The zip backup could add minutes to every 'hermes update' on large
HERMES_HOME directories. Flip the default to off and add a --backup
flag for one-off opt-in runs.
- updates.pre_update_backup default: True -> False
- hermes update: new --backup flag (opposite of existing --no-backup)
- Silent no-op when disabled (no message spam on every update)
- Existing --no-backup still works and wins over --backup
- Users who explicitly set pre_update_backup: true keep the old behavior
- Tests updated to cover default-off, --backup opt-in, and config-enabled paths
* feat(image-input): native multimodal routing based on model vision capability
Attach user-sent images as OpenAI-style content parts on the user turn when
the active model supports native vision, so vision-capable models see real
pixels instead of a lossy text description from vision_analyze.
Routing decision (agent/image_routing.py::decide_image_input_mode):
agent.image_input_mode = auto | native | text (default: auto)
In auto mode:
- If auxiliary.vision.provider/model is explicitly configured, keep the
text pipeline (user paid for a dedicated vision backend).
- Else if models.dev reports supports_vision=True for the active
provider/model, attach natively.
- Else fall back to text (current behaviour).
Call sites updated: gateway/run.py (all messaging platforms), tui_gateway
(dashboard/Ink), cli.py (interactive /attach + drag-drop).
run_agent.py changes:
- _prepare_anthropic_messages_for_api now passes image parts through
unchanged when the model supports vision — the Anthropic adapter
translates them to native image blocks. Previous behaviour
(vision_analyze → text) only runs for non-vision Anthropic models.
- New _prepare_messages_for_non_vision_model mirrors the same contract
for chat.completions and codex_responses paths, so non-vision models
on any provider get text-fallback instead of failing at the provider.
- New _model_supports_vision() helper reads models.dev caps.
vision_analyze description rewritten: positions it as a tool for images
NOT already visible in the conversation (URLs, tool output, deeper
inspection). Prevents the model from redundantly calling it on images
already attached natively.
Config default: agent.image_input_mode = auto.
Tests: 35 new (test_image_routing.py + test_vision_aware_preprocessing.py),
all existing tests that reference _prepare_anthropic_messages_for_api
still pass (198 targeted + new tests green).
* feat(image-input): size-cap + resize oversized images, charge image tokens in compressor
Two follow-ups that make the native image routing safer for long / heavy
sessions:
1) Oversize handling in build_native_content_parts:
- 20 MB ceiling per image (matches vision_tools._MAX_BASE64_BYTES,
the most restrictive provider — Gemini inline data).
- Delegates to vision_tools._resize_image_for_vision (Pillow-based,
already battle-tested) to downscale to 5 MB first-try.
- If Pillow is missing or resize still overshoots, the image is
dropped and reported back in skipped[]; caller falls back to text
enrichment for that image.
2) Image-token accounting in context_compressor:
- New _IMAGE_TOKEN_ESTIMATE = 1600 (matches Claude Code's constant;
within the realistic range for Anthropic/GPT-4o/Gemini billing).
- _content_length_for_budget() helper: sums text-part lengths and
charges _IMAGE_CHAR_EQUIVALENT (1600 * 4 chars) per image/image_url/
input_image part. Base64 payload inside image_url is NOT counted
as chars — dimensions don't matter, only image-presence.
- Both tail-cut sites (_prune_old_tool_results L527 and
_find_tail_cut_by_tokens L1126) now call the helper so multi-image
conversations don't slip past compression budget.
Tests: 9 new in test_image_routing.py (oversize triggers resize,
resize-fails-returns-None, oversize-skipped-reported), 11 new in
test_compressor_image_tokens.py (flat charge per image, multiple images,
Responses-API / Anthropic-native / OpenAI-chat shapes, no-inflation on
raw base64, bounds-check on the constant, integration test that an
image-heavy tail actually gets trimmed).
* fix(image-input): replace blanket 20MB ceiling with empirically-verified per-provider limits
The previous commit imposed a hardcoded 20 MB base64 ceiling on all
providers, triggering auto-resize on anything larger. This was wrong in
both directions:
* Too loose for Anthropic — actual limit is 5 MB (returns HTTP 400
'image exceeds 5 MB maximum' above that).
* Too strict for OpenAI / Codex / OpenRouter — accept 49 MB+ without
complaint (empirically verified April 2026 with progressive PNG
sizes).
New behaviour:
* _PROVIDER_BASE64_CEILING table: only anthropic and bedrock have a
ceiling (5 MB, since bedrock-on-Claude shares Anthropic's decoder).
* Providers NOT in the table get no ceiling — images attach at native
size and we trust the provider to return its own error if it
disagrees. A provider-specific 400 message is clearer than us
guessing wrong and silently degrading image quality.
* build_native_content_parts() gains a keyword-only provider arg;
gateway/CLI/TUI pass the active provider so Anthropic users get
auto-resize protection while OpenAI users don't pay it.
* Resize target dropped from 5 MB to 4 MB to slide safely under
Anthropic's boundary with header overhead.
Empirical measurements (direct API, no Hermes in the loop):
image b64 anthropic openrouter/gpt5.5 codex-oauth/gpt5.5
0.19 MB ✓ ✓ ✓
12.37 MB ✗ 400 5MB ✓ ✓
23.85 MB ✗ 400 5MB ✓ ✓
49.46 MB ✗ 413 ✓ ✓
Tests: rewrote TestOversizeHandling (5 tests): no-ceiling pass-through,
Anthropic resize fires, Anthropic skip on resize-fail, build_native_parts
routes ceiling by provider, unknown provider gets no ceiling. All 52
targeted tests pass.
* refactor(image-input): attempt native, shrink-and-retry on provider reject
Replace proactive per-provider size ceilings with a reactive shrink path
on the provider's actual rejection. All providers now attempt native
full-size attachment first; if the provider returns an image-too-large
error, the agent silently shrinks and retries once.
Why the previous design was wrong: hardcoding provider ceilings
(anthropic=5MB, others=unlimited) meant OpenAI users on a 10MB image
paid no tax, but Anthropic users lost quality on anything >5MB even
though the empirical behaviour at provider-reject time is the same
(shrink + retry). Baking the table into the routing layer also
requires updating Hermes every time a provider's limit changes.
Reactive design:
- image_routing.py: _file_to_data_url encodes native size, no ceiling.
build_native_content_parts drops its provider kwarg.
- error_classifier.py: new FailoverReason.image_too_large + pattern
match ("image exceeds", "image too large", etc.) checked BEFORE
context_overflow so Anthropic's 5MB rejection lands in the right
bucket.
- run_agent.py: new _try_shrink_image_parts_in_messages walks api
messages in-place, re-encodes oversized data: URL image parts
through vision_tools._resize_image_for_vision to fit under 4MB,
handles both chat.completions (dict image_url) and Responses
(string image_url) shapes, ignores http URLs (provider-fetched).
New image_shrink_retry_attempted flag in the retry loop fires the
shrink exactly once per turn after credential-pool recovery but
before auth retries.
E2E verified live against Anthropic claude-sonnet-4-6:
- 17.9MB PNG (23.9MB b64) attached at native size
- Anthropic returns 400 "image exceeds 5 MB maximum"
- Agent logs '📐 Image(s) exceeded provider size limit — shrank and
retrying...'
- Retry succeeds, correct response delivered in 6.8s total.
Tests: 12 new (8 shrink-helper shapes + 4 classifier signals),
replaces 5 proactive-ceiling tests with 3 simpler 'native attach works'
tests. 181 targeted tests pass. test_enum_members_exist in
test_error_classifier.py updated for the new enum value.
Every 'hermes update' now runs a full backup of ~/.hermes/ first, so
users can always roll back to the exact state they had before the
update if anything goes wrong (corrupted sessions.db, broken skills,
config migrations that don't round-trip, etc.).
Changes:
- hermes_cli/backup.py: new create_pre_update_backup() helper. Writes
to <HERMES_HOME>/backups/pre-update-<stamp>.zip using the same
exclusion rules and SQLite safe-copy as 'hermes backup'. Auto-rotates
(keep last N, pre-update-*.zip only — hand-dropped zips in backups/
are untouched). Adds 'backups' to _EXCLUDED_DIRS so subsequent backups
don't nest prior ones.
- hermes_cli/main.py: _run_pre_update_backup() wired into
_cmd_update_impl before any git operation. Prints save path, restore
command, and how to disable. Swallows failures so a broken backup
never blocks the update itself. New --no-backup flag on 'hermes
update' for one-off override.
- hermes_cli/config.py: new 'updates' section in DEFAULT_CONFIG with
pre_update_backup (default true) and backup_keep (default 5).
Auto-surfaces in the dashboard config UI.
- tests/hermes_cli/test_backup.py: +11 tests covering backup location,
content parity with 'hermes backup', no-recursion, rotation, manual
file preservation, config gate, --no-backup flag, flag-wins-over-config.
Every working dir hermes ever touches gets its own shadow git repo under
~/.hermes/checkpoints/{sha256(abs_dir)[:16]}/. The per-repo _prune is a
no-op (comment in CheckpointManager._prune says so), so abandoned repos
from deleted/moved projects or one-off tmp dirs pile up forever. Field
reports put the typical offender at 1000+ repos / ~12 GB on active
contributor machines.
Adds an opt-in startup sweep that mirrors the sessions.auto_prune
pattern from #13861 / #16286:
- tools/checkpoint_manager.py: new prune_checkpoints() and
maybe_auto_prune_checkpoints() helpers. Deletes shadow repos that
are orphan (HERMES_WORKDIR marker points to a path that no longer
exists) or stale (newest in-repo mtime older than retention_days).
Idempotent via a CHECKPOINT_BASE/.last_prune marker file so it only
runs once per min_interval_hours regardless of how many hermes
processes start up.
- hermes_cli/config.py: new checkpoints.auto_prune /
retention_days / delete_orphans / min_interval_hours knobs.
Default auto_prune: false so users who rely on /rollback against
long-ago sessions never lose data silently.
- cli.py / gateway/run.py: startup hooks gated on checkpoints.auto_prune,
called right next to the existing state.db maintenance block.
- Docs updated with the new config knobs.
- 11 regression tests: orphan/stale deletion, precedence, byte-freed
tracking, non-shadow dir skip, interval gating, corrupt marker
recovery.
Refs #3015 (session-file disk growth was fixed in #16286; this covers
the checkpoint side noted out-of-scope there).
Adds NOTION_API_KEY, LINEAR_API_KEY, TENOR_API_KEY, and AIRTABLE_API_KEY
to OPTIONAL_ENV_VARS so:
- They persist to ~/.hermes/.env via save_env_value like every other
key Hermes knows about, instead of being ad-hoc variables the user
has to hand-edit the dotfile for.
- load_env() / reload_env() populate os.environ from .env on every
startup — the user sets the key once, skills keep working across
restarts without losing access.
- hermes setup / hermes config show surface them as known optional
vars with the correct signup URL (linear.app/settings/api,
airtable.com/create/tokens, etc.).
These four entries use category="skill" (new) rather than "tool".
tools/environments/local.py auto-adds every category=tool/messaging
entry to _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST, which stops env passthrough
from leaking provider credentials into the execute_code sandbox
(GHSA-rhgp-j443-p4rf). Skill API keys are the opposite case — the
point is for the agent's subprocess to see them so curl can read
Authorization headers — so they must be outside the blocklist. The
new category is inert for that check.
All four entries are advanced=True: they show up in 'hermes config'
and 'hermes status' displays, but do not nag users who have never
touched those skills during setup checklists.
E2E verified: save_env_value → reload_env → os.environ populated →
skill_view reports setup_needed=False → env_passthrough registers
the key for subprocess inheritance.
Enter while the agent is busy can now inject the typed text via /steer —
arriving at the agent after the next tool call — instead of interrupting
(current default) or queueing for the next turn.
Changes:
- cli.py: keybinding honors busy_input_mode='steer' by calling
agent.steer(text) on the UI thread (thread-safe), with automatic
fallback to 'queue' when the agent is missing, steer() is unavailable,
images are attached, or steer() rejects the payload. /busy accepts
'steer' as a fourth argument alongside queue/interrupt/status.
- gateway/run.py: busy-message handler and the PRIORITY running-agent
path both route through running_agent.steer() when the mode is 'steer',
with the same fallback-to-queue safety net. Ack wording tells users
their message was steered into the current run. Restart-drain queueing
now also activates for 'steer' so messages aren't lost across restarts.
- agent/onboarding.py: first-touch hint has a steer branch for both
CLI and gateway.
- hermes_cli/commands.py: /busy args_hint updated to include steer,
and 'steer' is registered as a subcommand (completions).
- hermes_cli/web_server.py: dashboard select widget offers steer.
- hermes_cli/config.py, cli-config.yaml.example, hermes_cli/tips.py:
inline docs updated.
- website/docs/user-guide/cli.md + messaging/index.md: documented.
- Tests: steer set/status path for /busy; onboarding hints;
_load_busy_input_mode accepts steer; busy-session ack exercises
steer success + two fallback-to-queue branches.
Requested on X by @CodingAcct.
Default is unchanged (interrupt).
When a cloud browser provider (Browserbase / Browser-Use / Firecrawl) is
configured, browser_navigate now transparently spawns a local Chromium
sidecar for URLs whose host resolves to a private/loopback/LAN address
(localhost, 127.0.0.1, 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, *.local, *.lan, *.internal,
::1, 169.254.x.x). Public URLs continue to use the cloud provider in the
same conversation.
Previously, setting BROWSERBASE_API_KEY / cloud_provider: browserbase
pinned the whole tool to cloud for the process — localhost URLs were
either SSRF-blocked (default) or sent to Browserbase (where they 404'd
because the cloud can't reach your LAN). Users who wanted 'cloud for
public, local for localhost' had no way to express it short of toggling
providers mid-session.
Implementation uses a composite session key scheme: the bare task_id
serves the cloud session, and a '{task_id}::local' sidecar serves the
local Chromium. _last_active_session_key[task_id] tracks which of the
two served the most recent nav so snapshot/click/fill/etc. hit the
correct one. cleanup_browser(bare_task_id) reaps both.
Feature is on by default. Opt out via:
browser:
auto_local_for_private_urls: false
The cloud provider never sees private URLs. Post-redirect SSRF guard
is preserved: redirects from public onto private addresses still block.
Instead of a blocking first-run questionnaire, show a one-time hint the first
time the user hits each behavior fork:
1. First message while the agent is working — appends a hint to the busy-ack
explaining the /busy queue vs /busy interrupt knob, phrased to match the
mode that was just applied (don't tell a queue-mode user to switch to
queue).
2. First tool that runs for >= 30s in the noisiest progress mode
(tool_progress: all) — prints a hint about /verbose to cycle display
modes (all -> new -> off -> verbose). Gated on /verbose actually being
usable on the surface: always shown on CLI; on gateway only shown when
display.tool_progress_command is enabled.
Each hint is latched in config.yaml under onboarding.seen.<flag>, so it
fires exactly once per install across CLI, gateway, and cron, then never
again. Users can wipe the section to re-see hints.
New:
- agent/onboarding.py — is_seen / mark_seen / hint strings, shared by
both CLI and gateway.
- onboarding.seen in DEFAULT_CONFIG (hermes_cli/config.py) and in
load_cli_config defaults (cli.py). No _config_version bump — deep
merge handles new keys.
Wired:
- gateway/run.py: _handle_active_session_busy_message appends the hint
after building the ack. progress_callback tracks tool.completed
duration and queues the tool-progress hint into the progress bubble.
- cli.py: CLI input loop appends the busy-input hint on the first busy
Enter; _on_tool_progress appends the tool-progress hint on the first
>=30s tool completion. In-memory CLI_CONFIG is also updated so
subsequent fires in the same process are suppressed immediately.
All writes go through atomic_yaml_write and are wrapped in try/except
so onboarding can never break the input/busy-ack paths.
OpenRouter and Nous Portal curated picker lists now resolve via a JSON
manifest served by the docs site, falling back to the in-repo snapshot
when unreachable. Lets us update model lists without shipping a release.
Live URL: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/api/model-catalog.json
(source at website/static/api/model-catalog.json; auto-deploys via the
existing deploy-site.yml GitHub Pages pipeline on every merge to main).
Schema (v1) carries id + optional description + free-form metadata at
manifest, provider, and model levels. Pricing and context length stay
live-fetched via existing machinery (/v1/models endpoints, models.dev).
Config (new model_catalog section, default enabled):
model_catalog.url master manifest URL
model_catalog.ttl_hours disk cache TTL (default 24h)
model_catalog.providers.<name>.url optional per-provider override
Fetch pipeline: in-process cache -> disk cache (fresh < TTL) -> HTTP
fetch -> disk-cache-on-failure fallback -> in-repo snapshot as last
resort. Never raises to callers; at worst returns the bundled list.
Changes:
- website/static/api/model-catalog.json initial manifest (35 OR + 31 Nous)
- scripts/build_model_catalog.py regenerator from in-repo lists
- hermes_cli/model_catalog.py fetch + validate + cache module
- hermes_cli/models.py fetch_openrouter_models() +
new get_curated_nous_model_ids()
- hermes_cli/main.py, hermes_cli/auth.py Nous flows use the helper
- hermes_cli/config.py model_catalog defaults
- website/docs/reference/model-catalog.md + sidebars.ts
- tests/hermes_cli/test_model_catalog.py 21 tests (validation, fetch
success/failure, accessors,
disabled, overrides, integration)
Add support for Azure Foundry as a new inference provider. Azure Foundry
endpoints can use either OpenAI-style (/v1/chat/completions) or
Anthropic-style (/v1/messages) API formats.
Changes:
- Add azure-foundry to PROVIDER_REGISTRY (auth.py)
- Add azure-foundry overlay in HERMES_OVERLAYS (providers.py)
- Add empty model list for azure-foundry (models.py)
- Add _model_flow_azure_foundry() interactive setup (main.py)
- Add azure-foundry runtime resolution with api_mode support (runtime_provider.py)
- Add AZURE_FOUNDRY_API_KEY and AZURE_FOUNDRY_BASE_URL env vars (config.py)
Usage:
hermes model -> More providers -> Azure Foundry
The setup wizard prompts for:
- Endpoint URL
- API format (OpenAI or Anthropic-style)
- API key
- Model name
Configuration is saved to config.yaml (model.provider, model.base_url,
model.api_mode, model.default) and ~/.hermes/.env (AZURE_FOUNDRY_API_KEY).
Fixes#15779. Custom-provider per-model context_length (`custom_providers[].models.<id>.context_length`) is now honored across every resolution path, not just agent startup. Also adds 256K as the top probe tier and default fallback.
## What changed
New helper `hermes_cli.config.get_custom_provider_context_length()` — single source of truth for the per-model override lookup, with trailing-slash-insensitive base-url matching.
`agent.model_metadata.get_model_context_length()` gains an optional `custom_providers=` kwarg (step 0b — runs after explicit `config_context_length` but before every other probe).
Wired through five call sites that previously either duplicated the lookup or ignored it entirely:
- `run_agent.py` startup — refactored to use the new helper (dedups legacy inline loop, keeps invalid-value warning)
- `AIAgent.switch_model()` — re-reads custom_providers from live config on every /model switch
- `hermes_cli.model_switch.resolve_display_context_length()` — new `custom_providers=` kwarg
- `gateway/run.py` /model confirmation (picker callback + text path)
- `gateway/run.py` `_format_session_info` (/info)
## Context probe tiers
`CONTEXT_PROBE_TIERS = [256_000, 128_000, 64_000, 32_000, 16_000, 8_000]` — was `[128_000, ...]`. `DEFAULT_FALLBACK_CONTEXT` follows tier[0], so unknown models now default to 256K. The stale `128000` literal in the OpenRouter metadata-miss path is replaced with `DEFAULT_FALLBACK_CONTEXT` for consistency.
## Repro (from #15779)
```yaml
custom_providers:
- name: my-custom-endpoint
base_url: https://example.invalid/v1
model: gpt-5.5
models:
gpt-5.5:
context_length: 1050000
```
`/model gpt-5.5 --provider custom:my-custom-endpoint` → previously "Context: 128,000", now "Context: 1,050,000".
## Tests
- `tests/hermes_cli/test_custom_provider_context_length.py` — new file, 19 tests covering the helper, step-0b integration, and the 256K tier invariants
- `tests/hermes_cli/test_model_switch_context_display.py` — added regression tests for #15779 through the display resolver
- `tests/gateway/test_session_info.py` — updated default-fallback assertion (128K → 256K)
- `tests/agent/test_model_metadata.py` — updated tier assertions for the new top tier
The AIAgent.flush_memories pre-compression save, the gateway
_flush_memories_for_session, and everything feeding them are
obsolete now that the background memory/skill review handles
persistent memory extraction.
Problems with flush_memories:
- Pre-dates the background review loop. It was the only memory-save
path when introduced; the background review now fires every 10 user
turns on CLI and gateway alike, which is far more frequent than
compression or session reset ever triggered flush.
- Blocking and synchronous. Pre-compression flush ran on the live agent
before compression, blocking the user-visible response.
- Cache-breaking. Flush built a temporary conversation prefix
(system prompt + memory-only tool list) that diverged from the live
conversation's cached prefix, invalidating prompt caching. The
gateway variant spawned a fresh AIAgent with its own clean prompt
for each finalized session — still cache-breaking, just in a
different process.
- Redundant. Background review runs in the live conversation's
session context, gets the same content, writes to the same memory
store, and doesn't break the cache. Everything flush_memories
claimed to preserve is already covered.
What this removes:
- AIAgent.flush_memories() method (~248 LOC in run_agent.py)
- Pre-compression flush call in _compress_context
- flush_memories call sites in cli.py (/new + exit)
- GatewayRunner._flush_memories_for_session + _async_flush_memories
(and the 3 call sites: session expiry watcher, /new, /resume)
- 'flush_memories' entry from DEFAULT_CONFIG auxiliary tasks,
hermes tools UI task list, auxiliary_client docstrings
- _memory_flush_min_turns config + init
- #15631's headroom-deduction math in
_check_compression_model_feasibility (headroom was only needed
because flush dragged the full main-agent system prompt along;
the compression summariser sends a single user-role prompt so
new_threshold = aux_context is safe again)
- The dedicated test files and assertions that exercised
flush-specific paths
What this renames (with read-time backcompat on sessions.json):
- SessionEntry.memory_flushed -> SessionEntry.expiry_finalized.
The session-expiry watcher still uses the flag to avoid re-running
finalize/eviction on the same expired session; the new name
reflects what it now actually gates. from_dict() reads
'expiry_finalized' first, falls back to the legacy 'memory_flushed'
key so existing sessions.json files upgrade seamlessly.
Supersedes #15631 and #15638.
Tested: 383 targeted tests pass across run_agent/, agent/, cli/,
and gateway/ session-boundary suites. No behavior regressions —
background memory review continues to handle persistent memory
extraction on both CLI and gateway.
Split the monolithic discord_server tool (14 actions) into two:
- discord: core actions (fetch_messages, search_members, create_thread)
that are useful for the agent's normal operation. Auto-enabled on
the discord platform via the pipeline fix.
- discord_admin: server management actions (list channels/roles, pins,
role assignment) that require explicit opt-in via hermes tools.
Added to CONFIGURABLE_TOOLSETS and _DEFAULT_OFF_TOOLSETS.
Subagents run inside a ThreadPoolExecutor. The CLI's interactive approval
callback lives in tools/terminal_tool.py's threading.local(), which worker
threads do not inherit. When a subagent hits a dangerous-command guard,
prompt_dangerous_approval() falls back to input() from the worker thread,
deadlocking against the parent's prompt_toolkit TUI that owns stdin.
Fix: install a non-interactive callback into every subagent worker thread
via ThreadPoolExecutor(initializer=set_approval_callback, initargs=(cb,)).
The callback is config-gated by delegation.subagent_auto_approve:
false (default) -> _subagent_auto_deny (safe; matches leaf tool blocklist)
true -> _subagent_auto_approve (opt-in YOLO for cron/batch)
Both emit a logger.warning audit line. Gateway sessions are unaffected
because they resolve approvals via tools/approval.py's per-session queue,
not through these TLS callbacks. Diagnosis credit: @MorAlekss (#14685).
- hermes_cli/config.py: DEFAULT_CONFIG.delegation.subagent_auto_approve: False
- cli-config.yaml.example: documented, commented (default)
- tools/delegate_tool.py: _subagent_auto_deny, _subagent_auto_approve,
_get_subagent_approval_callback, wired into the child timeout executor
- tests/tools/test_delegate.py: 7 tests covering defaults, truthy coercion,
and TLS scoping in the worker thread
- Load prompt_caching.cache_ttl in AIAgent (5m default, 1h opt-in)
- Document DEFAULT_CONFIG and developer guide example
- Add unit tests for default, 1h, and invalid TTL fallback
Made-with: Cursor
* docs: browser CDP supervisor design (for upcoming PR)
Design doc ahead of implementation — dialog + iframe detection/interaction
via a persistent CDP supervisor. Covers backend capability matrix (verified
live 2026-04-23), architecture, lifecycle, policy, agent surface, PR split,
non-goals, and test plan.
Supersedes #12550.
No code changes in this commit.
* feat(browser): add persistent CDP supervisor for dialog + frame detection
Single persistent CDP WebSocket per Hermes task_id that subscribes to
Page/Runtime/Target events and maintains thread-safe state for pending
dialogs, frame tree, and console errors.
Supervisor lives in its own daemon thread running an asyncio loop;
external callers use sync API (snapshot(), respond_to_dialog()) that
bridges onto the loop.
Auto-attaches to OOPIF child targets via Target.setAutoAttach{flatten:true}
and enables Page+Runtime on each so iframe-origin dialogs surface through
the same supervisor.
Dialog policies: must_respond (default, 300s safety timeout),
auto_dismiss, auto_accept.
Frame tree capped at 30 entries + OOPIF depth 2 to keep snapshot
payloads bounded on ad-heavy pages.
E2E verified against real Chrome via smoke test — detects + responds
to main-frame alerts, iframe-contentWindow alerts, preserves frame
tree, graceful no-dialog error path, clean shutdown.
No agent-facing tool wiring in this commit (comes next).
* feat(browser): add browser_dialog tool wired to CDP supervisor
Agent-facing response-only tool. Schema:
action: 'accept' | 'dismiss' (required)
prompt_text: response for prompt() dialogs (optional)
dialog_id: disambiguate when multiple dialogs queued (optional)
Handler:
SUPERVISOR_REGISTRY.get(task_id).respond_to_dialog(...)
check_fn shares _browser_cdp_check with browser_cdp so both surface and
hide together. When no supervisor is attached (Camofox, default
Playwright, or no browser session started yet), tool is hidden; if
somehow invoked it returns a clear error pointing the agent to
browser_navigate / /browser connect.
Registered in _HERMES_CORE_TOOLS and the browser / hermes-acp /
hermes-api-server toolsets alongside browser_cdp.
* feat(browser): wire CDP supervisor into session lifecycle + browser_snapshot
Supervisor lifecycle:
* _get_session_info lazy-starts the supervisor after a session row is
materialized — covers every backend code path (Browserbase, cdp_url
override, /browser connect, future providers) with one hook.
* cleanup_browser(task_id) stops the supervisor for that task first
(before the backend tears down CDP).
* cleanup_all_browsers() calls SUPERVISOR_REGISTRY.stop_all().
* /browser connect eagerly starts the supervisor for task 'default'
so the first snapshot already shows pending_dialogs.
* /browser disconnect stops the supervisor.
CDP URL resolution for the supervisor:
1. BROWSER_CDP_URL / browser.cdp_url override.
2. Fallback: session_info['cdp_url'] from cloud providers (Browserbase).
browser_snapshot merges supervisor state (pending_dialogs + frame_tree)
into its JSON output when a supervisor is active — the agent reads
pending_dialogs from the snapshot it already requests, then calls
browser_dialog to respond. No extra tool surface.
Config defaults:
* browser.dialog_policy: 'must_respond' (new)
* browser.dialog_timeout_s: 300 (new)
No version bump — new keys deep-merge into existing browser section.
Deadlock fix in supervisor event dispatch:
* _on_dialog_opening and _on_target_attached used to await CDP calls
while the reader was still processing an event — but only the reader
can set the response Future, so the call timed out.
* Both now fire asyncio.create_task(...) so the reader stays pumping.
* auto_dismiss/auto_accept now actually close the dialog immediately.
Tests (tests/tools/test_browser_supervisor.py, 11 tests, real Chrome):
* supervisor start/snapshot
* main-frame alert detection + dismiss
* iframe.contentWindow alert
* prompt() with prompt_text reply
* respond with no pending dialog -> clean error
* auto_dismiss clears on event
* registry idempotency
* registry stop -> snapshot reports inactive
* browser_dialog tool no-supervisor error
* browser_dialog invalid action
* browser_dialog end-to-end via tool handler
xdist-safe: chrome_cdp fixture uses a per-worker port.
Skipped when google-chrome/chromium isn't installed.
* docs(browser): document browser_dialog tool + CDP supervisor
- user-guide/features/browser.md: new browser_dialog section with
workflow, availability gate, and dialog_policy table
- reference/tools-reference.md: row for browser_dialog, tool count
bumped 53 -> 54, browser tools count 11 -> 12
- reference/toolsets-reference.md: browser_dialog added to browser
toolset row with note on pending_dialogs / frame_tree snapshot fields
Full design doc lives at
developer-guide/browser-supervisor.md (committed earlier).
* fix(browser): reconnect loop + recent_dialogs for Browserbase visibility
Found via Browserbase E2E test that revealed two production-critical issues:
1. **Supervisor WebSocket drops when other clients disconnect.** Browserbase's
CDP proxy tears down our long-lived WebSocket whenever a short-lived
client (e.g. agent-browser CLI's per-command CDP connection) disconnects.
Fixed with a reconnecting _run loop that re-attaches with exponential
backoff on drops. _page_session_id and _child_sessions are reset on each
reconnect; pending_dialogs and frames are preserved across reconnects.
2. **Browserbase auto-dismisses dialogs server-side within ~10ms.** Their
Playwright-based CDP proxy dismisses alert/confirm/prompt before our
Page.handleJavaScriptDialog call can respond. So pending_dialogs is
empty by the time the agent reads a snapshot on Browserbase.
Added a recent_dialogs ring buffer (capacity 20) that retains a
DialogRecord for every dialog that opened, with a closed_by tag:
* 'agent' — agent called browser_dialog
* 'auto_policy' — local auto_dismiss/auto_accept fired
* 'watchdog' — must_respond timeout auto-dismissed (300s default)
* 'remote' — browser/backend closed it on us (Browserbase)
Agents on Browserbase now see the dialog history with closed_by='remote'
so they at least know a dialog fired, even though they couldn't respond.
3. **Page.javascriptDialogClosed matching bug.** The event doesn't include a
'message' field (CDP spec has only 'result' and 'userInput') but our
_on_dialog_closed was matching on message. Fixed to match by session_id
+ oldest-first, with a safety assumption that only one dialog is in
flight per session (the JS thread is blocked while a dialog is up).
Docs + tests updated:
* browser.md: new availability matrix showing the three backends and
which mode (pending / recent / response) each supports
* developer-guide/browser-supervisor.md: three-field snapshot schema
with closed_by semantics
* test_browser_supervisor.py: +test_recent_dialogs_ring_buffer (12/12
passing against real Chrome)
E2E verified both backends:
* Local Chrome via /browser connect: detect + respond full workflow
(smoke_supervisor.py all 7 scenarios pass)
* Browserbase: detect via recent_dialogs with closed_by='remote'
(smoke_supervisor_browserbase_v2.py passes)
Camofox remains out of scope (REST-only, no CDP) — tracked for
upstream PR 3.
* feat(browser): XHR bridge for dialog response on Browserbase (FIXED)
Browserbase's CDP proxy auto-dismisses native JS dialogs within ~10ms, so
Page.handleJavaScriptDialog calls lose the race. Solution: bypass native
dialogs entirely.
The supervisor now injects Page.addScriptToEvaluateOnNewDocument with a
JavaScript override for window.alert/confirm/prompt. Those overrides
perform a synchronous XMLHttpRequest to a magic host
('hermes-dialog-bridge.invalid'). We intercept those XHRs via Fetch.enable
with a requestStage=Request pattern.
Flow when a page calls alert('hi'):
1. window.alert override intercepts, builds XHR GET to
http://hermes-dialog-bridge.invalid/?kind=alert&message=hi
2. Sync XHR blocks the page's JS thread (mirrors real dialog semantics)
3. Fetch.requestPaused fires on our WebSocket; supervisor surfaces
it as a pending dialog with bridge_request_id set
4. Agent reads pending_dialogs from browser_snapshot, calls browser_dialog
5. Supervisor calls Fetch.fulfillRequest with JSON body:
{accept: true|false, prompt_text: '...', dialog_id: 'd-N'}
6. The injected script parses the body, returns the appropriate value
from the override (undefined for alert, bool for confirm, string|null
for prompt)
This works identically on Browserbase AND local Chrome — no native dialog
ever fires, so Browserbase's auto-dismiss has nothing to race. Dialog
policies (must_respond / auto_dismiss / auto_accept) all still work.
Bridge is installed on every attached session (main page + OOPIF child
sessions) so iframe dialogs are captured too.
Native-dialog path kept as a fallback for backends that don't auto-dismiss
(so a page that somehow bypasses our override — e.g. iframes that load
after Fetch.enable but before the init-script runs — still gets observed
via Page.javascriptDialogOpening).
E2E VERIFIED:
* Local Chrome: 13/13 pytest tests green (12 original + new
test_bridge_captures_prompt_and_returns_reply_text that asserts
window.__ret === 'AGENT-SUPPLIED-REPLY' after agent responds)
* Browserbase: smoke_bb_bridge_v2.py runs 4/4 PASS:
- alert('BB-ALERT-MSG') dismiss → page.alert_ret = undefined ✓
- prompt('BB-PROMPT-MSG', 'default-xyz') accept with 'AGENT-REPLY'
→ page.prompt_ret === 'AGENT-REPLY' ✓
- confirm('BB-CONFIRM-MSG') accept → page.confirm_ret === true ✓
- confirm('BB-CONFIRM-MSG') dismiss → page.confirm_ret === false ✓
Docs updated in browser.md and developer-guide/browser-supervisor.md —
availability matrix now shows Browserbase at full parity with local
Chrome for both detection and response.
* feat(browser): cross-origin iframe interaction via browser_cdp(frame_id=...)
Adds iframe interaction to the CDP supervisor PR (was queued as PR 2).
Design: browser_cdp gets an optional frame_id parameter. When set, the
tool looks up the frame in the supervisor's frame_tree, grabs its child
cdp_session_id (OOPIF session), and dispatches the CDP call through the
supervisor's already-connected WebSocket via run_coroutine_threadsafe.
Why not stateless: on Browserbase, each fresh browser_cdp WebSocket
must re-negotiate against a signed connectUrl. The session info carries
a specific URL that can expire while the supervisor's long-lived
connection stays valid. Routing via the supervisor sidesteps this.
Agent workflow:
1. browser_snapshot → frame_tree.children[] shows OOPIFs with is_oopif=true
2. browser_cdp(method='Runtime.evaluate', frame_id=<OOPIF frame_id>,
params={'expression': 'document.title', 'returnByValue': True})
3. Supervisor dispatches the call on the OOPIF's child session
Supervisor state fixes needed along the way:
* _on_frame_detached now skips reason='swap' (frame migrating processes)
* _on_frame_detached also skips when the frame is an OOPIF with a live
child session — Browserbase fires spurious remove events when a
same-origin iframe gets promoted to OOPIF
* _on_target_detached clears cdp_session_id but KEEPS the frame record
so the agent still sees the OOPIF in frame_tree during transient
session flaps
E2E VERIFIED on Browserbase (smoke_bb_iframe_agent_path.py):
browser_cdp(method='Runtime.evaluate',
params={'expression': 'document.title', 'returnByValue': True},
frame_id=<OOPIF>)
→ {'success': True, 'result': {'value': 'Example Domain'}}
The iframe is <iframe src='https://example.com/'> inside a top-level
data: URL page on a real Browserbase session. The agent Runtime.evaluates
INSIDE the cross-origin iframe and gets example.com's title back.
Tests (tests/tools/test_browser_supervisor.py — 16 pass total):
* test_browser_cdp_frame_id_routes_via_supervisor — injects fake OOPIF,
verifies routing via supervisor, Runtime.evaluate returns 1+1=2
* test_browser_cdp_frame_id_missing_supervisor — clean error when no
supervisor attached
* test_browser_cdp_frame_id_not_in_frame_tree — clean error on bad
frame_id
Docs (browser.md and developer-guide/browser-supervisor.md) updated with
the iframe workflow, availability matrix now shows OOPIF eval as shipped
for local Chrome + Browserbase.
* test(browser): real-OOPIF E2E verified manually + chrome_cdp uses --site-per-process
When asked 'did you test the iframe stuff' I had only done a mocked
pytest (fake injected OOPIF) plus a Browserbase E2E. Closed the
local-Chrome real-OOPIF gap by writing /tmp/dialog-iframe-test/
smoke_local_oopif.py:
* 2 http servers on different hostnames (localhost:18905 + 127.0.0.1:18906)
* Chrome with --site-per-process so the cross-origin iframe becomes a
real OOPIF in its own process
* Navigate, find OOPIF in supervisor.frame_tree, call
browser_cdp(method='Runtime.evaluate', frame_id=<OOPIF>) which routes
through the supervisor's child session
* Asserts iframe document.title === 'INNER-FRAME-XYZ' (from the
inner page, retrieved via OOPIF eval)
PASSED on 2026-04-23.
Tried to embed this as a pytest but hit an asyncio version quirk between
venv (3.11) and the system python (3.13) — Page.navigate hangs in the
pytest harness but works in standalone. Left a self-documenting skip
test that points to the smoke script + describes the verification.
chrome_cdp fixture now passes --site-per-process so future iframe tests
can rely on OOPIF behavior.
Result: 16 pass + 1 documented-skip = 17 tests in
tests/tools/test_browser_supervisor.py.
* docs(browser): add dialog_policy + dialog_timeout_s to configuration.md, fix tool count
Pre-merge docs audit revealed two gaps:
1. user-guide/configuration.md browser config example was missing the
two new dialog_* knobs. Added with a short table explaining
must_respond / auto_dismiss / auto_accept semantics and a link to
the feature page for the full workflow.
2. reference/tools-reference.md header said '54 built-in tools' — real
count on main is 54, this branch adds browser_dialog so it's 55.
Fixed the header. (browser count was already correctly bumped
11 -> 12 in the earlier docs commit.)
No code changes.
* feat(config): make tool output truncation limits configurable
Port from anomalyco/opencode#23770: expose a new `tool_output` config
section so users can tune the hardcoded truncation caps that apply to
terminal output and read_file pagination.
Three knobs under `tool_output`:
- max_bytes (default 50_000) — terminal stdout/stderr cap
- max_lines (default 2000) — read_file pagination cap
- max_line_length (default 2000) — per-line cap in line-numbered view
All three keep their existing hardcoded values as defaults, so behaviour
is unchanged when the section is absent. Power users on big-context
models can raise them; small-context local models can lower them.
Implementation:
- New `tools/tool_output_limits.py` reads the section with defensive
fallback (missing/invalid values → defaults, never raises).
- `tools/terminal_tool.py` MAX_OUTPUT_CHARS now comes from
get_max_bytes().
- `tools/file_operations.py` normalize_read_pagination() and
_add_line_numbers() now pull the limits at call time.
- `hermes_cli/config.py` DEFAULT_CONFIG gains the `tool_output` section
so `hermes setup` writes defaults into fresh configs.
- Docs page `user-guide/configuration.md` gains a "Tool Output
Truncation Limits" section with large-context and small-context
example configs.
Tests (18 new in tests/tools/test_tool_output_limits.py):
- Default resolution with missing / malformed / non-dict config.
- Full and partial user overrides.
- Coercion of bad values (None, negative, wrong type, str int).
- Shortcut accessors delegate correctly.
- DEFAULT_CONFIG exposes the section with the right defaults.
- Integration: normalize_read_pagination clamps to the configured
max_lines.
* feat(skills): add design-md skill for Google's DESIGN.md spec
Built-in skill under skills/creative/ that teaches the agent to author,
lint, diff, and export DESIGN.md files — Google's open-source
(Apache-2.0) format for describing a visual identity to coding agents.
Covers:
- YAML front matter + markdown body anatomy
- Full token schema (colors, typography, rounded, spacing, components)
- Canonical section order + duplicate-heading rejection
- Component property whitelist + variants-as-siblings pattern
- CLI workflow via 'npx @google/design.md' (lint/diff/export/spec)
- Lint rule reference including WCAG contrast checks
- Common YAML pitfalls (quoted hex, negative dimensions, dotted refs)
- Starter template at templates/starter.md
Package verified live on npm (@google/design.md@0.1.1).
The 300s default was too tight for high-reasoning models on non-trivial
delegated tasks — e.g. gpt-5.5 xhigh reviewing 12 files would burn >5min
on reasoning tokens before issuing its first tool call, tripping the
hard wall-clock timeout with 0 api_calls logged.
- tools/delegate_tool.py: DEFAULT_CHILD_TIMEOUT 300 -> 600
- hermes_cli/config.py: surface delegation.child_timeout_seconds in
DEFAULT_CONFIG so it's discoverable (previously the key was read by
_get_child_timeout() but absent from the default config schema)
Users can still override via config.yaml delegation.child_timeout_seconds
or DELEGATION_CHILD_TIMEOUT_SECONDS env var (floor 30s, no ceiling).
cmd_update no longer SIGKILLs in-flight agent runs, and users get
'still working' status every 3 min instead of 10. Two long-standing
sources of '@user — agent gives up mid-task' reports on Telegram and
other gateways.
Drain-aware update:
- New helper hermes_cli.gateway._graceful_restart_via_sigusr1(pid,
drain_timeout) sends SIGUSR1 to the gateway and polls os.kill(pid,
0) until the process exits or the budget expires.
- cmd_update's systemd loop now reads MainPID via 'systemctl show
--property=MainPID --value' and tries the graceful path first. The
gateway's existing SIGUSR1 handler -> request_restart(via_service=
True) -> drain -> exit(75) is wired in gateway/run.py and is
respawned by systemd's Restart=on-failure (and the explicit
RestartForceExitStatus=75 on newer units).
- Falls back to 'systemctl restart' when MainPID is unknown, the
drain budget elapses, or the unit doesn't respawn after exit (older
units missing Restart=on-failure). Old install behavior preserved.
- Drain budget = max(restart_drain_timeout, 30s) + 15s margin so the
drain loop in run_agent + final exit have room before fallback
fires. Composes with #14728's tool-subprocess reaping.
Notification interval:
- agent.gateway_notify_interval default 600 -> 180.
- HERMES_AGENT_NOTIFY_INTERVAL env-var fallback in gateway/run.py
matched.
- 9-minute weak-model spinning runs now ping at 3 min and 6 min
instead of 27 seconds before completion, removing the 'is the bot
dead?' reflex that drives gateway-restart cycles.
Tests:
- Two new tests in tests/hermes_cli/test_update_gateway_restart.py:
one asserts SIGUSR1 is sent and 'systemctl restart' is NOT called
when MainPID is known and the helper succeeds; one asserts the
fallback fires when the helper returns False.
- E2E: spawned detached bash processes confirm the helper returns
True on SIGUSR1-handling exit (~0.5s) and False on SIGUSR1-ignoring
processes (timeout). Verified non-existent PID and pid=0 edge cases.
- 41/41 in test_update_gateway_restart.py (was 39, +2 new).
- 154/154 in shutdown-related suites including #14728's new tests.
Reported by @GeoffWellman and @ANT_1515 on X.
Closes#11616.
The agent's API retry loop hardcoded max_retries = 3, so users with
fallback providers on flaky primaries burned through ~3 × provider
timeout (e.g. 3 × 180s = 9 minutes) before their fallback chain got a
chance to kick in.
Expose a new config key:
agent:
api_max_retries: 3 # default unchanged
Set it to 1 for fast failover when you have fallback providers, or
raise it if you prefer longer tolerance on a single provider. Values
< 1 are clamped to 1 (single attempt, no retry); non-integer values
fall back to the default.
This wraps the Hermes-level retry loop only — the OpenAI SDK's own
low-level retries (max_retries=2 default) still run beneath this for
transient network errors.
Changes:
- hermes_cli/config.py: add agent.api_max_retries default 3 with comment.
- run_agent.py: read self._api_max_retries in AIAgent.__init__; replace
hardcoded max_retries = 3 in the retry loop with self._api_max_retries.
- cli-config.yaml.example: documented example entry.
- hermes_cli/tips.py: discoverable tip line.
- tests/run_agent/test_api_max_retries_config.py: 4 tests covering
default, override, clamp-to-one, and invalid-value fallback.
## Merged
Adds MiMo v2.5-pro and v2.5 support to Xiaomi native provider, OpenCode Go, and setup wizard.
### Changes
- Context lengths: added v2.5-pro (1M) and v2.5 (1M), corrected existing MiMo entries to exact values (262144)
- Provider lists: xiaomi, opencode-go, setup wizard
- Vision: upgraded from mimo-v2-omni to mimo-v2.5 (omnimodal)
- Config description updated for XIAOMI_API_KEY
- Tests updated for new vision model preference
### Verification
- 4322 tests passed, 0 new regressions
- Live API tested on Xiaomi portal: basic, reasoning, tool calling, multi-tool, file ops, system prompt, vision — all pass
- Self-review found and fixed 2 issues (redundant vision check, stale HuggingFace context length)
Replaces the blanket 'always allow' change from the previous commit with
an opt-in config flag so users who want belt-and-suspenders security can
still get the keyword scan on skill_manage output.
## Default behavior (flag off)
skill_manage(action='create'|'edit'|'patch') no longer runs the keyword
scanner. The agent can write skills that mention risky keywords in prose
(documenting what reviewers should watch for, describing cache-bust
semantics in a PR-review skill, referencing AGENTS.md, etc.) without
getting blocked.
Rationale: the agent can already execute the same code paths via
terminal() with no gate, so the scan adds friction without meaningful
security against a compromised or malicious agent.
## Opt-in behavior (flag on)
Set skills.guard_agent_created: true in config.yaml to get the original
behavior back. Scanner runs on every skill_manage write; dangerous
verdicts surface as a tool error the agent can react to (retry without
the flagged content).
## External hub installs unaffected
trusted/community sources (hermes skills install) always get scanned
regardless of this flag. The gate is specifically for skill_manage,
which only agents call.
## Changes
- hermes_cli/config.py: add skills.guard_agent_created: False to DEFAULT_CONFIG
- tools/skill_manager_tool.py: _guard_agent_created_enabled() reads the flag;
_security_scan_skill() short-circuits to None when the flag is off
- tools/skills_guard.py: restore INSTALL_POLICY['agent-created'] =
('allow', 'allow', 'ask') so the scan remains strict when it does run
- tests/tools/test_skills_guard.py: restore original ask/force tests
- tests/tools/test_skill_manager_tool.py: new TestSecurityScanGate class
covering both flag states + config error handling
## Validation
- tests/tools/test_skills_guard.py + test_skill_manager_tool.py: 115/115 pass
- E2E: flagged-keyword skill creates with default config, blocks with flag on
The environment-snapshot login shell was auto-sourcing only ~/.bashrc when
building the PATH snapshot. On Debian/Ubuntu the default ~/.bashrc starts
with a non-interactive short-circuit:
case $- in *i*) ;; *) return;; esac
Sourcing it from a non-interactive shell returns before any PATH export
below that guard runs. Node version managers like n and nvm append their
PATH line under that guard, so Hermes was capturing a PATH without
~/n/bin — and the terminal tool saw 'node: command not found' even when
node was on the user's interactive shell PATH.
Expand the auto-source list (when auto_source_bashrc is on) to:
~/.profile → ~/.bash_profile → ~/.bashrc
~/.profile and ~/.bash_profile have no interactivity guard — installers
that write their PATH there (n's n-install, nvm's curl installer on most
setups) take effect. ~/.bashrc still runs last to preserve behaviour for
users who put PATH logic there without the guard.
Added two tests covering the new behaviour plus an E2E test that spins up
a real LocalEnvironment with a guard-prefixed ~/.bashrc and a ~/.profile
PATH export, and verifies the captured snapshot PATH contains the profile
entry.
_normalize_custom_provider_entry silently drops the models field when it's
a list. Hand-edited configs (and the shape used by older Hermes versions)
still write models as a plain list of ids, so after the normalize pass the
entry reaches list_authenticated_providers() with no models and /model
shows the provider with (0) models — even though the underlying picker
code handles lists fine.
Convert list-format models into the empty-value dict shape the rest of
the pipeline already expects. Dict-format entries keep passing through
unchanged.
Repro (before the fix):
custom_providers:
- name: acme
base_url: https://api.example.com/v1
models: [foo, bar, baz]
/model shows "acme (0)"; bypassing normalize in list_authenticated_providers
returns three models, confirming the drop happens in normalize.
Adds four unit tests covering list→dict conversion, dict pass-through,
filtering of empty/non-string entries, and the empty-list case.
When a user manually sets fallback_model as a YAML list instead of a
dict, save_config_value() crashes with:
AttributeError: 'list' object has no attribute 'get'
at the fb.get('provider') call on hermes_cli/config.py.
The fix adds isinstance(fb, dict) so list-format values are treated as
unconfigured — the fallback_model comment block is appended to guide
correct usage — instead of crashing.
Fixes#4091
Co-authored-by: [AI-assisted — Claude Sonnet 4.6 via Milo/Hermes]
Follow-up on helix4u's PR #14211:
- Flip default to true: narrowing toolsets=['web','browser'] expresses
'I want these extras', not 'silently strip MCP'. Parent MCP tools
(registered at runtime) should survive narrowing by default.
- Drop _config_version bump (22->23); additive nested key under
delegation.* is handled by _deep_merge, no migration needed.
- Update tests to reflect new default behavior.
Adds security.allow_private_urls / HERMES_ALLOW_PRIVATE_URLS toggle so
users on OpenWrt routers, TUN-mode proxies (Clash/Mihomo/Sing-box),
corporate split-tunnel VPNs, and Tailscale networks — where DNS resolves
public domains to 198.18.0.0/15 or 100.64.0.0/10 — can use web_extract,
browser, vision URL fetching, and gateway media downloads.
Single toggle in tools/url_safety.py; all 23 is_safe_url() call sites
inherit automatically. Cached for process lifetime.
Cloud metadata endpoints stay ALWAYS blocked regardless of the toggle:
169.254.169.254 (AWS/GCP/Azure/DO/Oracle), 169.254.170.2 (AWS ECS task
IAM creds), 169.254.169.253 (Azure IMDS wire server), 100.100.100.200
(Alibaba), fd00:ec2::254 (AWS IPv6), the entire 169.254.0.0/16
link-local range, and the metadata.google.internal / metadata.goog
hostnames (checked pre-DNS so they can't be bypassed on networks where
those names resolve to local IPs).
Supersedes #3779 (narrower HERMES_ALLOW_RFC2544 for the same class of
users).
Co-authored-by: kshitijk4poor <82637225+kshitijk4poor@users.noreply.github.com>
* feat(state): auto-prune old sessions + VACUUM state.db at startup
state.db accumulates every session, message, and FTS5 index entry forever.
A heavy user (gateway + cron) reported 384MB with 982 sessions / 68K messages
causing slowdown; manual 'hermes sessions prune --older-than 7' + VACUUM
brought it to 43MB. The prune command and VACUUM are not wired to run
automatically anywhere — sessions grew unbounded until users noticed.
Changes:
- hermes_state.py: new state_meta key/value table, vacuum() method, and
maybe_auto_prune_and_vacuum() — idempotent via last-run timestamp in
state_meta so it only actually executes once per min_interval_hours
across all Hermes processes for a given HERMES_HOME. Never raises.
- hermes_cli/config.py: new 'sessions:' block in DEFAULT_CONFIG
(auto_prune=True, retention_days=90, vacuum_after_prune=True,
min_interval_hours=24). Added to _KNOWN_ROOT_KEYS.
- cli.py: call maintenance once at HermesCLI init (shared helper
_run_state_db_auto_maintenance reads config and delegates to DB).
- gateway/run.py: call maintenance once at GatewayRunner init.
- Docs: user-guide/sessions.md rewrites 'Automatic Cleanup' section.
Why VACUUM matters: SQLite does NOT shrink the file on DELETE — freed
pages get reused on next INSERT. Without VACUUM, a delete-heavy DB stays
bloated forever. VACUUM only runs when the prune actually removed rows,
so tight DBs don't pay the I/O cost.
Tests: 10 new tests in tests/test_hermes_state.py covering state_meta,
vacuum, idempotency, interval skipping, VACUUM-only-when-needed,
corrupt-marker recovery. All 246 existing state/config/gateway tests
still pass.
Verified E2E with real imports + isolated HERMES_HOME: DEFAULT_CONFIG
exposes the new block, load_config() returns it for fresh installs,
first call prunes+vacuums, second call within min_interval_hours skips,
and the state_meta marker persists across connection close/reopen.
* sessions.auto_prune defaults to false (opt-in)
Session history powers session_search recall across past conversations,
so silently pruning on startup could surprise users. Ship the machinery
disabled and let users opt in when they notice state.db is hurting
performance.
- DEFAULT_CONFIG.sessions.auto_prune: True → False
- Call-site fallbacks in cli.py and gateway/run.py match the new default
(so unmigrated configs still see off)
- Docs: flip 'Enable in config.yaml' framing + tip explains the tradeoff
Adds a first-class 'stepfun' API-key provider surfaced as Step Plan:
- Support Step Plan setup for both International and China regions
- Discover Step Plan models live from /step_plan/v1/models, with a
small coding-focused fallback catalog when discovery is unavailable
- Thread StepFun through provider metadata, setup persistence, status
and doctor output, auxiliary routing, and model normalization
- Add tests for provider resolution, model validation, metadata
mapping, and StepFun region/model persistence
Based on #6005 by @hengm3467.
Co-authored-by: hengm3467 <100685635+hengm3467@users.noreply.github.com>
A single global MAX_TEXT_LENGTH = 4000 truncated every TTS provider at
4000 chars, causing long inputs to be silently chopped even though the
underlying APIs allow much more:
- OpenAI: 4096
- xAI: 15000
- MiniMax: 10000
- ElevenLabs: 5000 / 10000 / 30000 / 40000 (model-aware)
- Gemini: ~5000
- Edge: ~5000
The schema description also told the model 'Keep under 4000 characters',
which encouraged the agent to self-chunk long briefs into multiple TTS
calls (producing 3 separate audio files instead of one).
New behavior:
- PROVIDER_MAX_TEXT_LENGTH table + ELEVENLABS_MODEL_MAX_TEXT_LENGTH
encode the documented per-provider limits.
- _resolve_max_text_length(provider, cfg) resolves:
1. tts.<provider>.max_text_length user override
2. ElevenLabs model_id lookup
3. provider default
4. 4000 fallback
- text_to_speech_tool() and stream_tts_to_speaker() both call the
resolver; old MAX_TEXT_LENGTH alias kept for back-compat.
- Schema description no longer hardcodes 4000.
Tests: 27 new unit + E2E tests; all 53 existing TTS tests and 253
voice-command/voice-cli tests still pass.
Adds role='leaf'|'orchestrator' to delegate_task. With max_spawn_depth>=2,
an orchestrator child retains the 'delegation' toolset and can spawn its
own workers; leaf children cannot delegate further (identical to today).
Default posture is flat — max_spawn_depth=1 means a depth-0 parent's
children land at the depth-1 floor and orchestrator role silently
degrades to leaf. Users opt into nested delegation by raising
max_spawn_depth to 2 or 3 in config.yaml.
Also threads acp_command/acp_args through the main agent loop's delegate
dispatch (previously silently dropped in the schema) via a new
_dispatch_delegate_task helper, and adds a DelegateEvent enum with
legacy-string back-compat for gateway/ACP/CLI progress consumers.
Config (hermes_cli/config.py defaults):
delegation.max_concurrent_children: 3 # floor-only, no upper cap
delegation.max_spawn_depth: 1 # 1=flat (default), 2-3 unlock nested
delegation.orchestrator_enabled: true # global kill switch
Salvaged from @pefontana's PR #11215. Overrides vs. the original PR:
concurrency stays at 3 (PR bumped to 5 + cap 8 — we keep the floor only,
no hard ceiling); max_spawn_depth defaults to 1 (PR defaulted to 2 which
silently enabled one level of orchestration for every user).
Co-authored-by: pefontana <fontana.pedro93@gmail.com>
Full AST-based scan of all .py files to find every case where a module
or name is imported locally inside a function body but is already
available at module level. This is the second pass — the first commit
handled the known cases from the lint report; this one catches
everything else.
Files changed (19):
cli.py — 16 removals: time as _time/_t/_tmod (×10),
re / re as _re (×2), os as _os, sys,
partial os from combo import,
from model_tools import get_tool_definitions
gateway/run.py — 8 removals: MessageEvent as _ME /
MessageType as _MT (×3), os as _os2,
MessageEvent+MessageType (×2), Platform,
BasePlatformAdapter as _BaseAdapter
run_agent.py — 6 removals: get_hermes_home as _ghh,
partial (contextlib, os as _os),
cleanup_vm, cleanup_browser,
set_interrupt as _sif (×2),
partial get_toolset_for_tool
hermes_cli/main.py — 4 removals: get_hermes_home, time as _time,
logging as _log, shutil
hermes_cli/config.py — 1 removal: get_hermes_home as _ghome
hermes_cli/runtime_provider.py
— 1 removal: load_config as _load_bedrock_config
hermes_cli/setup.py — 2 removals: importlib.util (×2)
hermes_cli/nous_subscription.py
— 1 removal: from hermes_cli.config import load_config
hermes_cli/tools_config.py
— 1 removal: from hermes_cli.config import load_config, save_config
cron/scheduler.py — 3 removals: concurrent.futures, json as _json,
from hermes_cli.config import load_config
batch_runner.py — 1 removal: list_distributions as get_all_dists
(kept print_distribution_info, not at top level)
tools/send_message_tool.py
— 2 removals: import os (×2)
tools/skills_tool.py — 1 removal: logging as _logging
tools/browser_camofox.py
— 1 removal: from hermes_cli.config import load_config
tools/image_generation_tool.py
— 1 removal: import fal_client
environments/tool_context.py
— 1 removal: concurrent.futures
gateway/platforms/bluebubbles.py
— 1 removal: httpx as _httpx
gateway/platforms/whatsapp.py
— 1 removal: import asyncio
tui_gateway/server.py — 2 removals: from datetime import datetime,
import time
All alias references (_time, _t, _tmod, _re, _os, _os2, _json, _ghh,
_ghome, _sif, _ME, _MT, _BaseAdapter, _load_bedrock_config, _httpx,
_logging, _log, get_all_dists) updated to use the top-level names.
Sweep ~74 redundant local imports across 21 files where the same module
was already imported at the top level. Also includes type fixes and lint
cleanups on the same branch.
* feat(skills): inject absolute skill dir and expand ${HERMES_SKILL_DIR} templates
When a skill loads, the activation message now exposes the absolute
skill directory and substitutes ${HERMES_SKILL_DIR} /
${HERMES_SESSION_ID} tokens in the SKILL.md body, so skills with
bundled scripts can instruct the agent to run them by absolute path
without an extra skill_view round-trip.
Also adds opt-in inline-shell expansion: !`cmd` snippets in SKILL.md
are pre-executed (with the skill directory as CWD) and their stdout is
inlined into the message before the agent reads it. Off by default —
enable via skills.inline_shell in config.yaml — because any snippet
runs on the host without approval.
Changes:
- agent/skill_commands.py: template substitution, inline-shell
expansion, absolute skill-dir header, supporting-files list now
shows both relative and absolute forms.
- hermes_cli/config.py: new skills.template_vars,
skills.inline_shell, skills.inline_shell_timeout knobs.
- tests/agent/test_skill_commands.py: coverage for header, both
template tokens (present and missing session id), template_vars
disable, inline-shell default-off, enabled, CWD, and timeout.
- website/docs/developer-guide/creating-skills.md: documents the
template tokens, the absolute-path header, and the opt-in inline
shell with its security caveat.
Validation: tests/agent/ 1591 passed (includes 9 new tests).
E2E: loaded a real skill in an isolated HERMES_HOME; confirmed
${HERMES_SKILL_DIR} resolves to the absolute path, ${HERMES_SESSION_ID}
resolves to the passed task_id, !`date` runs when opt-in is set, and
stays literal when it isn't.
* feat(terminal): source ~/.bashrc (and user-listed init files) into session snapshot
bash login shells don't source ~/.bashrc, so tools that install themselves
there — nvm, asdf, pyenv, cargo, custom PATH exports — stay invisible to
the environment snapshot Hermes builds once per session. Under systemd
or any context with a minimal parent env, that surfaces as
'node: command not found' in the terminal tool even though the binary
is reachable from every interactive shell on the machine.
Changes:
- tools/environments/local.py: before the login-shell snapshot bootstrap
runs, prepend guarded 'source <file>' lines for each resolved init
file. Missing files are skipped, each source is wrapped with a
'[ -r ... ] && . ... || true' guard so a broken rc can't abort the
bootstrap.
- hermes_cli/config.py: new terminal.shell_init_files (explicit list,
supports ~ and ${VAR}) and terminal.auto_source_bashrc (default on)
knobs. When shell_init_files is set it takes precedence; when it's
empty and auto_source_bashrc is on, ~/.bashrc gets auto-sourced.
- tests/tools/test_local_shell_init.py: 10 tests covering the resolver
(auto-bashrc, missing file, explicit override, ~/${VAR} expansion,
opt-out) and the prelude builder (quoting, guarded sourcing), plus
a real-LocalEnvironment snapshot test that confirms exports in the
init file land in subsequent commands' environment.
- website/docs/reference/faq.md: documents the fix in Troubleshooting,
including the zsh-user pattern of sourcing ~/.zshrc or nvm.sh
directly via shell_init_files.
Validation: 10/10 new tests pass; tests/tools/test_local_*.py 40/40
pass; tests/agent/ 1591/1591 pass; tests/hermes_cli/test_config.py
50/50 pass. E2E in an isolated HERMES_HOME: confirmed that a fake
~/.bashrc setting a marker var and PATH addition shows up in a real
LocalEnvironment().execute() call, that auto_source_bashrc=false
suppresses it, that an explicit shell_init_files entry wins over the
auto default, and that a missing bashrc is silently skipped.
Users can declare shell scripts in config.yaml under a hooks: block that
fire on plugin-hook events (pre_tool_call, post_tool_call, pre_llm_call,
subagent_stop, etc). Scripts receive JSON on stdin, can return JSON on
stdout to block tool calls or inject context pre-LLM.
Key design:
- Registers closures on existing PluginManager._hooks dict — zero changes
to invoke_hook() call sites
- subprocess.run(shell=False) via shlex.split — no shell injection
- First-use consent per (event, command) pair, persisted to allowlist JSON
- Bypass via --accept-hooks, HERMES_ACCEPT_HOOKS=1, or hooks_auto_accept
- hermes hooks list/test/revoke/doctor CLI subcommands
- Adds subagent_stop hook event fired after delegate_task children exit
- Claude Code compatible response shapes accepted
Cherry-picked from PR #13143 by @pefontana.
Replaces the serial for-loop in tick() with ThreadPoolExecutor so all
jobs due in a single tick run concurrently. A slow job no longer blocks
others from executing, fixing silent job skipping (issue #9086).
Thread safety:
- Session/delivery env vars migrated from os.environ to ContextVars
(gateway/session_context.py) so parallel jobs can't clobber each
other's delivery targets. Each thread gets its own copied context.
- jobs.json read-modify-write cycles (advance_next_run, mark_job_run)
protected by threading.Lock to prevent concurrent save clobber.
- send_message_tool reads delivery vars via get_session_env() for
ContextVar-aware resolution with os.environ fallback.
Configuration:
- cron.max_parallel_jobs in config.yaml (null = unbounded, 1 = serial)
- HERMES_CRON_MAX_PARALLEL env var override
Based on PR #9169 by @VenomMoth1.
Fixes#9086
Cherry-picked from PR #9359 by @luyao618.
- Accept camelCase aliases (apiKey, baseUrl, apiMode, keyEnv, defaultModel,
contextLength, rateLimitDelay) with auto-mapping to snake_case + warning
- Validate URL field values with urlparse (scheme + netloc check) — reject
non-URL strings like 'openai-reverse-proxy' that were silently accepted
- Warn on unknown keys in provider config entries
- Re-order URL field priority: base_url > url > api (was api > url > base_url)
- 12 new tests covering all scenarios
Closes#9332
Plugins now require explicit consent to load. Discovery still finds every
plugin — user-installed, bundled, and pip — so they all show up in
`hermes plugins` and `/plugins`, but the loader only instantiates
plugins whose name appears in `plugins.enabled` in config.yaml. This
removes the previous ambient-execution risk where a newly-installed or
bundled plugin could register hooks, tools, and commands on first run
without the user opting in.
The three-state model is now explicit:
enabled — in plugins.enabled, loads on next session
disabled — in plugins.disabled, never loads (wins over enabled)
not enabled — discovered but never opted in (default for new installs)
`hermes plugins install <repo>` prompts "Enable 'name' now? [y/N]"
(defaults to no). New `--enable` / `--no-enable` flags skip the prompt
for scripted installs. `hermes plugins enable/disable` manage both lists
so a disabled plugin stays explicitly off even if something later adds
it to enabled.
Config migration (schema v20 → v21): existing user plugins already
installed under ~/.hermes/plugins/ (minus anything in plugins.disabled)
are auto-grandfathered into plugins.enabled so upgrades don't silently
break working setups. Bundled plugins are NOT grandfathered — even
existing users have to opt in explicitly.
Also: HERMES_DISABLE_BUNDLED_PLUGINS env var removed (redundant with
opt-in default), cmd_list now shows bundled + user plugins together with
their three-state status, interactive UI tags bundled entries
[bundled], docs updated across plugins.md and built-in-plugins.md.
Validation: 442 plugin/config tests pass. E2E: fresh install discovers
disk-cleanup but does not load it; `hermes plugins enable disk-cleanup`
activates hooks; migration grandfathers existing user plugins correctly
while leaving bundled plugins off.
Smart model routing (auto-routing short/simple turns to a cheap model
across providers) was opt-in and disabled by default. This removes the
feature wholesale: the routing module, its config keys, docs, tests, and
the orchestration scaffolding it required in cli.py / gateway/run.py /
cron/scheduler.py.
The /fast (Priority Processing / Anthropic fast mode) feature kept its
hooks into _resolve_turn_agent_config — those still build a route dict
and attach request_overrides when the model supports it; the route now
just always uses the session's primary model/provider rather than
running prompts through choose_cheap_model_route() first.
Also removed:
- DEFAULT_CONFIG['smart_model_routing'] block and matching commented-out
example sections in hermes_cli/config.py and cli-config.yaml.example
- _load_smart_model_routing() / self._smart_model_routing on GatewayRunner
- self._smart_model_routing / self._active_agent_route_signature on
HermesCLI (signature kept; just no longer initialised through the
smart-routing pipeline)
- route_label parameter on HermesCLI._init_agent (only set by smart
routing; never read elsewhere)
- 'Smart Model Routing' section in website/docs/integrations/providers.md
- tip in hermes_cli/tips.py
- entries in hermes_cli/dump.py + hermes_cli/web_server.py
- row in skills/autonomous-ai-agents/hermes-agent/SKILL.md
Tests:
- Deleted tests/agent/test_smart_model_routing.py
- Rewrote tests/agent/test_credential_pool_routing.py to target the
simplified _resolve_turn_agent_config directly (preserves credential
pool propagation + 429 rotation coverage)
- Dropped 'cheap model' test from test_cli_provider_resolution.py
- Dropped resolve_turn_route patches from cli + gateway test_fast_command
— they now exercise the real method end-to-end
- Removed _smart_model_routing stub assignments from gateway/cron test
helpers
Targeted suites: 74/74 in the directly affected test files;
tests/agent + tests/cron + tests/cli pass except 5 failures that
already exist on main (cron silent-delivery + alias quick-command).
* feat: add Discord server introspection and management tool
Add a discord_server tool that gives the agent the ability to interact
with Discord servers when running on the Discord gateway. Uses Discord
REST API directly with the bot token — no dependency on the gateway
adapter's discord.py client.
The tool is only included in the hermes-discord toolset (zero cost for
users on other platforms) and gated on DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN via check_fn.
Actions (14):
- Introspection: list_guilds, server_info, list_channels, channel_info,
list_roles, member_info, search_members
- Messages: fetch_messages, list_pins, pin_message, unpin_message
- Management: create_thread, add_role, remove_role
This addresses a gap where users on Discord could not ask Hermes to
review server structure, channels, roles, or members — a task competing
agents (OpenClaw) handle out of the box.
Files changed:
- tools/discord_tool.py (new): Tool implementation + registration
- model_tools.py: Add to discovery list
- toolsets.py: Add to hermes-discord toolset only
- tests/tools/test_discord_tool.py (new): 43 tests covering all actions,
validation, error handling, registration, and toolset scoping
* feat(discord): intent-aware schema filtering + config allowlist + schema cleanup
- _detect_capabilities() hits GET /applications/@me once per process
to read GUILD_MEMBERS / MESSAGE_CONTENT privileged intent bits.
- Schema is rebuilt per-session in model_tools.get_tool_definitions:
hides search_members / member_info when GUILD_MEMBERS intent is off,
annotates fetch_messages description when MESSAGE_CONTENT is off.
- New config key discord.server_actions (comma-separated or YAML list)
lets users restrict which actions the agent can call, intersected
with intent availability. Unknown names are warned and dropped.
- Defense-in-depth: runtime handler re-checks the allowlist so a stale
cached schema cannot bypass a tightened config.
- Schema description rewritten as an action-first manifest (signature
per action) instead of per-parameter 'required for X, Y, Z' cross-refs.
~25% shorter; model can see each action's required params at a glance.
- Added bounds: limit gets minimum=1 maximum=100, auto_archive_duration
becomes an enum of the 4 valid Discord values.
- 403 enrichment: runtime 403 errors are mapped to actionable guidance
(which permission is missing and what to do about it) instead of the
raw Discord error body.
- 36 new tests: capability detection with caching and force refresh,
config allowlist parsing (string/list/invalid/unknown), intent+allowlist
intersection, dynamic schema build, runtime allowlist enforcement,
403 enrichment, and model_tools integration wiring.
Add approvals.cron_mode config option that controls how cron jobs handle
dangerous commands. Previously, cron jobs silently auto-approved all
dangerous commands because there was no user present to approve them.
Now the behavior is configurable:
- deny (default): block dangerous commands and return a message telling
the agent to find an alternative approach. The agent loop continues —
it just can't use that specific command.
- approve: auto-approve all dangerous commands (previous behavior).
When a command is blocked, the agent receives the same response format as
a user denial in the CLI — exit_code=-1, status=blocked, with a message
explaining why and pointing to the config option. This keeps the agent
loop running and encourages it to adapt.
Implementation:
- config.py: add approvals.cron_mode to DEFAULT_CONFIG
- scheduler.py: set HERMES_CRON_SESSION=1 env var before agent runs
- approval.py: both check_command_approval() and check_all_command_guards()
now check for cron sessions and apply the configured mode
- 21 new tests covering config parsing, deny/approve behavior, and
interaction with other bypass mechanisms (yolo, containers)
Weaker models (Gemma-class) repeatedly rediscover and forget that
execute_code uses a different CWD and Python interpreter than terminal(),
causing them to flip-flop on whether user files exist and to hit import
errors on project dependencies like pandas.
Adds a new 'code_execution.mode' config key (default 'project') that
brings execute_code into line with terminal()'s filesystem/interpreter:
project (new default):
- cwd = session's TERMINAL_CWD (falls back to os.getcwd())
- python = active VIRTUAL_ENV/bin/python or CONDA_PREFIX/bin/python
with a Python 3.8+ version check; falls back cleanly to
sys.executable if no venv or the candidate fails
- result : 'import pandas' works, '.env' resolves, matches terminal()
strict (opt-in):
- cwd = staging tmpdir (today's behavior)
- python = sys.executable (today's behavior)
- result : maximum reproducibility and isolation; project deps
won't resolve
Security-critical invariants are identical across both modes and covered by
explicit regression tests:
- env scrubbing (strips *_API_KEY, *_TOKEN, *_SECRET, *_PASSWORD,
*_CREDENTIAL, *_PASSWD, *_AUTH substrings)
- SANDBOX_ALLOWED_TOOLS whitelist (no execute_code recursion, no
delegate_task, no MCP from inside scripts)
- resource caps (5-min timeout, 50KB stdout, 50 tool calls)
Deliberately avoids 'sandbox'/'isolated'/'cloud' language in tool
descriptions (regression from commit 39b83f34 where agents on local
backends falsely believed they were sandboxed and refused networking).
Override via env var: HERMES_EXECUTE_CODE_MODE=strict|project
