From af78449acdd4de4528e79e9abc11cb1ac5a87030 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: zccyman <16263913+zccyman@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 18 May 2026 20:02:16 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] feat(bg-review): add bundled/pinned skill protection rules to
 review prompts (#27644)
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The background review prompts (_SKILL_REVIEW_PROMPT and
_COMBINED_REVIEW_PROMPT) now include explicit protection rules
for bundled, hub-installed, and pinned skills — aligning with
the curator's existing policy at curator.py L345/350.

Before this change, bg-review could freely rewrite bundled skills
like 'hermes-agent' or pinned skills, while the 7-day curator
explicitly skips them.

The review agent now sees:
  • Bundled skills (shipped with Hermes)
  • Hub-installed skills (installed via hermes skills install)
  • Pinned skills (marked via hermes curator pin)
If only protected skills need updating, the review says
'Nothing to save.' and stops.

Fixes #27644
---
 agent/background_review.py | 12 ++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+)

diff --git a/agent/background_review.py b/agent/background_review.py
index 83292029c6c..5488da08de3 100644
--- a/agent/background_review.py
+++ b/agent/background_review.py
@@ -112,6 +112,12 @@ _SKILL_REVIEW_PROMPT = (
     "skill that governs that task needs to carry the lesson.\n\n"
     "If you notice two existing skills that overlap, note it in your "
     "reply — the background curator handles consolidation at scale.\n\n"
+    "Protected skills (DO NOT edit these):\n"
+    "  • Bundled skills (shipped with Hermes, e.g. 'hermes-agent').\n"
+    "  • Hub-installed skills (installed via 'hermes skills install').\n"
+    "  • Pinned skills (marked via 'hermes curator pin').\n"
+    "If the only skills that need updating are protected, say\n"
+    "'Nothing to save.' and stop.\n\n"
     "Do NOT capture (these become persistent self-imposed constraints "
     "that bite you later when the environment changes):\n"
     "  • Environment-dependent failures: missing binaries, fresh-install "
@@ -189,6 +195,12 @@ _COMBINED_REVIEW_PROMPT = (
     "should carry user-preference lessons when relevant.\n\n"
     "If you notice overlapping existing skills, mention it — the "
     "background curator handles consolidation.\n\n"
+    "Protected skills (DO NOT edit these):\n"
+    "  • Bundled skills (shipped with Hermes, e.g. 'hermes-agent').\n"
+    "  • Hub-installed skills (installed via 'hermes skills install').\n"
+    "  • Pinned skills (marked via 'hermes curator pin').\n"
+    "If the only skills that need updating are protected, say\n"
+    "'Nothing to save.' and stop.\n\n"
     "Do NOT capture as skills (these become persistent self-imposed "
     "constraints that bite you later when the environment changes):\n"
     "  • Environment-dependent failures: missing binaries, fresh-install "