feat: make busy steer ack configurable

gateway/display_config.py

@@ -47,6 +47,11 @@ _GLOBAL_DEFAULTS: dict[str, Any] = {
     "interim_assistant_messages": True,
     "long_running_notifications": True,
     "busy_ack_detail": True,
+    # Whether busy_input_mode=steer sends a visible "Steered into current run"
+    # acknowledgment after successfully injecting the user's mid-turn message.
+    # Disable when the platform should steer silently (the text still lands in
+    # the active run; only the confirmation echo is suppressed).
+    "busy_steer_ack_enabled": True,
     # When true, delete tool-progress / "⏳ Working — N min" / status bubbles
     # after the final response lands on platforms that support message
     # deletion (e.g. Telegram). Off by default — progress is still shown

gateway/run.py

@@ -1563,6 +1563,8 @@ if _config_path.exists():
                 os.environ["HERMES_GATEWAY_BUSY_TEXT_MODE"] = str(_display_cfg["busy_text_mode"])
             if "busy_ack_enabled" in _display_cfg:
                 os.environ["HERMES_GATEWAY_BUSY_ACK_ENABLED"] = str(_display_cfg["busy_ack_enabled"])
+            if "busy_steer_ack_enabled" in _display_cfg:
+                os.environ["HERMES_GATEWAY_BUSY_STEER_ACK_ENABLED"] = str(_display_cfg["busy_steer_ack_enabled"])
         # Timezone: bridge config.yaml → HERMES_TIMEZONE env var.
         _tz_cfg = _cfg.get("timezone", "")
         if _tz_cfg and isinstance(_tz_cfg, str):
@@ -5330,6 +5332,30 @@ class GatewayRunner(GatewayAuthorizationMixin, GatewayKanbanWatchersMixin, Gatew
             logger.debug("Busy ack suppressed for session %s", session_key)
             return True  # input still processed, just no ack sent
 
+        from gateway.display_config import resolve_display_setting
+        platform_key = _platform_config_key(event.source.platform)
+
+        # In steer mode the user's text has already been injected into the
+        # active run. Some mobile chat setups want that steering to be silent,
+        # like STT transcript echo suppression: keep the behavior, drop only
+        # the confirmation bubble.
+        if is_steer_mode:
+            steer_ack_env = os.environ.get("HERMES_GATEWAY_BUSY_STEER_ACK_ENABLED")
+            if steer_ack_env is not None:
+                steer_ack_enabled = steer_ack_env.strip().lower() in {"1", "true", "yes", "on"}
+            else:
+                steer_ack_enabled = bool(
+                    resolve_display_setting(
+                        _load_gateway_config(),
+                        platform_key,
+                        "busy_steer_ack_enabled",
+                        True,
+                    )
+                )
+            if not steer_ack_enabled:
+                logger.debug("Busy steer ack suppressed for session %s", session_key)
+                return True
+
         # Debounce: only send an acknowledgment once every 30 seconds per session
         # to avoid spamming the user when they send multiple messages quickly
         _BUSY_ACK_COOLDOWN = 30
@@ -5343,7 +5369,6 @@ class GatewayRunner(GatewayAuthorizationMixin, GatewayKanbanWatchersMixin, Gatew
         # Build a status-rich acknowledgment. Mobile chat defaults keep this
         # terse; detailed iteration/tool state is still available in logs and
         # can be opted in per platform via display.platforms.<platform>.busy_ack_detail.
-        from gateway.display_config import resolve_display_setting
         status_parts = []
         busy_ack_detail_enabled = bool(
             resolve_display_setting(

hermes_cli/config.py

@@ -1675,6 +1675,10 @@ DEFAULT_CONFIG = {
         # behavior of showing tool-call summaries inline.
         "resume_skip_tool_only": True,
         "busy_input_mode": "interrupt",  # interrupt | queue | steer
+        # When busy_input_mode="steer", suppress only the visible
+        # "Steered into current run" confirmation bubble by setting this false.
+        # The mid-turn steering itself still happens.
+        "busy_steer_ack_enabled": True,
         # Which interface bare `hermes` (and `hermes chat`) launches by default:
         #   "cli" — the classic prompt_toolkit REPL (default, preserves prior behavior)
         #   "tui" — the modern Ink TUI (same as passing `--tui`)

tests/gateway/test_busy_session_ack.py

@@ -297,6 +297,67 @@ class TestBusySessionAck:
         assert "Steered" in content or "steer" in content.lower()
         assert "Interrupting" not in content
 
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_steer_mode_can_suppress_visible_ack_without_disabling_steer(self, monkeypatch):
+        """busy_steer_ack_enabled=false keeps steering but drops the echo bubble."""
+        import gateway.run as _gr
+
+        monkeypatch.delenv("HERMES_GATEWAY_BUSY_STEER_ACK_ENABLED", raising=False)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            _gr,
+            "_load_gateway_config",
+            lambda: {"display": {"platforms": {"telegram": {"busy_steer_ack_enabled": False}}}},
+        )
+
+        runner, sentinel = _make_runner()
+        runner._busy_input_mode = "steer"
+        adapter = _make_adapter()
+
+        event = _make_event(text="also check the tests")
+        sk = build_session_key(event.source)
+        runner.adapters[event.source.platform] = adapter
+
+        agent = MagicMock()
+        agent.steer = MagicMock(return_value=True)
+        runner._running_agents[sk] = agent
+
+        await runner._handle_active_session_busy_message(event, sk)
+
+        agent.steer.assert_called_once_with("also check the tests")
+        agent.interrupt.assert_not_called()
+        adapter._send_with_retry.assert_not_called()
+        assert sk not in adapter._pending_messages
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_steer_ack_env_override_can_suppress_visible_ack(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Env override supports process-level suppression for gateway services."""
+        import gateway.run as _gr
+
+        monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_GATEWAY_BUSY_STEER_ACK_ENABLED", "false")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            _gr,
+            "_load_gateway_config",
+            lambda: {"display": {"platforms": {"telegram": {"busy_steer_ack_enabled": True}}}},
+        )
+
+        runner, sentinel = _make_runner()
+        runner._busy_input_mode = "steer"
+        adapter = _make_adapter()
+
+        event = _make_event(text="steer silently")
+        sk = build_session_key(event.source)
+        runner.adapters[event.source.platform] = adapter
+
+        agent = MagicMock()
+        agent.steer = MagicMock(return_value=True)
+        runner._running_agents[sk] = agent
+
+        await runner._handle_active_session_busy_message(event, sk)
+
+        agent.steer.assert_called_once_with("steer silently")
+        adapter._send_with_retry.assert_not_called()
+        assert sk not in adapter._pending_messages
+
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
     async def test_steer_mode_falls_back_to_queue_when_agent_rejects(self):
         """If agent.steer() returns False, fall back to queue behavior."""