diff --git a/packages/memory-service/src/entities/extraction.js b/packages/memory-service/src/entities/extraction.js
index 8a78d6d..eefddda 100644
--- a/packages/memory-service/src/entities/extraction.js
+++ b/packages/memory-service/src/entities/extraction.js
@@ -22,17 +22,19 @@ function buildExtractionPrompt(userMessage, aiResponse, knownEntities = []) {
         'You are a named entity extractor. You output only valid JSON.',
         '<|im_end|>',
         '<|im_start|>user',
-        'Extract all named entities from this conversation.',
-        `Valid types: ${ENTITY_TYPES.join(', ')}`,
+        'Read the conversation below and extract every named entity mentioned.',
+        `Entity types to extract: ${ENTITY_TYPES.join(', ')}`,
+        'For each entity found, provide: name, type, and a one-sentence notes field.',
+        'Return your answer as: { "entities": [ ... ] }',
         '',
         knownBlock,
-        'Return a JSON object: { "entities": [ { "name": "...", "type": "...", "notes": "..." } ] }',
-        'Only include items where type is one of the valid types.',
-        '',
+        '--- CONVERSATION ---',   // clear delimiter helps smaller models
         `User: ${userMessage}`,
         `Assistant: ${aiResponse}`,
+        '--- END CONVERSATION ---',
         '<|im_end|>',
         '<|im_start|>assistant',
+        '{"entities":',            // primer nudges it to start filling the array
     ].join('\n');
 }
 
@@ -58,6 +60,10 @@ async function extractAndStoreEntities(userMessage, aiResponse, projectId=null)
         const db = require('../db').getDB();
         const knownEntities = db.prepare(`SELECT name, type FROM entities ORDER BY name`).all();
 
+        const promptw = buildExtractionPrompt(userMessage, aiResponse, knownEntities);
+        console.log('[entities] prompt preview:', JSON.stringify(promptw.slice(0, 500)));
+
+
         const res = await fetch(`${EXTRACTION_URL}/api/generate`, {
             method: 'POST',
             headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },