Merge branch 'main' into hermes/delegation-readiness-doctor-clean

hermes_cli/__init__.py

@@ -11,5 +11,5 @@ Provides subcommands for:
 - hermes cron          - Manage cron jobs
 """
 
-__version__ = "0.10.0"
-__release_date__ = "2026.4.16"
+__version__ = "0.11.0"
+__release_date__ = "2026.4.23"

hermes_cli/config.py

@@ -739,6 +739,10 @@ DEFAULT_CONFIG = {
         "inherit_mcp_toolsets": True,
         "max_iterations": 50,  # per-subagent iteration cap (each subagent gets its own budget,
                                # independent of the parent's max_iterations)
+        "child_timeout_seconds": 600,  # wall-clock timeout for each child agent (floor 30s,
+                                       # no ceiling). High-reasoning models on large tasks
+                                       # (e.g. gpt-5.5 xhigh, opus-4.6) need generous budgets;
+                                       # raise if children time out before producing output.
         "reasoning_effort": "",  # reasoning effort for subagents: "xhigh", "high", "medium",
                                  # "low", "minimal", "none" (empty = inherit parent's level)
         "max_concurrent_children": 3,  # max parallel children per batch; floor of 1 enforced, no ceiling

hermes_cli/platforms.py

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ PLATFORMS: OrderedDict[str, PlatformInfo] = OrderedDict([
     ("qqbot",          PlatformInfo(label="💬 QQBot",           default_toolset="hermes-qqbot")),
     ("webhook",        PlatformInfo(label="🔗 Webhook",         default_toolset="hermes-webhook")),
     ("api_server",     PlatformInfo(label="🌐 API Server",      default_toolset="hermes-api-server")),
+    ("cron",           PlatformInfo(label="⏰ Cron",            default_toolset="hermes-cron")),
 ])
 
 

hermes_cli/voice.py

@@ -0,0 +1,548 @@
+"""Process-wide voice recording + TTS API for the TUI gateway.
+
+Wraps ``tools.voice_mode`` (recording/transcription) and ``tools.tts_tool``
+(text-to-speech) behind idempotent, stateful entry points that the gateway's
+``voice.record``, ``voice.toggle``, and ``voice.tts`` JSON-RPC handlers can
+call from a dedicated thread. The gateway imports this module lazily so that
+missing optional audio deps (sounddevice, faster-whisper, numpy) surface as
+an ``ImportError`` at call time, not at startup.
+
+Two usage modes are exposed:
+
+* **Push-to-talk** (``start_recording`` / ``stop_and_transcribe``) — single
+  manually-bounded capture used when the caller drives the start/stop pair
+  explicitly.
+* **Continuous (VAD)** (``start_continuous`` / ``stop_continuous``) — mirrors
+  the classic CLI voice mode: recording auto-stops on silence, transcribes,
+  hands the result to a callback, and then auto-restarts for the next turn.
+  Three consecutive no-speech cycles stop the loop and fire
+  ``on_silent_limit`` so the UI can turn the mode off.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+import os
+import sys
+import threading
+from typing import Any, Callable, Optional
+
+from tools.voice_mode import (
+    create_audio_recorder,
+    is_whisper_hallucination,
+    play_audio_file,
+    transcribe_recording,
+)
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+def _debug(msg: str) -> None:
+    """Emit a debug breadcrumb when HERMES_VOICE_DEBUG=1.
+
+    Goes to stderr so the TUI gateway wraps it as a gateway.stderr event,
+    which createGatewayEventHandler shows as an Activity line — exactly
+    what we need to diagnose "why didn't the loop auto-restart?" in the
+    user's real terminal without shipping a separate debug RPC.
+
+    Any OSError / BrokenPipeError is swallowed because this fires from
+    background threads (silence callback, TTS daemon, beep) where a
+    broken stderr pipe must not kill the whole gateway — the main
+    command pipe (stdin+stdout) is what actually matters.
+    """
+    if os.environ.get("HERMES_VOICE_DEBUG", "").strip() != "1":
+        return
+    try:
+        print(f"[voice] {msg}", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)
+    except (BrokenPipeError, OSError):
+        pass
+
+
+def _beeps_enabled() -> bool:
+    """CLI parity: voice.beep_enabled in config.yaml (default True)."""
+    try:
+        from hermes_cli.config import load_config
+
+        voice_cfg = load_config().get("voice", {})
+        if isinstance(voice_cfg, dict):
+            return bool(voice_cfg.get("beep_enabled", True))
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+    return True
+
+
+def _play_beep(frequency: int, count: int = 1) -> None:
+    """Audible cue matching cli.py's record/stop beeps.
+
+    880 Hz single-beep on start (cli.py:_voice_start_recording line 7532),
+    660 Hz double-beep on stop (cli.py:_voice_stop_and_transcribe line 7585).
+    Best-effort — sounddevice failures are silently swallowed so the
+    voice loop never breaks because a speaker was unavailable.
+    """
+    if not _beeps_enabled():
+        return
+    try:
+        from tools.voice_mode import play_beep
+
+        play_beep(frequency=frequency, count=count)
+    except Exception as e:
+        _debug(f"beep {frequency}Hz failed: {e}")
+
+# ── Push-to-talk state ───────────────────────────────────────────────
+_recorder = None
+_recorder_lock = threading.Lock()
+
+# ── Continuous (VAD) state ───────────────────────────────────────────
+_continuous_lock = threading.Lock()
+_continuous_active = False
+_continuous_recorder: Any = None
+
+# ── TTS-vs-STT feedback guard ────────────────────────────────────────
+# When TTS plays the agent reply over the speakers, the live microphone
+# picks it up and transcribes the agent's own voice as user input — an
+# infinite loop the agent happily joins ("Ha, looks like we're in a loop").
+# This Event mirrors cli.py:_voice_tts_done: cleared while speak_text is
+# playing, set while silent. _continuous_on_silence waits on it before
+# re-arming the recorder, and speak_text itself cancels any live capture
+# before starting playback so the tail of the previous utterance doesn't
+# leak into the mic.
+_tts_playing = threading.Event()
+_tts_playing.set()  # initially "not playing"
+_continuous_on_transcript: Optional[Callable[[str], None]] = None
+_continuous_on_status: Optional[Callable[[str], None]] = None
+_continuous_on_silent_limit: Optional[Callable[[], None]] = None
+_continuous_no_speech_count = 0
+_CONTINUOUS_NO_SPEECH_LIMIT = 3
+
+
+# ── Push-to-talk API ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def start_recording() -> None:
+    """Begin capturing from the default input device (push-to-talk).
+
+    Idempotent — calling again while a recording is in progress is a no-op.
+    """
+    global _recorder
+
+    with _recorder_lock:
+        if _recorder is not None and getattr(_recorder, "is_recording", False):
+            return
+        rec = create_audio_recorder()
+        rec.start()
+        _recorder = rec
+
+
+def stop_and_transcribe() -> Optional[str]:
+    """Stop the active push-to-talk recording, transcribe, return text.
+
+    Returns ``None`` when no recording is active, when the microphone
+    captured no speech, or when Whisper returned a known hallucination.
+    """
+    global _recorder
+
+    with _recorder_lock:
+        rec = _recorder
+        _recorder = None
+
+    if rec is None:
+        return None
+
+    wav_path = rec.stop()
+    if not wav_path:
+        return None
+
+    try:
+        result = transcribe_recording(wav_path)
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.warning("voice transcription failed: %s", e)
+        return None
+    finally:
+        try:
+            if os.path.isfile(wav_path):
+                os.unlink(wav_path)
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+    # transcribe_recording returns {"success": bool, "transcript": str, ...}
+    # — matches cli.py:_voice_stop_and_transcribe's result.get("transcript").
+    if not result.get("success"):
+        return None
+    text = (result.get("transcript") or "").strip()
+    if not text or is_whisper_hallucination(text):
+        return None
+
+    return text
+
+
+# ── Continuous (VAD) API ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def start_continuous(
+    on_transcript: Callable[[str], None],
+    on_status: Optional[Callable[[str], None]] = None,
+    on_silent_limit: Optional[Callable[[], None]] = None,
+    silence_threshold: int = 200,
+    silence_duration: float = 3.0,
+) -> None:
+    """Start a VAD-driven continuous recording loop.
+
+    The loop calls ``on_transcript(text)`` each time speech is detected and
+    transcribed successfully, then auto-restarts. After
+    ``_CONTINUOUS_NO_SPEECH_LIMIT`` consecutive silent cycles (no speech
+    picked up at all) the loop stops itself and calls ``on_silent_limit``
+    so the UI can reflect "voice off". Idempotent — calling while already
+    active is a no-op.
+
+    ``on_status`` is called with ``"listening"`` / ``"transcribing"`` /
+    ``"idle"`` so the UI can show a live indicator.
+    """
+    global _continuous_active, _continuous_recorder
+    global _continuous_on_transcript, _continuous_on_status, _continuous_on_silent_limit
+    global _continuous_no_speech_count
+
+    with _continuous_lock:
+        if _continuous_active:
+            _debug("start_continuous: already active — no-op")
+            return
+        _continuous_active = True
+        _continuous_on_transcript = on_transcript
+        _continuous_on_status = on_status
+        _continuous_on_silent_limit = on_silent_limit
+        _continuous_no_speech_count = 0
+
+        if _continuous_recorder is None:
+            _continuous_recorder = create_audio_recorder()
+
+        _continuous_recorder._silence_threshold = silence_threshold
+        _continuous_recorder._silence_duration = silence_duration
+        rec = _continuous_recorder
+
+    _debug(
+        f"start_continuous: begin (threshold={silence_threshold}, duration={silence_duration}s)"
+    )
+
+    # CLI parity: single 880 Hz beep *before* opening the stream — placing
+    # the beep after stream.start() on macOS triggers a CoreAudio conflict
+    # (cli.py:7528 comment).
+    _play_beep(frequency=880, count=1)
+
+    try:
+        rec.start(on_silence_stop=_continuous_on_silence)
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.error("failed to start continuous recording: %s", e)
+        _debug(f"start_continuous: rec.start raised {type(e).__name__}: {e}")
+        with _continuous_lock:
+            _continuous_active = False
+        raise
+
+    if on_status:
+        try:
+            on_status("listening")
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+
+def stop_continuous() -> None:
+    """Stop the active continuous loop and release the microphone.
+
+    Idempotent — calling while not active is a no-op. Any in-flight
+    transcription completes but its result is discarded (the callback
+    checks ``_continuous_active`` before firing).
+    """
+    global _continuous_active, _continuous_on_transcript
+    global _continuous_on_status, _continuous_on_silent_limit
+    global _continuous_recorder, _continuous_no_speech_count
+
+    with _continuous_lock:
+        if not _continuous_active:
+            return
+        _continuous_active = False
+        rec = _continuous_recorder
+        on_status = _continuous_on_status
+        _continuous_on_transcript = None
+        _continuous_on_status = None
+        _continuous_on_silent_limit = None
+        _continuous_no_speech_count = 0
+
+    if rec is not None:
+        try:
+            # cancel() (not stop()) discards buffered frames — the loop
+            # is over, we don't want to transcribe a half-captured turn.
+            rec.cancel()
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.warning("failed to cancel recorder: %s", e)
+
+    # Audible "recording stopped" cue (CLI parity: same 660 Hz × 2 the
+    # silence-auto-stop path plays).
+    _play_beep(frequency=660, count=2)
+
+    if on_status:
+        try:
+            on_status("idle")
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+
+def is_continuous_active() -> bool:
+    """Whether a continuous voice loop is currently running."""
+    with _continuous_lock:
+        return _continuous_active
+
+
+def _continuous_on_silence() -> None:
+    """AudioRecorder silence callback — runs in a daemon thread.
+
+    Stops the current capture, transcribes, delivers the text via
+    ``on_transcript``, and — if the loop is still active — starts the
+    next capture. Three consecutive silent cycles end the loop.
+    """
+    global _continuous_active, _continuous_no_speech_count
+
+    _debug("_continuous_on_silence: fired")
+
+    with _continuous_lock:
+        if not _continuous_active:
+            _debug("_continuous_on_silence: loop inactive — abort")
+            return
+        rec = _continuous_recorder
+        on_transcript = _continuous_on_transcript
+        on_status = _continuous_on_status
+        on_silent_limit = _continuous_on_silent_limit
+
+    if rec is None:
+        _debug("_continuous_on_silence: no recorder — abort")
+        return
+
+    if on_status:
+        try:
+            on_status("transcribing")
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+    wav_path = rec.stop()
+    # Peak RMS is the critical diagnostic when stop() returns None despite
+    # the VAD firing — tells us at a glance whether the mic was too quiet
+    # for SILENCE_RMS_THRESHOLD (200) or the VAD + peak checks disagree.
+    peak_rms = getattr(rec, "_peak_rms", -1)
+    _debug(
+        f"_continuous_on_silence: rec.stop -> {wav_path!r} (peak_rms={peak_rms})"
+    )
+
+    # CLI parity: double 660 Hz beep after the stream stops (safe from the
+    # CoreAudio conflict that blocks pre-start beeps).
+    _play_beep(frequency=660, count=2)
+
+    transcript: Optional[str] = None
+
+    if wav_path:
+        try:
+            result = transcribe_recording(wav_path)
+            # transcribe_recording returns {"success": bool, "transcript": str,
+            # "error": str?} — NOT {"text": str}.  Using the wrong key silently
+            # produced empty transcripts even when Groq/local STT returned fine,
+            # which masqueraded as "not hearing the user" to the caller.
+            success = bool(result.get("success"))
+            text = (result.get("transcript") or "").strip()
+            err = result.get("error")
+            _debug(
+                f"_continuous_on_silence: transcribe -> success={success} "
+                f"text={text!r} err={err!r}"
+            )
+            if success and text and not is_whisper_hallucination(text):
+                transcript = text
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.warning("continuous transcription failed: %s", e)
+            _debug(f"_continuous_on_silence: transcribe raised {type(e).__name__}: {e}")
+        finally:
+            try:
+                if os.path.isfile(wav_path):
+                    os.unlink(wav_path)
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+
+    with _continuous_lock:
+        if not _continuous_active:
+            # User stopped us while we were transcribing — discard.
+            _debug("_continuous_on_silence: stopped during transcribe — no restart")
+            return
+        if transcript:
+            _continuous_no_speech_count = 0
+        else:
+            _continuous_no_speech_count += 1
+        should_halt = _continuous_no_speech_count >= _CONTINUOUS_NO_SPEECH_LIMIT
+        no_speech = _continuous_no_speech_count
+
+    if transcript and on_transcript:
+        try:
+            on_transcript(transcript)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.warning("on_transcript callback raised: %s", e)
+
+    if should_halt:
+        _debug(f"_continuous_on_silence: {no_speech} silent cycles — halting")
+        with _continuous_lock:
+            _continuous_active = False
+            _continuous_no_speech_count = 0
+        if on_silent_limit:
+            try:
+                on_silent_limit()
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+        try:
+            rec.cancel()
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+        if on_status:
+            try:
+                on_status("idle")
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+        return
+
+    # CLI parity (cli.py:10619-10621): wait for any in-flight TTS to
+    # finish before re-arming the mic, then leave a small gap to avoid
+    # catching the tail of the speaker output.  Without this the voice
+    # loop becomes a feedback loop — the agent's spoken reply lands
+    # back in the mic and gets re-submitted.
+    if not _tts_playing.is_set():
+        _debug("_continuous_on_silence: waiting for TTS to finish")
+        _tts_playing.wait(timeout=60)
+        import time as _time
+        _time.sleep(0.3)
+
+        # User may have stopped the loop during the wait.
+        with _continuous_lock:
+            if not _continuous_active:
+                _debug("_continuous_on_silence: stopped while waiting for TTS")
+                return
+
+    # Restart for the next turn.
+    _debug(f"_continuous_on_silence: restarting loop (no_speech={no_speech})")
+    _play_beep(frequency=880, count=1)
+    try:
+        rec.start(on_silence_stop=_continuous_on_silence)
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.error("failed to restart continuous recording: %s", e)
+        _debug(f"_continuous_on_silence: restart raised {type(e).__name__}: {e}")
+        with _continuous_lock:
+            _continuous_active = False
+        return
+
+    if on_status:
+        try:
+            on_status("listening")
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+
+# ── TTS API ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def speak_text(text: str) -> None:
+    """Synthesize ``text`` with the configured TTS provider and play it.
+
+    Mirrors cli.py:_voice_speak_response exactly — same markdown strip
+    pipeline, same 4000-char cap, same explicit mp3 output path, same
+    MP3-over-OGG playback choice (afplay misbehaves on OGG), same cleanup
+    of both extensions. Keeping these in sync means a voice-mode TTS
+    session in the TUI sounds identical to one in the classic CLI.
+
+    While playback is in flight the module-level _tts_playing Event is
+    cleared so the continuous-recording loop knows to wait before
+    re-arming the mic (otherwise the agent's spoken reply feedback-loops
+    through the microphone and the agent ends up replying to itself).
+    """
+    if not text or not text.strip():
+        return
+
+    import re
+    import tempfile
+    import time
+
+    # Cancel any live capture before we open the speakers — otherwise the
+    # last ~200ms of the user's turn tail + the first syllables of our TTS
+    # both end up in the next recording window.  The continuous loop will
+    # re-arm itself after _tts_playing flips back (see _continuous_on_silence).
+    paused_recording = False
+    with _continuous_lock:
+        if (
+            _continuous_active
+            and _continuous_recorder is not None
+            and getattr(_continuous_recorder, "is_recording", False)
+        ):
+            try:
+                _continuous_recorder.cancel()
+                paused_recording = True
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.warning("failed to pause recorder for TTS: %s", e)
+
+    _tts_playing.clear()
+    _debug(f"speak_text: TTS begin (paused_recording={paused_recording})")
+
+    try:
+        from tools.tts_tool import text_to_speech_tool
+
+        tts_text = text[:4000] if len(text) > 4000 else text
+        tts_text = re.sub(r'```[\s\S]*?```', ' ', tts_text)             # fenced code blocks
+        tts_text = re.sub(r'\[([^\]]+)\]\([^)]+\)', r'\1', tts_text)    # [text](url) → text
+        tts_text = re.sub(r'https?://\S+', '', tts_text)                # bare URLs
+        tts_text = re.sub(r'\*\*(.+?)\*\*', r'\1', tts_text)            # bold
+        tts_text = re.sub(r'\*(.+?)\*', r'\1', tts_text)                # italic
+        tts_text = re.sub(r'`(.+?)`', r'\1', tts_text)                  # inline code
+        tts_text = re.sub(r'^#+\s*', '', tts_text, flags=re.MULTILINE)  # headers
+        tts_text = re.sub(r'^\s*[-*]\s+', '', tts_text, flags=re.MULTILINE)  # list bullets
+        tts_text = re.sub(r'---+', '', tts_text)                        # horizontal rules
+        tts_text = re.sub(r'\n{3,}', '\n\n', tts_text)                  # excess newlines
+        tts_text = tts_text.strip()
+        if not tts_text:
+            return
+
+        # MP3 output path, pre-chosen so we can play the MP3 directly even
+        # when text_to_speech_tool auto-converts to OGG for messaging
+        # platforms.  afplay's OGG support is flaky, MP3 always works.
+        os.makedirs(os.path.join(tempfile.gettempdir(), "hermes_voice"), exist_ok=True)
+        mp3_path = os.path.join(
+            tempfile.gettempdir(),
+            "hermes_voice",
+            f"tts_{time.strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S')}.mp3",
+        )
+
+        _debug(f"speak_text: synthesizing {len(tts_text)} chars -> {mp3_path}")
+        text_to_speech_tool(text=tts_text, output_path=mp3_path)
+
+        if os.path.isfile(mp3_path) and os.path.getsize(mp3_path) > 0:
+            _debug(f"speak_text: playing {mp3_path} ({os.path.getsize(mp3_path)} bytes)")
+            play_audio_file(mp3_path)
+            try:
+                os.unlink(mp3_path)
+                ogg_path = mp3_path.rsplit(".", 1)[0] + ".ogg"
+                if os.path.isfile(ogg_path):
+                    os.unlink(ogg_path)
+            except OSError:
+                pass
+        else:
+            _debug(f"speak_text: TTS tool produced no audio at {mp3_path}")
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.warning("Voice TTS playback failed: %s", e)
+        _debug(f"speak_text raised {type(e).__name__}: {e}")
+    finally:
+        _tts_playing.set()
+        _debug("speak_text: TTS done")
+
+        # Re-arm the mic so the user can answer without pressing Ctrl+B.
+        # Small delay lets the OS flush speaker output and afplay fully
+        # release the audio device before sounddevice re-opens the input.
+        if paused_recording:
+            time.sleep(0.3)
+            with _continuous_lock:
+                if _continuous_active and _continuous_recorder is not None:
+                    try:
+                        _continuous_recorder.start(
+                            on_silence_stop=_continuous_on_silence
+                        )
+                        _debug("speak_text: recording resumed after TTS")
+                    except Exception as e:
+                        logger.warning(
+                            "failed to resume recorder after TTS: %s", e
+                        )

hermes_cli/web_server.py

@@ -2370,6 +2370,29 @@ _THEME_OVERRIDE_KEYS = {
     "border", "input", "ring",
 }
 
+# Well-known named asset slots themes can populate.  Any other keys under
+# ``assets.custom`` are exposed as ``--theme-asset-custom-<key>`` CSS vars
+# for plugin/shell use.
+_THEME_NAMED_ASSET_KEYS = {"bg", "hero", "logo", "crest", "sidebar", "header"}
+
+# Component-style buckets themes can override.  The value under each bucket
+# is a mapping from camelCase property name to CSS string; each pair emits
+# ``--component-<bucket>-<kebab-property>`` on :root.  The frontend's shell
+# components (Card, App header, Backdrop, etc.) consume these vars so themes
+# can restyle chrome (clip-path, border-image, segmented progress, etc.)
+# without shipping their own CSS.
+_THEME_COMPONENT_BUCKETS = {
+    "card", "header", "footer", "sidebar", "tab",
+    "progress", "badge", "backdrop", "page",
+}
+
+_THEME_LAYOUT_VARIANTS = {"standard", "cockpit", "tiled"}
+
+# Cap on customCSS length so a malformed/oversized theme YAML can't blow up
+# the response payload or the <style> tag.  32 KiB is plenty for every
+# practical reskin (the Strike Freedom demo is ~2 KiB).
+_THEME_CUSTOM_CSS_MAX = 32 * 1024
+
 
 def _normalise_theme_definition(data: Dict[str, Any]) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
     """Normalise a user theme YAML into the wire format `ThemeProvider`
@@ -2433,6 +2456,69 @@ def _normalise_theme_definition(data: Dict[str, Any]) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]
             if key in _THEME_OVERRIDE_KEYS and isinstance(val, str) and val.strip():
                 color_overrides[key] = val
 
+    # Assets — named slots + arbitrary user-defined keys.  Values must be
+    # strings (URLs or CSS ``url(...)``/``linear-gradient(...)`` expressions).
+    # We don't fetch remote assets here; the frontend just injects them as
+    # CSS vars.  Empty values are dropped so a theme can explicitly clear a
+    # slot by setting ``hero: ""``.
+    assets_out: Dict[str, Any] = {}
+    assets_src = data.get("assets", {}) if isinstance(data.get("assets"), dict) else {}
+    for key in _THEME_NAMED_ASSET_KEYS:
+        val = assets_src.get(key)
+        if isinstance(val, str) and val.strip():
+            assets_out[key] = val
+    custom_assets_src = assets_src.get("custom")
+    if isinstance(custom_assets_src, dict):
+        custom_assets: Dict[str, str] = {}
+        for key, val in custom_assets_src.items():
+            if (
+                isinstance(key, str)
+                and key.replace("-", "").replace("_", "").isalnum()
+                and isinstance(val, str)
+                and val.strip()
+            ):
+                custom_assets[key] = val
+        if custom_assets:
+            assets_out["custom"] = custom_assets
+
+    # Custom CSS — raw CSS text the frontend injects as a scoped <style>
+    # tag on theme apply.  Clipped to _THEME_CUSTOM_CSS_MAX to keep the
+    # payload bounded.  We intentionally do NOT parse/sanitise the CSS
+    # here — the dashboard is localhost-only and themes are user-authored
+    # YAML in ~/.hermes/, same trust level as the config file itself.
+    custom_css_val = data.get("customCSS")
+    custom_css: Optional[str] = None
+    if isinstance(custom_css_val, str) and custom_css_val.strip():
+        custom_css = custom_css_val[:_THEME_CUSTOM_CSS_MAX]
+
+    # Component style overrides — per-bucket dicts of camelCase CSS
+    # property -> CSS string.  The frontend converts these into CSS vars
+    # that shell components (Card, App header, Backdrop) consume.
+    component_styles_src = data.get("componentStyles", {})
+    component_styles: Dict[str, Dict[str, str]] = {}
+    if isinstance(component_styles_src, dict):
+        for bucket, props in component_styles_src.items():
+            if bucket not in _THEME_COMPONENT_BUCKETS or not isinstance(props, dict):
+                continue
+            clean: Dict[str, str] = {}
+            for prop, value in props.items():
+                if (
+                    isinstance(prop, str)
+                    and prop.replace("-", "").replace("_", "").isalnum()
+                    and isinstance(value, (str, int, float))
+                    and str(value).strip()
+                ):
+                    clean[prop] = str(value)
+            if clean:
+                component_styles[bucket] = clean
+
+    layout_variant_src = data.get("layoutVariant")
+    layout_variant = (
+        layout_variant_src
+        if isinstance(layout_variant_src, str) and layout_variant_src in _THEME_LAYOUT_VARIANTS
+        else "standard"
+    )
+
     result: Dict[str, Any] = {
         "name": name,
         "label": data.get("label") or name,
@@ -2440,9 +2526,16 @@ def _normalise_theme_definition(data: Dict[str, Any]) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]
         "palette": palette,
         "typography": typography,
         "layout": layout,
+        "layoutVariant": layout_variant,
     }
     if color_overrides:
         result["colorOverrides"] = color_overrides
+    if assets_out:
+        result["assets"] = assets_out
+    if custom_css is not None:
+        result["customCSS"] = custom_css
+    if component_styles:
+        result["componentStyles"] = component_styles
     return result
 
 
@@ -2552,13 +2645,35 @@ def _discover_dashboard_plugins() -> list:
                 if name in seen_names:
                     continue
                 seen_names.add(name)
+                # Tab options: ``path`` + ``position`` for a new tab, optional
+                # ``override`` to replace a built-in route, and ``hidden`` to
+                # register the plugin component/slots without adding a tab
+                # (useful for slot-only plugins like a header-crest injector).
+                raw_tab = data.get("tab", {}) if isinstance(data.get("tab"), dict) else {}
+                tab_info = {
+                    "path": raw_tab.get("path", f"/{name}"),
+                    "position": raw_tab.get("position", "end"),
+                }
+                override_path = raw_tab.get("override")
+                if isinstance(override_path, str) and override_path.startswith("/"):
+                    tab_info["override"] = override_path
+                if bool(raw_tab.get("hidden")):
+                    tab_info["hidden"] = True
+                # Slots: list of named slot locations this plugin populates.
+                # The frontend exposes ``registerSlot(pluginName, slotName, Component)``
+                # on window; plugins with non-empty slots call it from their JS bundle.
+                slots_src = data.get("slots")
+                slots: List[str] = []
+                if isinstance(slots_src, list):
+                    slots = [s for s in slots_src if isinstance(s, str) and s]
                 plugins.append({
                     "name": name,
                     "label": data.get("label", name),
                     "description": data.get("description", ""),
                     "icon": data.get("icon", "Puzzle"),
                     "version": data.get("version", "0.0.0"),
-                    "tab": data.get("tab", {"path": f"/{name}", "position": "end"}),
+                    "tab": tab_info,
+                    "slots": slots,
                     "entry": data.get("entry", "dist/index.js"),
                     "css": data.get("css"),
                     "has_api": bool(data.get("api")),