feat: add TUI session orchestrator

Add a first-class active-session orchestrator for the Ink TUI:

- list, activate, close, and launch live process-local TUI sessions
- hydrate committed and in-flight output when switching sessions
- dispatch a new prompt session from the +new row with session-scoped model picks
- expose a clickable live-session count in the status chrome
- preserve stable row order while initially focusing the current session
- support mouse hit-testing for floating orchestrator overlays
- add backend and frontend regression coverage for the lifecycle and UI helpers

website/docs/developer-guide/programmatic-integration.md

@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ hermes acp --bootstrap      # print install snippet for an ACP-capable IDE
 
 ```
 prompt.submit           prompt.background       session.steer
-session.create          session.list            session.interrupt
+session.create          session.list            session.active_list
+session.activate        session.close           session.interrupt
 session.history         session.compress        session.branch
 session.title           session.usage           session.status
 clarify.respond         sudo.respond            secret.respond
@@ -52,6 +53,8 @@ delegation.status       subagent.interrupt      spawn_tree.save / list / load
 terminal.resize         clipboard.paste         image.attach
 ```
 
+`session.active_list`, `session.activate`, and `session.close` are the process-local live-session controls used by the TUI session switcher. Use `session.list` / `/resume` for saved transcript discovery; use the active-session methods only for sessions that are currently open in the TUI gateway process.
+
 ### Events streamed back
 
 `message.delta`, `message.complete`, `tool.start`, `tool.progress`, `tool.complete`, `approval.request`, `clarify.request`, `sudo.request`, `secret.request`, `gateway.ready`, plus session lifecycle and error events.

website/docs/reference/slash-commands.md

@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ Type `/` in the CLI to open the autocomplete menu. Built-in commands are case-in
 | `/goal <text>` | Set a standing goal Hermes works toward across turns — our take on the Ralph loop. After each turn an auxiliary judge model decides whether the goal is done; if not, Hermes auto-continues. Subcommands: `/goal status`, `/goal pause`, `/goal resume`, `/goal clear`. Budget defaults to 20 turns (`goals.max_turns`); any real user message preempts the continuation loop, and state survives `/resume`. See [Persistent Goals](/user-guide/features/goals) for the full walkthrough. |
 | `/subgoal <text>` | Append a user-supplied criterion to the active goal mid-loop. The continuation prompt surfaces all subgoals to the agent verbatim, and the judge factors them into its DONE/CONTINUE verdict — so the goal isn't marked done until the original goal **and** every subgoal are met. Subcommands: `/subgoal` (list), `/subgoal remove <N>`, `/subgoal clear`. Requires an active `/goal`. |
 | `/resume [name]` | Resume a previously-named session |
-| `/sessions` | Browse and resume previous sessions in an interactive picker |
+| `/sessions` (TUI alias: `/switch`) | Classic CLI: browse and resume previous sessions in an interactive picker. TUI: open the live session switcher for currently open TUI sessions. Use `/sessions new` in the TUI to start another live session immediately. |
 | `/redraw` | Force a full UI repaint (recovers from terminal drift after tmux resize, mouse selection artifacts, etc.) |
 | `/status` | Show session info — model, provider, profile, session ID, working directory, title, created/updated timestamps, token totals, agent-running state — followed by a local **Session recap** block (recent user/assistant turn counts, tool result count, top tools used, last few files touched, the latest user prompt, and the latest assistant reply). The recap is computed locally from the in-memory conversation; no LLM call, no prompt-cache impact. |
 | `/agents` (alias: `/tasks`) | Show active agents and running tasks across the current session. |
@@ -238,6 +238,7 @@ The messaging gateway supports the following built-in commands inside Telegram,
 - `/sethome`, `/update`, `/restart`, `/approve`, `/deny`, `/topic`, and `/commands` are **messaging-only** commands.
 - `/status`, `/background`, `/queue`, `/steer`, `/voice`, `/reload-mcp`, `/reload-skills`, `/rollback`, `/debug`, `/fast`, `/footer`, `/curator`, `/kanban`, `/sessions`, and `/yolo` work in **both** the CLI and the messaging gateway.
 - `/voice join`, `/voice channel`, and `/voice leave` are only meaningful on Discord.
+- In the TUI, `/sessions` shows live sessions in the current TUI process. Use `/resume [name]` or `hermes --tui --resume <id-or-title>` for saved or closed transcripts.
 
 ## Confirmation prompts for destructive commands
 

website/docs/user-guide/tui.md

@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ Keybindings match the [Classic CLI](cli.md#keybindings) exactly. The only behavi
 - **`Cmd+V` / `Ctrl+V`** first tries normal text paste, then falls back to OSC52/native clipboard reads, and finally image attach when the clipboard or pasted payload resolves to an image.
 - **`/terminal-setup`** installs local VS Code / Cursor / Windsurf terminal bindings for better `Cmd+Enter` and undo/redo parity on macOS.
 - **Slash autocompletion** opens as a floating panel with descriptions, not an inline dropdown.
-- **`Ctrl+X`** — when a queued message is highlighted (sent while the agent was still running), delete it from the queue. **`Esc`** cancels editing and unhighlights without deleting.
+- **`Ctrl+X`** opens the live session switcher. When a queued message is highlighted (sent while the agent was still running), it still deletes that queued message instead. **`Esc`** cancels editing and unhighlights without deleting.
 - **`Ctrl+G` / `Ctrl+X Ctrl+E`** — open the current input buffer in `$EDITOR` for multi-line / long-prompt composition; save-and-exit sends the contents back as the prompt.
 
 ## Slash commands
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ All slash commands work unchanged. A few are TUI-owned — they produce richer o
 | Command | TUI behavior |
 |---------|--------------|
 | `/help` | Overlay with categorized commands, arrow-key navigable |
-| `/sessions` | Modal session picker — preview, title, token totals, resume inline |
+| `/sessions` (alias `/switch`) | Live session switcher — list open TUI sessions, switch between them, close them, or start another one |
 | `/model` | Modal model picker grouped by provider, with cost hints |
 | `/skin` | Live preview — theme change applies as you browse |
 | `/details` | Toggle verbose tool-call details (global or per-section) |
@@ -110,6 +110,31 @@ All slash commands work unchanged. A few are TUI-owned — they produce richer o
 
 Every other slash command (including installed skills, quick commands, and personality toggles) works identically to the classic CLI. See [Slash Commands Reference](../reference/slash-commands.md).
 
+## Live session switcher
+
+Use the live session switcher when you want one terminal to act as a dispatcher for several TUI sessions. It lists only sessions that are currently live in this TUI process; closed sessions remain saved transcripts and can still be reopened with `/resume` or `hermes --tui --resume <id-or-title>`.
+
+Open it with any of these:
+
+- `Ctrl+X` from the TUI.
+- `/sessions` or `/switch`.
+- `/sessions new` to create a fresh live session immediately.
+- Click the `N live sessions` count in the status line.
+
+<img alt="Hermes TUI Session Orchestrator with one live session and a +new row" src="/img/docs/tui-session-orchestrator/session-orchestrator.png" />
+
+<video controls muted loop playsInline src="/img/docs/tui-session-orchestrator/session-orchestrator-demo.mp4" title="Hermes TUI Session Orchestrator demo" />
+
+Inside the switcher:
+
+- `↑` / `↓` move the selection; mouse clicks select rows too.
+- `Enter` switches to the selected live session.
+- `Ctrl+D` closes the selected live session.
+- `Ctrl+N` starts a blank live session.
+- `Ctrl+R` refreshes the live-session list.
+- `Esc` closes the switcher.
+- Select `+new`, type a prompt, and press `Enter` to dispatch a new live session. Press `Tab` first if you want to choose a model just for that new session.
+
 ## LaTeX math rendering
 
 The TUI's markdown pipeline renders LaTeX math inline: `$E = mc^2$` and `$$\frac{a}{b}$$` render as Unicode-formatted math instead of the raw TeX source. Works for inline and block math; unsupported syntax falls back to showing the literal TeX wrapped in a code span so it remains copyable.