fix(citations): improve citation link rendering and copy behavior

- Use citation.title for display text in CitationLink to ensure correct
  titles show during streaming (instead of generic "Source" text)
- Render all external links as CitationLink badges for consistent styling
  during streaming output
- Add removeAllCitations when copying message content to clipboard
- Simplify citations_format prompt for cleaner AI output

Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>

backend/src/agents/lead_agent/prompt.py

@@ -123,35 +123,25 @@ You have access to skills that provide optimized workflows for specific tasks. E
 </response_style>
 
 <citations_format>
-**FORMAT** - After web_search, ALWAYS include citations in your output:
+After web_search, ALWAYS include citations in your output and MUST start with a `<citations>` block in JSONL format:
-**For chat responses:**
-Your visible response MUST start with citations block, then content with inline links:
 <citations>
-{{"id": "cite-1", "title": "Page Title", "url": "https://example.com/page", "snippet": "Brief description"}}
+{{"id": "cite-1", "title": "Source Title 1", "url": "https://example.com/page1", "snippet": "Brief description of source 1"}}
+...
 </citations>
-Content with inline links...
 
-**For files (write_file):**
+**Rules:**
-File content MUST start with citations block, then content with inline links:
+- Write content naturally, add [Source Name](full_url) at end of sentence/paragraph
-<citations>
-{{"id": "cite-1", "title": "Page Title", "url": "https://example.com/page", "snippet": "Brief description"}}
-</citations>
-# Document Title
-Content with inline [Source Name](full_url) links...
-
-**RULES:**
-- `<citations>` block MUST be FIRST (in both chat response AND file content)
-- Write full content naturally, add [Source Name](full_url) at end of sentence/paragraph
 - NEVER use "According to [Source]" format - write content first, then add citation link at end
-- Example: "AI agents will transform digital work ([Microsoft](url))" NOT "According to [Microsoft](url), AI agents will..."
 
 **Example:**
 <citations>
 {{"id": "cite-1", "title": "AI Trends 2026", "url": "https://techcrunch.com/ai-trends", "snippet": "Tech industry predictions"}}
+{{"id": "cite-2", "title": "OpenAI Research", "url": "https://openai.com/research", "snippet": "Latest AI research developments"}}
 </citations>
-The key AI trends for 2026 include enhanced reasoning capabilities, multimodal integration, and improved efficiency [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/ai-trends).
+The key AI trends for 2026 include enhanced reasoning capabilities and multimodal integration [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/ai-trends). Recent breakthroughs in language models have also accelerated progress [OpenAI](https://openai.com/research).
 </citations_format>
 
+
 <critical_reminders>
 - **Clarification First**: ALWAYS clarify unclear/missing/ambiguous requirements BEFORE starting work - never assume or guess
 - Skill First: Always load the relevant skill before starting **complex** tasks.

frontend/src/components/ai-elements/inline-citation.tsx

@@ -309,6 +309,11 @@ export const CitationLink = ({
   children,
 }: CitationLinkProps) => {
   const domain = extractDomainFromUrl(href);
+  
+  // Priority: citation.title > domain
+  // When citation has title, use it for consistent display
+  // This ensures correct title shows even during streaming when children might be generic
+  const displayText = citation?.title || domain;
 
   return (
     <InlineCitationCard>
@@ -324,7 +329,7 @@ export const CitationLink = ({
             variant="secondary"
             className="hover:bg-secondary/80 mx-0.5 cursor-pointer gap-1 rounded-full px-2 py-0.5 text-xs font-normal"
           >
-            {children ?? domain}
+            {displayText}
             <ExternalLinkIcon className="size-3" />
           </Badge>
         </a>

frontend/src/components/workspace/messages/message-list-item.tsx

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import {
   buildCitationMap,
   isCitationsBlockIncomplete,
   parseCitations,
+  removeAllCitations,
 } from "@/core/citations";
 import {
   extractContentFromMessage,
@@ -62,11 +63,11 @@ export function MessageListItem({
       >
         <div className="flex gap-1">
           <CopyButton
-            clipboardData={
+            clipboardData={removeAllCitations(
               extractContentFromMessage(message) ??
               extractReasoningContentFromMessage(message) ??
               ""
-            }
+            )}
           />
         </div>
       </MessageToolbar>
@@ -76,19 +77,25 @@ export function MessageListItem({
 
 /**
  * Custom link component that handles citations and external links
+ * All external links (http/https) are rendered as CitationLink badges
+ * to ensure consistent styling during streaming
  */
 function MessageLink({
   href,
   children,
   citationMap,
-  ...props
 }: React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement> & {
   citationMap: Map<string, Citation>;
 }) {
   if (!href) return <span>{children}</span>;
 
   const citation = citationMap.get(href);
-  if (citation) {
+  
+  // Check if it's an external link (http/https)
+  const isExternalLink = href.startsWith("http://") || href.startsWith("https://");
+  
+  // All external links use CitationLink for consistent styling during streaming
+  if (isExternalLink) {
     return (
       <CitationLink citation={citation} href={href}>
         {children}
@@ -96,13 +103,11 @@ function MessageLink({
     );
   }
 
+  // Internal/anchor links use simple anchor tag
   return (
     <a
       href={href}
-      target="_blank"
-      rel="noopener noreferrer"
       className="text-primary underline underline-offset-2 hover:no-underline"
-      {...props}
     >
       {children}
     </a>