Add include_name_in_message parameter to make name field optional in OpenAI messages (#6845)

Co-authored-by: copilot-swe-agent[bot] <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: ekzhu <320302+ekzhu@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Eric Zhu <ekzhu@users.noreply.github.com>

python/packages/autogen-ext/src/autogen_ext/models/openai/_message_transform.py

@@ -197,10 +197,14 @@ def _set_role(role: str) -> Callable[[LLMMessage, Dict[str, Any]], Dict[str, str
     return inner
 
 
-def _set_name(message: LLMMessage, context: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, str]:
+def _set_name(message: LLMMessage, context: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     assert isinstance(message, (UserMessage, AssistantMessage))
     assert_valid_name(message.source)
-    return {"name": message.source}
+    # Check if name should be included in message
+    if context.get("include_name_in_message", True):
+        return {"name": message.source}
+    else:
+        return EMPTY
 
 
 def _set_content_direct(message: LLMMessage, context: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, LLMMessageContent]:

python/packages/autogen-ext/src/autogen_ext/models/openai/_openai_client.py

@@ -163,10 +163,15 @@ def type_to_role(message: LLMMessage) -> ChatCompletionRole:
 
 
 def to_oai_type(
-    message: LLMMessage, prepend_name: bool = False, model: str = "unknown", model_family: str = ModelFamily.UNKNOWN
+    message: LLMMessage,
+    prepend_name: bool = False,
+    model: str = "unknown",
+    model_family: str = ModelFamily.UNKNOWN,
+    include_name_in_message: bool = True,
 ) -> Sequence[ChatCompletionMessageParam]:
     context = {
         "prepend_name": prepend_name,
+        "include_name_in_message": include_name_in_message,
     }
     transformers = get_transformer("openai", model, model_family)
 
@@ -307,6 +312,7 @@ def count_tokens_openai(
     add_name_prefixes: bool = False,
     tools: Sequence[Tool | ToolSchema] = [],
     model_family: str = ModelFamily.UNKNOWN,
+    include_name_in_message: bool = True,
 ) -> int:
     try:
         encoding = tiktoken.encoding_for_model(model)
@@ -320,7 +326,13 @@ def count_tokens_openai(
     # Message tokens.
     for message in messages:
         num_tokens += tokens_per_message
-        oai_message = to_oai_type(message, prepend_name=add_name_prefixes, model=model, model_family=model_family)
+        oai_message = to_oai_type(
+            message,
+            prepend_name=add_name_prefixes,
+            model=model,
+            model_family=model_family,
+            include_name_in_message=include_name_in_message,
+        )
         for oai_message_part in oai_message:
             for key, value in oai_message_part.items():
                 if value is None:
@@ -413,9 +425,11 @@ class BaseOpenAIChatCompletionClient(ChatCompletionClient):
         model_capabilities: Optional[ModelCapabilities] = None,  # type: ignore
         model_info: Optional[ModelInfo] = None,
         add_name_prefixes: bool = False,
+        include_name_in_message: bool = True,
     ):
         self._client = client
         self._add_name_prefixes = add_name_prefixes
+        self._include_name_in_message = include_name_in_message
         if model_capabilities is None and model_info is None:
             try:
                 self._model_info = _model_info.get_info(create_args["model"])
@@ -591,6 +605,7 @@ class BaseOpenAIChatCompletionClient(ChatCompletionClient):
                 prepend_name=self._add_name_prefixes,
                 model=create_args.get("model", "unknown"),
                 model_family=self._model_info["family"],
+                include_name_in_message=self._include_name_in_message,
             )
             for m in messages
         ]
@@ -1127,6 +1142,7 @@ class BaseOpenAIChatCompletionClient(ChatCompletionClient):
             add_name_prefixes=self._add_name_prefixes,
             tools=tools,
             model_family=self._model_info["family"],
+            include_name_in_message=self._include_name_in_message,
         )
 
     def remaining_tokens(self, messages: Sequence[LLMMessage], *, tools: Sequence[Tool | ToolSchema] = []) -> int:
@@ -1227,6 +1243,9 @@ class OpenAIChatCompletionClient(BaseOpenAIChatCompletionClient, Component[OpenA
             "this is content" becomes "Reviewer said: this is content."
             This can be useful for models that do not support the `name` field in
             message. Defaults to False.
+        include_name_in_message (optional, bool): Whether to include the `name` field
+            in user message parameters sent to the OpenAI API. Defaults to True. Set to False
+            for model providers that don't support the `name` field (e.g., Groq).
         stream_options (optional, dict): Additional options for streaming. Currently only `include_usage` is supported.
 
     Examples:
@@ -1426,6 +1445,10 @@ class OpenAIChatCompletionClient(BaseOpenAIChatCompletionClient, Component[OpenA
         if "add_name_prefixes" in kwargs:
             add_name_prefixes = kwargs["add_name_prefixes"]
 
+        include_name_in_message: bool = True
+        if "include_name_in_message" in kwargs:
+            include_name_in_message = kwargs["include_name_in_message"]
+
         # Special handling for Gemini model.
         assert "model" in copied_args and isinstance(copied_args["model"], str)
         if copied_args["model"].startswith("gemini-"):
@@ -1453,6 +1476,7 @@ class OpenAIChatCompletionClient(BaseOpenAIChatCompletionClient, Component[OpenA
             model_capabilities=model_capabilities,
             model_info=model_info,
             add_name_prefixes=add_name_prefixes,
+            include_name_in_message=include_name_in_message,
         )
 
     def __getstate__(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
@@ -1554,6 +1578,15 @@ class AzureOpenAIChatCompletionClient(
         top_p (optional, float):
         user (optional, str):
         default_headers (optional, dict[str, str]):  Custom headers; useful for authentication or other custom requirements.
+        add_name_prefixes (optional, bool): Whether to prepend the `source` value
+            to each :class:`~autogen_core.models.UserMessage` content. E.g.,
+            "this is content" becomes "Reviewer said: this is content."
+            This can be useful for models that do not support the `name` field in
+            message. Defaults to False.
+        include_name_in_message (optional, bool): Whether to include the `name` field
+            in user message parameters sent to the OpenAI API. Defaults to True. Set to False
+            for model providers that don't support the `name` field (e.g., Groq).
+        stream_options (optional, dict): Additional options for streaming. Currently only `include_usage` is supported.
 
 
     To use the client, you need to provide your deployment name, Azure Cognitive Services endpoint, and api version.
@@ -1645,6 +1678,10 @@ class AzureOpenAIChatCompletionClient(
         if "add_name_prefixes" in kwargs:
             add_name_prefixes = kwargs["add_name_prefixes"]
 
+        include_name_in_message: bool = True
+        if "include_name_in_message" in kwargs:
+            include_name_in_message = kwargs["include_name_in_message"]
+
         client = _azure_openai_client_from_config(copied_args)
         create_args = _create_args_from_config(copied_args)
         self._raw_config: Dict[str, Any] = copied_args
@@ -1654,6 +1691,7 @@ class AzureOpenAIChatCompletionClient(
             model_capabilities=model_capabilities,
             model_info=model_info,
             add_name_prefixes=add_name_prefixes,
+            include_name_in_message=include_name_in_message,
         )
 
     def __getstate__(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:

python/packages/autogen-ext/src/autogen_ext/models/openai/config/__init__.py

@@ -63,6 +63,8 @@ class BaseOpenAIClientConfiguration(CreateArguments, total=False):
     model_info: ModelInfo
     add_name_prefixes: bool
     """What functionality the model supports, determined by default from model name but is overriden if value passed."""
+    include_name_in_message: bool
+    """Whether to include the 'name' field in user message parameters. Defaults to True. Set to False for providers that don't support the 'name' field."""
     default_headers: Dict[str, str] | None
 
 
@@ -105,6 +107,7 @@ class BaseOpenAIClientConfigurationConfigModel(CreateArgumentsConfigModel):
     model_capabilities: ModelCapabilities | None = None  # type: ignore
     model_info: ModelInfo | None = None
     add_name_prefixes: bool | None = None
+    include_name_in_message: bool | None = None
     default_headers: Dict[str, str] | None = None
 
 

python/packages/autogen-ext/tests/models/test_openai_model_client.py

@@ -2680,6 +2680,96 @@ async def test_mistral_remove_name() -> None:
     assert ("name" in params[0]) is True
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_include_name_in_message() -> None:
+    """Test that include_name_in_message parameter controls the name field."""
+
+    # Test with UserMessage
+    user_message = UserMessage(content="Hello, I am from Seattle.", source="Adam")
+
+    # Test with include_name_in_message=True (default)
+    result_with_name = to_oai_type(user_message, include_name_in_message=True)[0]
+    assert "name" in result_with_name
+    assert result_with_name["name"] == "Adam"  # type: ignore[typeddict-item]
+    assert result_with_name["role"] == "user"
+    assert result_with_name["content"] == "Hello, I am from Seattle."
+
+    # Test with include_name_in_message=False
+    result_without_name = to_oai_type(user_message, include_name_in_message=False)[0]
+    assert "name" not in result_without_name
+    assert result_without_name["role"] == "user"
+    assert result_without_name["content"] == "Hello, I am from Seattle."
+
+    # Test with AssistantMessage (should not have name field regardless)
+    assistant_message = AssistantMessage(content="Hello, how can I help you?", source="Assistant")
+
+    # Test with include_name_in_message=True
+    result_assistant_with_name = to_oai_type(assistant_message, include_name_in_message=True)[0]
+    assert "name" not in result_assistant_with_name
+    assert result_assistant_with_name["role"] == "assistant"
+
+    # Test with include_name_in_message=False
+    result_assistant_without_name = to_oai_type(assistant_message, include_name_in_message=False)[0]
+    assert "name" not in result_assistant_without_name
+    assert result_assistant_without_name["role"] == "assistant"
+
+    # Test with SystemMessage (should not have name field regardless)
+    system_message = SystemMessage(content="You are a helpful assistant.")
+    result_system_with_name = to_oai_type(system_message, include_name_in_message=True)[0]
+    result_system_without_name = to_oai_type(system_message, include_name_in_message=False)[0]
+    assert "name" not in result_system_with_name
+    assert "name" not in result_system_without_name
+    assert result_system_with_name["role"] == "system"
+    assert result_system_without_name["role"] == "system"
+
+    # Test default behavior (should include name when parameter not specified)
+    result_default = to_oai_type(user_message)[0]  # include_name_in_message defaults to True
+    assert "name" in result_default
+    assert result_default["name"] == "Adam"  # type: ignore[typeddict-item]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_include_name_with_different_models() -> None:
+    """Test that include_name_in_message works with different model families."""
+
+    user_message = UserMessage(content="Hello", source="User")
+
+    # Test with GPT-4o model (normally includes name)
+    result_gpt4o_with_name = to_oai_type(
+        user_message, model="gpt-4o", model_family=ModelFamily.GPT_4O, include_name_in_message=True
+    )[0]
+    result_gpt4o_without_name = to_oai_type(
+        user_message, model="gpt-4o", model_family=ModelFamily.GPT_4O, include_name_in_message=False
+    )[0]
+
+    assert "name" in result_gpt4o_with_name
+    assert "name" not in result_gpt4o_without_name
+
+    # Test with Mistral model (normally excludes name, but should still respect the parameter)
+    result_mistral_with_name = to_oai_type(
+        user_message, model="mistral-7b", model_family=ModelFamily.MISTRAL, include_name_in_message=True
+    )[0]
+    result_mistral_without_name = to_oai_type(
+        user_message, model="mistral-7b", model_family=ModelFamily.MISTRAL, include_name_in_message=False
+    )[0]
+
+    # Note: Mistral transformers are specifically built without _set_name, so they won't have name regardless
+    # But our parameter still controls the behavior consistently
+    assert "name" not in result_mistral_with_name  # Mistral design excludes names
+    assert "name" not in result_mistral_without_name
+
+    # Test with unknown model (uses default transformer)
+    result_unknown_with_name = to_oai_type(
+        user_message, model="some-custom-model", model_family=ModelFamily.UNKNOWN, include_name_in_message=True
+    )[0]
+    result_unknown_without_name = to_oai_type(
+        user_message, model="some-custom-model", model_family=ModelFamily.UNKNOWN, include_name_in_message=False
+    )[0]
+
+    assert "name" in result_unknown_with_name
+    assert "name" not in result_unknown_without_name
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_mock_tool_choice_specific_tool(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
     """Test tool_choice parameter with a specific tool using mocks."""