docs: document /kanban slash command (#19584)

* docs: document /kanban slash command

The kanban user guide and slash-commands reference only mentioned the
/kanban slash command in passing. Add a proper section covering:

- CLI and gateway both expose the full hermes kanban surface via
  hermes_cli.kanban.run_slash (identical argument surface)
- Mid-run usage: /kanban bypasses the running-agent guard, so reads
  and writes land immediately while an agent is still in a turn
- Auto-subscribe on /kanban create from the gateway — originating
  chat is subscribed to terminal events, with a worked example
- Output truncation (~3800 chars) in messaging
- Autocomplete hint list vs full subcommand surface

Also adds /kanban rows to both slash-command tables (CLI + messaging)
in reference/slash-commands.md and moves it into the 'works in both'
notes bucket.

* docs(kanban): frame the model's tool surface as primary, CLI as the human surface

The kanban user guide and CLI reference read as if you drive the board
by running `hermes kanban` commands everywhere. In practice:

- **You** (human, scripts, cron, dashboard) use the `hermes kanban …`
  CLI, the `/kanban …` slash command, or the REST/dashboard.
- **Workers** spawned by the dispatcher use a dedicated `kanban_*`
  toolset (`kanban_show`, `kanban_complete`, `kanban_block`,
  `kanban_heartbeat`, `kanban_comment`, `kanban_create`,
  `kanban_link`) and never shell out to the CLI.

Changes to `user-guide/features/kanban.md`:

- New 'Two surfaces' intro distinguishes the two front doors up front.
- Quick-start section re-labelled so each step says who is running it
  (you vs. orchestrator vs. worker).
- 'How workers interact with the board' rewritten:
  - Lead with "Workers do not shell out to `hermes kanban`."
  - Tool table extended with required params.
  - Concrete worker-turn example (`kanban_show` → `kanban_heartbeat`
    → `kanban_complete`) and an orchestrator fan-out example
    (`kanban_create` x N with `parents=[...]`).
  - Moved 'Why tools not CLI' from a defensive aside to a clean
    follow-up section.
- 'Worker skill' section explicitly says the lifecycle is taught
  in tool calls, not CLI commands.
- 'Pinning extra skills' reordered — orchestrator tool form first
  (the usual case), human/CLI second, dashboard third.
- 'Orchestrator skill' now shows a canonical `kanban_create` /
  `kanban_link` / `kanban_complete` tool-call sequence instead of
  only describing what the skill teaches.
- CLI-command-reference heading now clarifies this is the human
  surface, with a cross-link to the tool-surface section.
- 'Runs — one row per attempt' structured-handoff example replaced:
  the primary example is now `kanban_complete(summary=..., metadata=...)`
  (what a worker actually does), with the CLI form retained as
  "when you, the human, need to close a task a worker can't."

Changes to `reference/cli-commands.md`:

- `hermes kanban` intro marks itself as the human / scripting surface
  and links out to the worker tool surface.
- Corrected `comment <id>` description — the next worker reads it via
  `kanban_show()`, not by running `hermes kanban show`.

* docs(kanban-tutorial): reframe worker actions as tool calls

Honest answer to Teknium's follow-up: no, the first pass missed the
tutorial. The four stories all showed `hermes kanban claim /
complete / block / unblock` as if the backend-dev, pm, and reviewer
personas were humans running CLI commands. In a real hermes kanban
run those agents are dispatcher-spawned workers driving the board
through the `kanban_*` tool surface.

Changes:

- Setup intro now distinguishes the three surfaces up front
  (dashboard / CLI for you, `kanban_*` tools for workers) and
  establishes the convention: `bash` blocks are commands *you* run,
  `# worker tool calls` blocks are what the agent emits.
- Story 1 (solo dev schema): 'Claim the schema task, do the work,
  hand off' block replaced with the dispatcher spawning the
  backend-dev worker and a `kanban_show → kanban_heartbeat →
  kanban_complete` tool-call sequence. The 'On the CLI' `hermes
  kanban show / runs` block re-labelled as 'you peeking at the board'
  to keep it correct as a human inspection step.
- Story 2 (fleet farming): note about structured handoff updated
  from `--summary` / `--metadata` CLI flags to
  `kanban_complete(summary=..., metadata=...)` tool form.
- Story 3 (role pipeline): the big PM/engineer/reviewer block fully
  rewritten as three worker tool-call sequences — PM worker
  completes spec, engineer worker blocks, human/reviewer
  `hermes kanban unblock` (or `/kanban unblock`), engineer worker
  respawns and completes. The respawn-as-new-run mechanic is now
  explicit.
- Reviewer paragraph: `build_worker_context` replaced with
  `kanban_show()` — that's the tool that delivers the parent
  handoff to the model.
- Structured handoff section heading and body updated:
  `--summary`/`--metadata` → `summary`/`metadata` (tool params),
  with a note that the tool surface doesn't expose a bulk variant
  for the same reason the CLI refuses multi-task `complete`.

Story 4 (circuit breaker) unchanged — its workers fail to spawn,
so there are no tool calls to show; the `hermes kanban create` and
`hermes kanban runs` commands in it are correctly human-driven.
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Teknium 2026-05-04 03:05:34 -07:00 committed by GitHub
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4 changed files with 271 additions and 82 deletions

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@ -345,6 +345,8 @@ hermes kanban <action> [options]
Multi-profile collaboration board. Tasks live in `~/.hermes/kanban.db` (WAL-mode SQLite); every profile reads and writes the same board. A `cron`-driven dispatcher (`hermes kanban dispatch`) atomically claims ready tasks and spawns the assigned profile as its own process with an isolated workspace.
**This is the human / scripting surface.** Agent workers spawned by the dispatcher drive the board through a dedicated `kanban_*` [toolset](/docs/user-guide/features/kanban#how-workers-interact-with-the-board) (`kanban_show`, `kanban_complete`, `kanban_block`, `kanban_create`, `kanban_link`, `kanban_comment`, `kanban_heartbeat`) instead of shelling to `hermes kanban`. Both surfaces route through the same `kanban_db` layer, so state is consistent either way.
| Action | Purpose |
|--------|---------|
| `init` | Create `kanban.db` if missing. Idempotent. |
@ -355,7 +357,7 @@ Multi-profile collaboration board. Tasks live in `~/.hermes/kanban.db` (WAL-mode
| `link <parent> <child>` | Add a dependency. Cycle-detected. |
| `unlink <parent> <child>` | Remove a dependency. |
| `claim <id>` | Atomically claim a ready task. Prints resolved workspace path. |
| `comment <id> "<text>"` | Append a comment. Visible to the next worker that runs the task. |
| `comment <id> "<text>"` | Append a comment. The next worker that claims the task reads it as part of its `kanban_show()` response. |
| `complete <id>` | Mark task done. Flag: `--result "<summary>"` (goes into children's parent-result context). |
| `block <id> "<reason>"` | Mark task blocked. Also appends the reason as a comment. |
| `unblock <id>` | Return a blocked task to ready. |

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@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ Type `/` in the CLI to open the autocomplete menu. Built-in commands are case-in
| `/skills` | Search, install, inspect, or manage skills from online registries |
| `/cron` | Manage scheduled tasks (list, add/create, edit, pause, resume, run, remove) |
| `/curator` | Background skill maintenance — `status`, `run`, `pin`, `archive`. See [Curator](/docs/user-guide/features/curator). |
| `/kanban <action>` | Drive the multi-profile collaboration board without leaving chat. Full `hermes kanban` surface is available: `/kanban list`, `/kanban show t_abc`, `/kanban create "title" --assignee X`, `/kanban comment t_abc "text"`, `/kanban unblock t_abc`, `/kanban dispatch`, etc. See [Kanban slash command](/docs/user-guide/features/kanban#kanban-slash-command). |
| `/reload-mcp` (alias: `/reload_mcp`) | Reload MCP servers from config.yaml |
| `/reload` | Reload `.env` variables into the running session (picks up new API keys without restarting) |
| `/plugins` | List installed plugins and their status |
@ -157,6 +158,7 @@ The messaging gateway supports the following built-in commands inside Telegram,
| `/goal <text>` | Set a standing goal Hermes works toward across turns — our take on the Ralph loop. A judge model checks after each turn; if not done, Hermes auto-continues until it is, you pause/clear it, or the turn budget (default 20) is hit. Subcommands: `/goal status`, `/goal pause`, `/goal resume`, `/goal clear`. Safe to run mid-agent for status/pause/clear; setting a new goal requires `/stop` first. See [Persistent Goals](/docs/user-guide/features/goals). |
| `/footer [on\|off\|status]` | Toggle the runtime-metadata footer on final replies (shows model, tool counts, timing). |
| `/curator [status\|run\|pin\|archive]` | Background skill maintenance controls. |
| `/kanban <action>` | Drive the multi-profile collaboration board from chat — identical argument surface to the CLI. Bypasses the running-agent guard, so `/kanban unblock t_abc`, `/kanban comment t_abc "…"`, `/kanban list --mine`, etc. work mid-turn. `/kanban create …` auto-subscribes the originating chat to the new task's terminal events. See [Kanban slash command](/docs/user-guide/features/kanban#kanban-slash-command). |
| `/reload-mcp` (alias: `/reload_mcp`) | Reload MCP servers from config. |
| `/yolo` | Toggle YOLO mode — skip all dangerous command approval prompts. |
| `/commands [page]` | Browse all commands and skills (paginated). |
@ -173,5 +175,5 @@ The messaging gateway supports the following built-in commands inside Telegram,
- `/skin`, `/snapshot`, `/gquota`, `/reload`, `/tools`, `/toolsets`, `/browser`, `/config`, `/cron`, `/skills`, `/platforms`, `/paste`, `/image`, `/statusbar`, `/plugins`, `/busy`, `/indicator`, `/redraw`, `/clear`, `/history`, `/save`, `/copy`, and `/quit` are **CLI-only** commands.
- `/verbose` is **CLI-only by default**, but can be enabled for messaging platforms by setting `display.tool_progress_command: true` in `config.yaml`. When enabled, it cycles the `display.tool_progress` mode and saves to config.
- `/sethome`, `/update`, `/restart`, `/approve`, `/deny`, and `/commands` are **messaging-only** commands.
- `/status`, `/background`, `/queue`, `/steer`, `/voice`, `/reload-mcp`, `/rollback`, `/debug`, `/fast`, `/footer`, `/curator`, and `/yolo` work in **both** the CLI and the messaging gateway.
- `/status`, `/background`, `/queue`, `/steer`, `/voice`, `/reload-mcp`, `/rollback`, `/debug`, `/fast`, `/footer`, `/curator`, `/kanban`, and `/yolo` work in **both** the CLI and the messaging gateway.
- `/voice join`, `/voice channel`, and `/voice leave` are only meaningful on Discord.