From a59dabfee3701c1785662638b89a34890dfa0ad0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 02:20:23 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 01/15] fix(templates): allow actor based namespacing in
 strands template

---
 .../templates/agent-python-minimal/README.md  |   2 +-
 .../templates/agent-python-strands/main.py    | 104 +++++-------------
 .../agent-python-strands/memory/session.py    |   6 +-
 .../templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py   |  37 +++++++
 4 files changed, 66 insertions(+), 83 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-minimal/README.md b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-minimal/README.md
index 2093a041f..905bb06cd 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-minimal/README.md
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-minimal/README.md
@@ -27,5 +27,5 @@ Environment variables for local development go in `agentcore/.env.local`
 
 ```bash
 agentcore project deploy
-agentcore project invoke runtime --payload '{"prompt":"Hello!"}'
+agentcore project invoke runtime --payload '{"prompt":"Hello!", "actor_id": "insert namespace here"}'
 ```
diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
index 9a350a3f3..e0d1aa27d 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
@@ -1,106 +1,56 @@
-from typing import Any
-
 from strands import Agent, tool
+import uuid
 from strands.agent.conversation_manager.null_conversation_manager import NullConversationManager
 from bedrock_agentcore.runtime import BedrockAgentCoreApp
 from model.load import load_model
+from parse import parse_payload
 from memory.session import get_memory_session_manager
 
-app = BedrockAgentCoreApp()
-log = app.logger
-
 DEFAULT_SYSTEM_PROMPT = "You are a helpful assistant. Use tools when appropriate."
 
 # Define a collection of tools used by the model
 tools = []
 
-
 # Define a simple function tool
 @tool
-def add_numbers(a: int, b: int) -> int:
+def _add_numbers(a: int, b: int) -> int:
     """Return the sum of two numbers"""
     return a + b
 
-
-tools.append(add_numbers)
-
+tools.append(_add_numbers)
 
 def _make_conversation_manager():
     return NullConversationManager()
 
+def create_app():
+    app = BedrockAgentCoreApp()
+    log = app.logger 
 
-def agent_factory():
-    cache = {}
-    def get_or_create_agent(session_id, user_id):
-        key = f"{session_id}/{user_id}"
-        if key not in cache:
-            cache[key] = Agent(
+    @app.entrypoint
+    async def invoke(payload, context):
+        log.info("Invoking Agent.....")
+
+        session_id = getattr(context, "session_id", uuid.uuid4().hex) 
+        prompt, actor_id = parse_payload(payload)
+
+        log.info(f"Invoking with session_id={session_id} and actor_id={actor_id}")
+        agent = Agent(
                 model=load_model(),
-                session_manager=get_memory_session_manager(session_id, user_id),
+                session_manager=get_memory_session_manager(session_id, actor_id),
                 conversation_manager=_make_conversation_manager(),
                 system_prompt=DEFAULT_SYSTEM_PROMPT,
-                tools=tools,
-            )
-        return cache[key]
-    return get_or_create_agent
-get_or_create_agent = agent_factory()
-
-
-def strip_trailing_tool_use(messages: Any) -> list[dict]:
-    """Strip toolUse blocks from the tail until the last message has none."""
-    if not isinstance(messages, list):
-        raise ValueError("messages must be a list")
-
-    messages = list(messages)
-    while messages:
-        last = messages[-1]
-        if not isinstance(last, dict):
-            raise ValueError("each message must be an object")
-        original_content = last.get("content", [])
-        if not isinstance(original_content, list) or not all(isinstance(block, dict) for block in original_content):
-            raise ValueError("each message content value must be a list of content blocks")
-
-        content = [block for block in original_content if "toolUse" not in block]
-        if len(content) == len(original_content):
-            break
-        if content:
-            messages[-1] = {**last, "content": content}
-            break
-        messages.pop()
-
-    return messages
-
-
-def _extract_prompt(payload: dict):
-    """Accept a caller-supplied message history or a plain prompt string."""
-    if not isinstance(payload, dict):
-        raise ValueError("payload must be a JSON object")
-    if "messages" in payload:
-        return strip_trailing_tool_use(payload["messages"])
-    prompt = payload.get("prompt", "")
-    if not isinstance(prompt, str):
-        raise ValueError("prompt must be a string")
-    return prompt
-
-
-@app.entrypoint
-async def invoke(payload, context):
-    log.info("Invoking Agent.....")
-
-    session_id = getattr(context, "session_id", "default-session")
-    user_id = getattr(context, "user_id", "default-user")
-    agent = get_or_create_agent(session_id, user_id)
-
-    prompt = _extract_prompt(payload)
+                tools=tools)
 
-    async for event in agent.stream_async(prompt):
-        if not isinstance(event, dict) or "event" not in event:
-            continue
-        cbs = event["event"].get("contentBlockStart")
-        if cbs is not None and not cbs.get("start"):
-            continue
-        yield event
+        async for event in agent.stream_async(prompt):
+            if not isinstance(event, dict) or "event" not in event:
+                continue
+            cbs = event["event"].get("contentBlockStart")
+            if cbs is not None and not cbs.get("start"):
+                continue
+            yield event
 
+    return app
 
+app = create_app()
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     app.run()
diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/memory/session.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/memory/session.py
index 6372a2f68..439cb7620 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/memory/session.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/memory/session.py
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 import os
-import uuid
 from typing import Optional
 
 from bedrock_agentcore.memory.integrations.strands.config import AgentCoreMemoryConfig, RetrievalConfig
@@ -8,15 +7,12 @@
 MEMORY_ID = os.getenv("{{memoryEnvVarName}}")
 REGION = os.getenv("AWS_REGION")
 
-
 def get_memory_session_manager(
-    session_id: Optional[str], actor_id: str
+        session_id: str, actor_id: str, 
 ) -> Optional[AgentCoreMemorySessionManager]:
     if not MEMORY_ID:
         return None
 
-    session_id = session_id or uuid.uuid4().hex
-
     retrieval_config = {
         f"/users/{actor_id}/facts": RetrievalConfig(top_k=3, relevance_score=0.5),
         f"/users/{actor_id}/preferences": RetrievalConfig(top_k=3, relevance_score=0.5),
diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..de478ea65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+from typing import Any
+
+def _strip_trailing_tool_use(messages: Any) -> list[dict]:
+    """Strip toolUse blocks from the tail until the last message has none."""
+    if not isinstance(messages, list):
+        raise ValueError("messages must be a list")
+
+    messages = list(messages)
+    while messages:
+        last = messages[-1]
+        if not isinstance(last, dict):
+            raise ValueError("each message must be an object")
+        original_content = last.get("content", [])
+        if not isinstance(original_content, list) or not all(isinstance(block, dict) for block in original_content):
+            raise ValueError("each message content value must be a list of content blocks")
+
+        content = [block for block in original_content if "toolUse" not in block]
+        if len(content) == len(original_content):
+            break
+        if content:
+            messages[-1] = {**last, "content": content}
+            break
+        messages.pop()
+
+    return messages
+
+def parse_payload(payload: dict):
+    """Accept a caller-supplied message history or a plain prompt string."""
+    actor_id = payload.get("actor_id", "default")
+    if not isinstance(payload, dict):
+        raise ValueError("payload must be a JSON object")
+    if "messages" in payload:
+        return strip_trailing_tool_use(payload["messages"]), actor_id
+    prompt = payload.get("prompt", "")
+    if not isinstance(prompt, str):
+        raise ValueError("prompt must be a string")
+    return prompt, actor_id

From 14337b58749120c33d08a96636e93b4cdcae568a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 02:33:08 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 02/15] docs(template): update readme for strands template

---
 .../templates/agent-python-minimal/README.md       |  2 +-
 .../templates/agent-python-strands/README.md       | 14 ++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-minimal/README.md b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-minimal/README.md
index 905bb06cd..2093a041f 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-minimal/README.md
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-minimal/README.md
@@ -27,5 +27,5 @@ Environment variables for local development go in `agentcore/.env.local`
 
 ```bash
 agentcore project deploy
-agentcore project invoke runtime --payload '{"prompt":"Hello!", "actor_id": "insert namespace here"}'
+agentcore project invoke runtime --payload '{"prompt":"Hello!"}'
 ```
diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md
index eebff51c3..321ee6b1d 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md
@@ -19,6 +19,20 @@ Validate invocation input before forwarding it to Strands. Keep plain prompts ty
 caller-supplied message history, retain `strip_trailing_tool_use()`, which normalizes the history tail before
 invoking the agent.
 
+## Payload
+
+The Runtime accepts a JSON object. `parse_payload()` reads:
+
+- `prompt` (string) — a single user message. Used when `messages` is absent; defaults to `""`.
+- `messages` (array) — a full conversation history (`[{"role": ..., "content": [...]}]`). Takes precedence over `prompt`; trailing `toolUse` blocks are stripped before the agent runs.
+- `actor_id` (string, optional) — identifies the end user for Memory scoping (e.g. `/users/{actor_id}/facts`). Defaults to `"default"`.
+
+Provide either `prompt` or `messages`. The `session_id` is not in the body — it comes from the `X-Amzn-Bedrock-AgentCore-Runtime-Session-Id` header (`context.session_id`); reuse it to continue a conversation.
+
+```json
+{ "prompt": "What's the weather?", "actor_id": "user-123" }
+```
+
 ## Environment Variables
 
 | Variable | Required | Description |

From 5f9ed5e34b35645546f319a4fb23e43f27d61963 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 02:51:52 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 03/15] fix(templates): address function name change

---
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
index de478ea65..836f05eaa 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
@@ -26,11 +26,11 @@ def _strip_trailing_tool_use(messages: Any) -> list[dict]:
 
 def parse_payload(payload: dict):
     """Accept a caller-supplied message history or a plain prompt string."""
-    actor_id = payload.get("actor_id", "default")
     if not isinstance(payload, dict):
         raise ValueError("payload must be a JSON object")
+    actor_id = payload.get("actor_id", "default")
     if "messages" in payload:
-        return strip_trailing_tool_use(payload["messages"]), actor_id
+        return _strip_trailing_tool_use(payload["messages"]), actor_id
     prompt = payload.get("prompt", "")
     if not isinstance(prompt, str):
         raise ValueError("prompt must be a string")

From 4479b00925bc527983418123108ac3e45e1000eb Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 02:52:14 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 04/15] fix(templates): swap back toolname to remove _ for user
 facing messaging

---
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py | 6 +++---
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
index e0d1aa27d..72f1e081b 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
@@ -13,11 +13,11 @@
 
 # Define a simple function tool
 @tool
-def _add_numbers(a: int, b: int) -> int:
+def add_numbers(a: int, b: int) -> int:
     """Return the sum of two numbers"""
     return a + b
 
-tools.append(_add_numbers)
+tools.append(add_numbers)
 
 def _make_conversation_manager():
     return NullConversationManager()
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ def create_app():
     async def invoke(payload, context):
         log.info("Invoking Agent.....")
 
-        session_id = getattr(context, "session_id", uuid.uuid4().hex) 
+        session_id = getattr(context, "session_id", None) or uuid.uuid4().hex 
         prompt, actor_id = parse_payload(payload)
 
         log.info(f"Invoking with session_id={session_id} and actor_id={actor_id}")

From 1618dfedab6e53082f0aebf5add53e9146eff8d3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 03:03:03 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 05/15] fix(templates): use static session-id default for dev

---
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
index 72f1e081b..fa809cb9f 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ def create_app():
     async def invoke(payload, context):
         log.info("Invoking Agent.....")
 
-        session_id = getattr(context, "session_id", None) or uuid.uuid4().hex 
+        session_id = getattr(context, "session_id", None) or "default-session" 
         prompt, actor_id = parse_payload(payload)
 
         log.info(f"Invoking with session_id={session_id} and actor_id={actor_id}")

From e05f51a41e7f0f8ed1d57a0f7fe727e6fd082e3e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 03:17:25 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 06/15] refactor(templates): drop unused uuid import in strands
 main

---
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py | 1 -
 1 file changed, 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
index fa809cb9f..7845acee0 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 from strands import Agent, tool
-import uuid
 from strands.agent.conversation_manager.null_conversation_manager import NullConversationManager
 from bedrock_agentcore.runtime import BedrockAgentCoreApp
 from model.load import load_model

From e00763d09ef1be6eca73fa06fbfd239aa2488a5e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 03:17:32 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 07/15] fix(templates): validate actor_id is a string in
 parse_payload

---
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py | 2 ++
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
index 836f05eaa..674164239 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ def parse_payload(payload: dict):
     if not isinstance(payload, dict):
         raise ValueError("payload must be a JSON object")
     actor_id = payload.get("actor_id", "default")
+    if not isinstance(actor_id, str):
+        raise ValueError("actor_id must be a string")
     if "messages" in payload:
         return _strip_trailing_tool_use(payload["messages"]), actor_id
     prompt = payload.get("prompt", "")

From 4f2e82e6738c1edea2e90c6c0419e342cfff7f45 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 03:17:40 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 08/15] docs(templates): fix stale strip_trailing_tool_use
 reference

---
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md
index 321ee6b1d..695df1356 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ file defines a Starlette ASGI app with the Strands Agent SDK running within.
 ## Input Validation
 
 Validate invocation input before forwarding it to Strands. Keep plain prompts typed as strings. If the app accepts a
-caller-supplied message history, retain `strip_trailing_tool_use()`, which normalizes the history tail before
-invoking the agent.
+caller-supplied message history, retain `_strip_trailing_tool_use()` in `parse.py`, which normalizes the history tail
+before invoking the agent.
 
 ## Payload
 

From 5f5031de3d90ad38b9ebf05c99f7396768e6f7af Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 03:18:11 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 09/15] style(templates): remove trailing whitespace and fix
 Agent indentation

---
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py | 15 ++++++++-------
 .../agent-python-strands/memory/session.py        |  2 +-
 2 files changed, 9 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
index 7845acee0..792348062 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
@@ -23,22 +23,23 @@ def _make_conversation_manager():
 
 def create_app():
     app = BedrockAgentCoreApp()
-    log = app.logger 
+    log = app.logger
 
     @app.entrypoint
     async def invoke(payload, context):
         log.info("Invoking Agent.....")
 
-        session_id = getattr(context, "session_id", None) or "default-session" 
+        session_id = getattr(context, "session_id", None) or "default-session"
         prompt, actor_id = parse_payload(payload)
 
         log.info(f"Invoking with session_id={session_id} and actor_id={actor_id}")
         agent = Agent(
-                model=load_model(),
-                session_manager=get_memory_session_manager(session_id, actor_id),
-                conversation_manager=_make_conversation_manager(),
-                system_prompt=DEFAULT_SYSTEM_PROMPT,
-                tools=tools)
+            model=load_model(),
+            session_manager=get_memory_session_manager(session_id, actor_id),
+            conversation_manager=_make_conversation_manager(),
+            system_prompt=DEFAULT_SYSTEM_PROMPT,
+            tools=tools,
+        )
 
         async for event in agent.stream_async(prompt):
             if not isinstance(event, dict) or "event" not in event:
diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/memory/session.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/memory/session.py
index 439cb7620..aa8e46e5a 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/memory/session.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/memory/session.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 REGION = os.getenv("AWS_REGION")
 
 def get_memory_session_manager(
-        session_id: str, actor_id: str, 
+        session_id: str, actor_id: str,
 ) -> Optional[AgentCoreMemorySessionManager]:
     if not MEMORY_ID:
         return None

From 5c72326bd9fff7bfd3c520cd3561854a93798097 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 03:33:29 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 10/15] fix(templates): reject empty actor_id in parse_payload

---
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
index 674164239..a6ffcad9a 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ def parse_payload(payload: dict):
     if not isinstance(payload, dict):
         raise ValueError("payload must be a JSON object")
     actor_id = payload.get("actor_id", "default")
-    if not isinstance(actor_id, str):
-        raise ValueError("actor_id must be a string")
+    if not isinstance(actor_id, str) or not actor_id:
+        raise ValueError("actor_id must be a non-empty string")
     if "messages" in payload:
         return _strip_trailing_tool_use(payload["messages"]), actor_id
     prompt = payload.get("prompt", "")

From c1053af99caad3cfc023830b29eae7b2e93ec86d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 03:44:34 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 11/15] perf(templates): cache Agents per session/actor with
 lru_cache

---
 .../templates/agent-python-strands/main.py    | 21 ++++++++++++-------
 1 file changed, 14 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
index 792348062..ef5043f46 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+from functools import lru_cache
+
 from strands import Agent, tool
 from strands.agent.conversation_manager.null_conversation_manager import NullConversationManager
 from bedrock_agentcore.runtime import BedrockAgentCoreApp
@@ -21,6 +23,17 @@ def add_numbers(a: int, b: int) -> int:
 def _make_conversation_manager():
     return NullConversationManager()
 
+@lru_cache(maxsize=128)
+def _get_agent(session_id: str, actor_id: str) -> Agent:
+    """Cache Agents per session/actor to skip repeat identity fetches and keep turn history in dev."""
+    return Agent(
+        model=load_model(),
+        session_manager=get_memory_session_manager(session_id, actor_id),
+        conversation_manager=_make_conversation_manager(),
+        system_prompt=DEFAULT_SYSTEM_PROMPT,
+        tools=tools,
+    )
+
 def create_app():
     app = BedrockAgentCoreApp()
     log = app.logger
@@ -33,13 +46,7 @@ async def invoke(payload, context):
         prompt, actor_id = parse_payload(payload)
 
         log.info(f"Invoking with session_id={session_id} and actor_id={actor_id}")
-        agent = Agent(
-            model=load_model(),
-            session_manager=get_memory_session_manager(session_id, actor_id),
-            conversation_manager=_make_conversation_manager(),
-            system_prompt=DEFAULT_SYSTEM_PROMPT,
-            tools=tools,
-        )
+        agent = _get_agent(session_id, actor_id)
 
         async for event in agent.stream_async(prompt):
             if not isinstance(event, dict) or "event" not in event:

From 3136597a8ce6f80c7229ba03e91009a7865e7b27 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 03:53:42 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 12/15] fix(templates): fall back to default for empty actor_id

---
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py | 6 ++++--
 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
index a6ffcad9a..ec17fb649 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
@@ -29,8 +29,10 @@ def parse_payload(payload: dict):
     if not isinstance(payload, dict):
         raise ValueError("payload must be a JSON object")
     actor_id = payload.get("actor_id", "default")
-    if not isinstance(actor_id, str) or not actor_id:
-        raise ValueError("actor_id must be a non-empty string")
+    if not isinstance(actor_id, str):
+        raise ValueError("actor_id must be a string")
+    if not actor_id:
+        actor_id = "default"
     if "messages" in payload:
         return _strip_trailing_tool_use(payload["messages"]), actor_id
     prompt = payload.get("prompt", "")

From 283cef717349688919bda538a90c4b1c2b6dae59 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 03:54:09 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 13/15] test(project): add parse.py to strands manifest
 snapshot

---
 src/core/project/__snapshots__/manager.test.ts.snap | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

diff --git a/src/core/project/__snapshots__/manager.test.ts.snap b/src/core/project/__snapshots__/manager.test.ts.snap
index a079f027d..228fe02f9 100644
--- a/src/core/project/__snapshots__/manager.test.ts.snap
+++ b/src/core/project/__snapshots__/manager.test.ts.snap
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ exports[`FsProjectManager.create snapshots the Strands project manifest and runt
     "app/agent_python_strands/memory/session.py",
     "app/agent_python_strands/model/__init__.py",
     "app/agent_python_strands/model/load.py",
+    "app/agent_python_strands/parse.py",
     "app/agent_python_strands/pyproject.toml",
   ],
   "memories": [

From 50f1eff137bd5750435f5c460f224f51ac864ce1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 04:12:36 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 14/15] docs(templates): expand _get_agent docstring

---
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py | 4 +++-
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
index ef5043f46..ffd55b88e 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/main.py
@@ -25,7 +25,9 @@ def _make_conversation_manager():
 
 @lru_cache(maxsize=128)
 def _get_agent(session_id: str, actor_id: str) -> Agent:
-    """Cache Agents per session/actor to skip repeat identity fetches and keep turn history in dev."""
+    """Given a session_id and actor_id, return or construct the corresponding Strands agent.
+    Note: caching helps avoid repeated identity fetches on non-bedrock model loads
+    and supports in-memory session management for local dev."""
     return Agent(
         model=load_model(),
         session_manager=get_memory_session_manager(session_id, actor_id),

From d5578346575675682445707c20cd9a03850699d3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hweinstock <hkobew@amazon.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:19:41 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 15/15] refactor(templates): rename actor_id payload field to
 actorId

---
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md | 4 ++--
 src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py  | 4 ++--
 2 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md
index 695df1356..0414cf1be 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/README.md
@@ -25,12 +25,12 @@ The Runtime accepts a JSON object. `parse_payload()` reads:
 
 - `prompt` (string) — a single user message. Used when `messages` is absent; defaults to `""`.
 - `messages` (array) — a full conversation history (`[{"role": ..., "content": [...]}]`). Takes precedence over `prompt`; trailing `toolUse` blocks are stripped before the agent runs.
-- `actor_id` (string, optional) — identifies the end user for Memory scoping (e.g. `/users/{actor_id}/facts`). Defaults to `"default"`.
+- `actorId` (string, optional) — identifies the end user for Memory scoping (e.g. `/users/{actorId}/facts`). Defaults to `"default"`.
 
 Provide either `prompt` or `messages`. The `session_id` is not in the body — it comes from the `X-Amzn-Bedrock-AgentCore-Runtime-Session-Id` header (`context.session_id`); reuse it to continue a conversation.
 
 ```json
-{ "prompt": "What's the weather?", "actor_id": "user-123" }
+{ "prompt": "What's the weather?", "actorId": "user-123" }
 ```
 
 ## Environment Variables
diff --git a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
index ec17fb649..e0b63f729 100644
--- a/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
+++ b/src/assets/templates/agent-python-strands/parse.py
@@ -28,9 +28,9 @@ def parse_payload(payload: dict):
     """Accept a caller-supplied message history or a plain prompt string."""
     if not isinstance(payload, dict):
         raise ValueError("payload must be a JSON object")
-    actor_id = payload.get("actor_id", "default")
+    actor_id = payload.get("actorId", "default")
     if not isinstance(actor_id, str):
-        raise ValueError("actor_id must be a string")
+        raise ValueError("actorId must be a string")
     if not actor_id:
         actor_id = "default"
     if "messages" in payload: