fix(skills): _resolve_skill_dir writes to user dir, fix tests for HERMES_USER_SKILLS_DIR

- _resolve_skill_dir now uses _USER_SKILLS_DIR instead of SKILLS_DIR
- _create_skill computes relative_to from correct parent
- Test fixtures patch _USER_SKILLS_DIR alongside SKILLS_DIR
- test_local_always_first updated for 3-dir ordering (local > user > external)

tests/agent/test_external_skills.py

@@ -93,18 +93,21 @@ class TestGetExternalSkillsDirs:
 
 
 class TestGetAllSkillsDirs:
-    def test_local_always_first(self, hermes_home, external_skills_dir):
+    def test_local_always_first(self, hermes_home, external_skills_dir, tmp_path):
+        user_skills_dir = tmp_path / "user-skills"
+        user_skills_dir.mkdir()
         (hermes_home / "config.yaml").write_text(
             f"skills:\n  external_dirs:\n    - {external_skills_dir}\n"
         )
         with patch.dict(os.environ, {
             "HERMES_HOME": str(hermes_home),
-            "HERMES_USER_SKILLS_DIR": "",  # empty → user dir is still resolved but deduplicated below
+            "HERMES_USER_SKILLS_DIR": str(user_skills_dir),
         }):
             from agent.skill_utils import get_all_skills_dirs
             result = get_all_skills_dirs()
         assert result[0] == hermes_home / "skills"
-        assert result[1] == external_skills_dir.resolve()
+        assert result[1] == user_skills_dir.resolve()
+        assert result[2] == external_skills_dir.resolve()
 
 
 class TestExternalSkillsInFindAll:

tests/tools/test_skill_manager_tool.py

@@ -29,9 +29,10 @@ from tools.skill_manager_tool import (
 
 @contextmanager
 def _skill_dir(tmp_path):
-    """Patch both SKILLS_DIR and get_all_skills_dirs so _find_skill searches
-    only the temp directory — not the real ~/.hermes/skills/."""
+    """Patch both SKILLS_DIR, _USER_SKILLS_DIR, and get_all_skills_dirs so
+    _find_skill and _resolve_skill_dir use only the temp directory."""
     with patch("tools.skill_manager_tool.SKILLS_DIR", tmp_path), \
+         patch("tools.skill_manager_tool._USER_SKILLS_DIR", tmp_path), \
          patch("agent.skill_utils.get_all_skills_dirs", return_value=[tmp_path]):
         yield
 
@@ -225,6 +226,7 @@ class TestCreateSkill:
         skills_dir.mkdir()
 
         with patch("tools.skill_manager_tool.SKILLS_DIR", skills_dir), \
+             patch("tools.skill_manager_tool._USER_SKILLS_DIR", skills_dir), \
              patch("agent.skill_utils.get_all_skills_dirs", return_value=[skills_dir]):
             result = _create_skill("my-skill", VALID_SKILL_CONTENT, category="../escape")
 
@@ -238,6 +240,7 @@ class TestCreateSkill:
         outside = tmp_path / "outside"
 
         with patch("tools.skill_manager_tool.SKILLS_DIR", skills_dir), \
+             patch("tools.skill_manager_tool._USER_SKILLS_DIR", skills_dir), \
              patch("agent.skill_utils.get_all_skills_dirs", return_value=[skills_dir]):
             result = _create_skill("my-skill", VALID_SKILL_CONTENT, category=str(outside))
 

tools/skill_manager_tool.py

@@ -213,10 +213,14 @@ def _validate_content_size(content: str, label: str = "SKILL.md") -> Optional[st
 
 
 def _resolve_skill_dir(name: str, category: str = None) -> Path:
-    """Build the directory path for a new skill, optionally under a category."""
+    """Build the directory path for a new skill, optionally under a category.
+
+    User-created skills go to _USER_SKILLS_DIR (configurable via
+    HERMES_USER_SKILLS_DIR env var), keeping them separate from bundled skills.
+    """
     if category:
-        return SKILLS_DIR / category / name
-    return SKILLS_DIR / name
+        return _USER_SKILLS_DIR / category / name
+    return _USER_SKILLS_DIR / name
 
 
 def _find_skill(name: str) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
@@ -354,10 +358,16 @@ def _create_skill(name: str, content: str, category: str = None) -> Dict[str, An
         shutil.rmtree(skill_dir, ignore_errors=True)
         return {"success": False, "error": scan_error}
 
+    # Compute relative path from the appropriate skills root
+    try:
+        rel_path = str(skill_dir.relative_to(SKILLS_DIR))
+    except ValueError:
+        rel_path = str(skill_dir.relative_to(_USER_SKILLS_DIR))
+
     result = {
         "success": True,
         "message": f"Skill '{name}' created.",
-        "path": str(skill_dir.relative_to(SKILLS_DIR)),
+        "path": rel_path,
         "skill_md": str(skill_md),
     }
     if category: