diff --git a/unsloth/chat_templates.py b/unsloth/chat_templates.py
index b254202c75..da10f7e003 100644
--- a/unsloth/chat_templates.py
+++ b/unsloth/chat_templates.py
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
     train_on_responses_only,
 )
 CHAT_TEMPLATES = {}
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE = {}
 
 # =========================================== Unsloth
 # Unsloth efficient template leverages from Zephyr
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@
         "{{ messages[0]['content'] + '\n' }}"\
         "{% set loop_messages = messages[1:] %}"\
     "{% else %}"\
-        "{{ 'You are a helpful assistant to the user\n' }}"\
+        "{{ '{system_message}' + '\n' }}"\
         "{% set loop_messages = messages %}"\
     "{% endif %}"\
     "{% for message in loop_messages %}"\
@@ -80,6 +81,7 @@
 
 unsloth_eos_token = "eos_token"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["unsloth"] = (unsloth_template, unsloth_eos_token, False, unsloth_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["unsloth"] = "You are a helpful assistant to the user"
 pass
 
 # =========================================== Zephyr
@@ -116,6 +118,7 @@
 
 zephyr_eos_token = "eos_token"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["zephyr"] = (zephyr_template, zephyr_eos_token, False, zephyr_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["zephyr"] = None # No system message in Zephyr
 pass
 
 # =========================================== ChatML
@@ -153,6 +156,7 @@
 
 chatml_eos_token = "<|im_end|>"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["chatml"] = (chatml_template, chatml_eos_token, True, chatml_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["chatml"] = None # No system message in ChatML
 pass
 
 # =========================================== Mistral-1
@@ -193,6 +197,7 @@
 
 mistral_eos_token = "eos_token"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["mistral"] = (mistral_template, mistral_eos_token, False, mistral_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["mistral"] = None # No system message in Mistral
 pass
 
 # =========================================== Llama-2
@@ -234,6 +239,7 @@
 
 llama_eos_token = "eos_token"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["llama"] = (llama_template, llama_eos_token, False, llama_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["llama"] = None # No system message in Llama
 pass
 
 # ===========================================  Vicuna
@@ -244,7 +250,7 @@
         "{{ messages[0]['content'] + ' ' }}"\
         "{% set loop_messages = messages[1:] %}"\
     "{% else %}"\
-        "{{ 'A chat between a curious user and an artificial intelligence assistant. The assistant gives helpful, detailed, and polite answers to the user\\'s questions.' + ' ' }}"\
+        "{{ '{system_message}' + ' ' }}"\
         "{% set loop_messages = messages %}"\
     "{% endif %}"\
     "{% for message in loop_messages %}"\
@@ -273,6 +279,7 @@
 
 vicuna_eos_token = "eos_token"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["vicuna"] = (vicuna_template, vicuna_eos_token, False, vicuna_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["vicuna"] = "A chat between a curious user and an artificial intelligence assistant. The assistant gives helpful, detailed, and polite answers to the user's questions."
 pass
 
 # =========================================== Vicuna Old
@@ -283,7 +290,7 @@
         "{{ messages[0]['content'] + '\n' }}"\
         "{% set loop_messages = messages[1:] %}"\
     "{% else %}"\
-        "{{ 'A chat between a curious human and an artificial intelligence assistant. The assistant gives helpful, detailed, and polite answers to the human\\'s questions.' + '\n' }}"\
+        "{{ '{system_message}' + '\n' }}"\
         "{% set loop_messages = messages %}"\
     "{% endif %}"\
     "{% for message in loop_messages %}"\
@@ -315,6 +322,10 @@
 
 vicuna_old_eos_token = "eos_token"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["vicuna_old"] = (vicuna_old_template, vicuna_old_eos_token, False, vicuna_old_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["vicuna_old"] = "A chat between a curious human and an artificial intelligence assistant. The assistant gives helpful, detailed, and polite answers to the human\\'s questions."
+
+CHAT_TEMPLATES["vicuna old"] = CHAT_TEMPLATES["vicuna_old"]
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["vicuna old"] = DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["vicuna_old"]
 pass
 
 # =========================================== Alpaca multi turn
@@ -325,7 +336,7 @@
         "{{ messages[0]['content'] + '\n\n' }}"\
         "{% set loop_messages = messages[1:] %}"\
     "{% else %}"\
-        "{{ 'Below are some instructions that describe some tasks. Write responses that appropriately complete each request.\n\n' }}"\
+        "{{ '{system_message}' + '\n\n' }}"\
         "{% set loop_messages = messages %}"\
     "{% endif %}"\
     "{% for message in loop_messages %}"\
@@ -362,6 +373,7 @@
 
 alpaca_eos_token = "eos_token"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["alpaca"] = (alpaca_template, alpaca_eos_token, False, alpaca_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["alpaca"] = "Below are some instructions that describe some tasks. Write responses that appropriately complete each request."
 pass
 
 # =========================================== Gemma
@@ -372,7 +384,7 @@
     "{{ bos_token }}"\
     "{% if messages[0]['role'] == 'system' %}"\
         "{{'<start_of_turn>user\n' + messages[0]['content'] | trim + ' ' + messages[1]['content'] | trim + '<end_of_turn>\n'}}"\
-        "{% set loop_messages = messages[2:] %}"\
+        "{% set messages = messages[2:] %}"\
     "{% endif %}"\
     "{% for message in messages %}"\
         "{% if message['role'] == 'user' %}"\
@@ -407,6 +419,7 @@
 
 gemma_eos_token = "<end_of_turn>"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["gemma"] = (gemma_template, gemma_eos_token, True, gemma_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["gemma"] = None # No system message in Gemma
 pass
 
 # =========================================== Gemma with ChatML instead
@@ -437,6 +450,7 @@
     "<|im_end|>",
 )
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["gemma_chatml"] = (gemma_chatml_template, gemma_chatml_eos_token, True, gemma_chatml_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["gemma_chatml"] = None # No system message in Gemma
 pass
 
 # =========================================== Gemma 2
@@ -446,12 +460,14 @@
 gemma2_ollama = gemma_ollama + "PARAMETER num_ctx 4096\n"
 gemma2_eos_token = "<end_of_turn>"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["gemma2"] = (gemma2_template, gemma2_eos_token, True, gemma2_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["gemma2"] = None # No system message in Gemma 2
 
 # =========================================== Gemma 2 with ChatML instead
 gemma2_chatml_template = gemma_chatml_template
 gemma2_chatml_ollama = gemma_chatml_ollama + "PARAMETER num_ctx 4096\n"
 gemma2_chatml_eos_token = gemma_chatml_eos_token
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["gemma2_chatml"] = (gemma2_chatml_template, gemma2_chatml_eos_token, True, gemma2_chatml_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["gemma2_chatml"] = None # No system message in Gemma 2
 pass
 
 # =========================================== Llama-3
@@ -491,7 +507,12 @@
 '''
 
 llama3_template_eos_token = "eos_token"
+
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["llama-3"] = (llama3_template, llama3_template_eos_token, False, llama3_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["llama-3"] = None # No system message in Llama-3
+
+CHAT_TEMPLATES["llama3"] = (llama3_template, llama3_template_eos_token, False, llama3_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["llama3"] = None # No system message in Llama-3
 pass
 
 
@@ -532,8 +553,13 @@
 
 phi3_template_eos_token = "<|end|>"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["phi-3"]   = (phi3_template, phi3_template_eos_token, False, phi3_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["phi-3"] = None # No system message in Phi-3
+
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["phi-35"]  = CHAT_TEMPLATES["phi-3"]
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["phi-35"] = None # No system message in Phi-3.5
+
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["phi-3.5"] = CHAT_TEMPLATES["phi-3"]
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["phi-3.5"] = None # No system message in Phi-3.5
 pass
 
 # =========================================== Llama-3.1
@@ -573,7 +599,7 @@
     {%- set system_message = messages[0]['content'] %}
     {%- set messages = messages[1:] %}
 {%- else %}
-    {%- set system_message = "" %}
+    {%- set system_message = "{system_message}" %}
 {%- endif %}
 
 {#- System message + builtin tools #}
@@ -729,7 +755,10 @@
 
 llama31_template_eos_token = "eos_token"
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["llama-3.1"] = (llama31_template, llama31_template_eos_token, False, llama31_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["llama-3.1"] = "" # Llama3.1 default system message is empty + the dates
+
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["llama-31"]  = (llama31_template, llama31_template_eos_token, False, llama31_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["llama-31"] = "" # Llama3.1 default system message is empty + the dates
 pass
 
 
@@ -751,7 +780,7 @@
     {%- if messages[0][\'role\'] == \'system\' %}
         {{- \'<|im_start|>system\\n\' + messages[0][\'content\'] + \'<|im_end|>\\n\' }}
     {%- else %}
-        {{- \'<|im_start|>system\\nYou are Qwen, created by Alibaba Cloud. You are a helpful assistant.<|im_end|>\\n\' }}
+        {{- \'<|im_start|>system\\n{system_message}<|im_end|>\\n\' }}
     {%- endif %}\n{%- endif %}\n{%- for message in messages %}
     {%- if (message.role == "user") or (message.role == "system" and not loop.first) or (message.role == "assistant" and not message.tool_calls) %}
         {{- \'<|im_start|>\' + message.role + \'\\n\' + message.content + \'<|im_end|>\' + \'\\n\' }}
@@ -847,10 +876,53 @@
 '''
 
 qwen25_template_eos_token = "eos_token"
+qwen25_default_system_message = "You are Qwen, created by Alibaba Cloud. You are a helpful assistant." 
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["qwen-2.5"] = (qwen25_template, qwen25_template_eos_token, False, qwen25_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["qwen-2.5"] = qwen25_default_system_message # No system message in Qwen 2.5
+
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["qwen-25"]  = (qwen25_template, qwen25_template_eos_token, False, qwen25_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["qwen-25"] = qwen25_default_system_message # No system message in Qwen 2.5
+
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["qwen25"]   = (qwen25_template, qwen25_template_eos_token, False, qwen25_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["qwen25"] = qwen25_default_system_message # No system message in Qwen 2.5
+
 CHAT_TEMPLATES["qwen2.5"]  = (qwen25_template, qwen25_template_eos_token, False, qwen25_ollama,)
+DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE["qwen2.5"] = qwen25_default_system_message # No system message in Qwen 2.5
+pass
+
+def _change_system_message(template: str, type_chat_template: str, system_message: str = None):
+    system_message_pattern = r"\{system_message\}"
+    
+    # For predefined templates, check if default system message exists
+    default_system_message = DEFAULT_SYSTEM_MESSAGE.get(f"{type_chat_template}", None)
+    if default_system_message is None:
+        if system_message is not None:
+            logger.warning_once(
+                f"Unsloth: You tried to change the system message for {type_chat_template}, "
+                "but it doesn't have a default system message. "
+                "You need to manually add the system message in your data."
+            )
+        return template, system_message
+    pass
+    
+    # For custom templates
+    if type_chat_template is None:
+        has_placeholder = re.search(system_message_pattern, template) is not None
+        
+        if has_placeholder:
+            if system_message is None:
+                raise ValueError("Unsloth: You need to provide a system message for custom templates.")
+            new_template = re.sub(system_message_pattern, system_message, template)
+            return new_template, system_message
+        
+        return template, system_message
+    pass
+        
+    # For predefined templates with default system message
+    message_to_use = system_message if system_message is not None else default_system_message
+    new_template = re.sub(system_message_pattern, message_to_use, template)
+    
+    return new_template, message_to_use
 pass
 
 
@@ -886,14 +958,20 @@ def get_chat_template(
     old_padding_side = tokenizer.padding_side
 
     same_padding_token = False
-
+    type_chat_template = None
+    
     if type(chat_template) in (list, tuple,):
+        # For changing system message later
+        # Since it's not supported yet, we will raise an error first!
+        type_chat_template = chat_template[0].lower()
         chat_template, stop_word = chat_template
         assert(type(chat_template) is str)
         assert(type(stop_word) is str)
         ollama_modelfile = None
 
     elif type(chat_template) is str:
+        # For changing system message later
+        type_chat_template = chat_template.lower()
 
         chat_template, stop_word, yes_map_eos_token, ollama_modelfile = CHAT_TEMPLATES[chat_template]
 
@@ -1052,6 +1130,9 @@ def get_chat_template(
     else:
         chat_template = new_chat_template
     pass
+
+    chat_template, system_message = _change_system_message(chat_template, type_chat_template, system_message)
+
     tokenizer.chat_template = chat_template
 
     # Also fix up other tokens