames).
+        let exif = Some(crate::database::models::ImageExif {
+            id: 0,
+            library_id: 1,
+            file_path: "Screenshot_2014-06-01.png".to_string(),
+            camera_make: None,
+            camera_model: None,
+            lens_model: None,
+            width: None,
+            height: None,
+            orientation: None,
+            gps_latitude: None,
+            gps_longitude: None,
+            gps_altitude: None,
+            focal_length: None,
+            aperture: None,
+            shutter_speed: None,
+            iso: None,
+            // 2021-08-15 12:00:00 UTC
+            date_taken: Some(1_629_028_800),
+            created_time: 0,
+            last_modified: 0,
+            content_hash: None,
+            size_bytes: None,
+            phash_64: None,
+            dhash_64: None,
+            duplicate_of_hash: None,
+            duplicate_decided_at: None,
+            date_taken_source: None,
+            original_date_taken: None,
+            original_date_taken_source: None,
+        });
+        let out = resolve_date_taken_for_context(&exif, "Screenshot_2014-06-01.png");
+        assert_eq!(out.as_deref(), Some("2021-08-15"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn date_taken_for_context_falls_back_to_filename_when_no_exif() {
+        // memories::extract_date_from_filename requires date+time in
+        // the filename — date-only patterns aren't matched. Use the
+        // canonical screenshot pattern for the regression case.
+        let out = resolve_date_taken_for_context(&None, "Screenshot_2014-06-01-20-44-50.png");
+        assert_eq!(out.as_deref(), Some("2014-06-01"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn date_taken_for_context_returns_none_when_neither_source() {
+        let out = resolve_date_taken_for_context(&None, "DSC_5171.JPG");
+        assert!(out.is_none());
+    }
 }

src/ai/insight_generator.rs

@@ -229,6 +229,17 @@ impl InsightGenerator {
         None
     }
 
+    /// Look up the EXIF row for a photo. Returns `None` when no row
+    /// exists yet (file watcher hasn't reached it) or the DAO call
+    /// fails. Used by callers — including the chat-bootstrap path —
+    /// that need a few specific fields (date_taken, GPS) without
+    /// duplicating DAO plumbing.
+    pub(crate) fn fetch_exif(&self, file_path: &str) -> Option<crate::database::models::ImageExif> {
+        let cx = opentelemetry::Context::current();
+        let mut dao = self.exif_dao.lock().expect("Unable to lock ExifDao");
+        dao.get_exif(&cx, file_path).ok().flatten()
+    }
+
     /// Load image file, resize it, and encode as base64 for vision models
     /// Resizes to max 1024px on longest edge to reduce context usage
     pub(crate) fn load_image_as_base64(&self, file_path: &str) -> Result<String> {