Replace the HERMES_ENABLE_NOUS_MANAGED_TOOLS env-var feature flag with
subscription-based detection. The Tool Gateway is now available to any
paid Nous subscriber without needing a hidden env var.
Core changes:
- managed_nous_tools_enabled() checks get_nous_auth_status() +
check_nous_free_tier() instead of an env var
- New use_gateway config flag per tool section (web, tts, browser,
image_gen) records explicit user opt-in and overrides direct API
keys at runtime
- New prefers_gateway(section) shared helper in tool_backend_helpers.py
used by all 4 tool runtimes (web, tts, image gen, browser)
UX flow:
- hermes model: after Nous login/model selection, shows a curses
prompt listing all gateway-eligible tools with current status.
User chooses to enable all, enable only unconfigured tools, or skip.
Defaults to Enable for new users, Skip when direct keys exist.
- hermes tools: provider selection now manages use_gateway flag —
selecting Nous Subscription sets it, selecting any other provider
clears it
- hermes status: renamed section to Nous Tool Gateway, added
free-tier upgrade nudge for logged-in free users
- curses_radiolist: new description parameter for multi-line context
that survives the screen clear
Runtime behavior:
- Each tool runtime (web_tools, tts_tool, image_generation_tool,
browser_use) checks prefers_gateway() before falling back to
direct env-var credentials
- get_nous_subscription_features() respects use_gateway flags,
suppressing direct credential detection when the user opted in
Removed:
- HERMES_ENABLE_NOUS_MANAGED_TOOLS env var and all references
- apply_nous_provider_defaults() silent TTS auto-set
- get_nous_subscription_explainer_lines() static text
- Override env var warnings (use_gateway handles this properly now)
When running inside WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), inject a hint into
the system prompt explaining that the Windows host filesystem is mounted
at /mnt/c/, /mnt/d/, etc. This lets the agent naturally translate Windows
paths (Desktop, Documents) to their /mnt/ equivalents without the user
needing to configure anything.
Uses the existing is_wsl() detection from hermes_constants (cached,
checks /proc/version for 'microsoft'). Adds build_environment_hints()
in prompt_builder.py — extensible for Termux, Docker, etc. later.
Closes the UX gap where WSL users had to manually explain path
translation to the agent every session.
The _get_budget_warning() method already returned None unconditionally —
the entire budget warning system was disabled. Remove all dead code:
- _BUDGET_WARNING_RE regex
- _strip_budget_warnings_from_history() function and its call site
- Both injection blocks (concurrent + sequential tool execution)
- _get_budget_warning() method
- 7 tests for the removed functions
The budget exhaustion grace call system (_budget_exhausted_injected,
_budget_grace_call) is a separate recovery mechanism and is preserved.
Automated dead code audit using vulture + coverage.py + ast-grep intersection,
confirmed by Opus deep verification pass. Every symbol verified to have zero
production callers (test imports excluded from reachability analysis).
Removes ~1,534 lines of dead production code across 46 files and ~1,382 lines
of stale test code. 3 entire files deleted (agent/builtin_memory_provider.py,
hermes_cli/checklist.py, tests/hermes_cli/test_setup_model_selection.py).
Co-authored-by: alt-glitch <balyan.sid@gmail.com>
* feat: switch managed browser provider from Browserbase to Browser Use
The Nous subscription tool gateway now routes browser automation through
Browser Use instead of Browserbase. This commit:
- Adds managed Nous gateway support to BrowserUseProvider (idempotency
keys, X-BB-API-Key auth header, external_call_id persistence)
- Removes managed gateway support from BrowserbaseProvider (now
direct-only via BROWSERBASE_API_KEY/BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID)
- Updates browser_tool.py fallback: prefers Browser Use over Browserbase
- Updates nous_subscription.py: gateway vendor 'browser-use', auto-config
sets cloud_provider='browser-use' for new subscribers
- Updates tools_config.py: Nous Subscription entry now uses Browser Use
- Updates setup.py, cli.py, status.py, prompt_builder.py display strings
- Updates all affected tests to match new behavior
Browserbase remains fully functional for users with direct API credentials.
The change only affects the managed/subscription path.
* chore: remove redundant Browser Use hint from system prompt
* fix: upgrade Browser Use provider to v3 API
- Base URL: api/v2 -> api/v3 (v2 is legacy)
- Unified all endpoints to use native Browser Use paths:
- POST /browsers (create session, returns cdpUrl)
- PATCH /browsers/{id} with {action: stop} (close session)
- Removed managed-mode branching that used Browserbase-style
/v1/sessions paths — v3 gateway now supports /browsers directly
- Removed unused managed_mode variable in close_session
* fix(browser-use): use X-Browser-Use-API-Key header for managed mode
The managed gateway expects X-Browser-Use-API-Key, not X-BB-API-Key
(which is a Browserbase-specific header). Using the wrong header caused
a 401 AUTH_ERROR on every managed-mode browser session create.
Simplified _headers() to always use X-Browser-Use-API-Key regardless
of direct vs managed mode.
* fix(nous_subscription): browserbase explicit provider is direct-only
Since managed Nous gateway now routes through Browser Use, the
browserbase explicit provider path should not check managed_browser_available
(which resolves against the browser-use gateway). Simplified to direct-only
with managed=False.
* fix(browser-use): port missing improvements from PR #5605
- CDP URL normalization: resolve HTTP discovery URLs to websocket after
cloud provider create_session() (prevents agent-browser failures)
- Managed session payload: send timeout=5 and proxyCountryCode=us for
gateway-backed sessions (prevents billing overruns)
- Update prompt builder, browser_close schema, and module docstring to
replace remaining Browserbase references with Browser Use
- Dynamic /browser status detection via _get_cloud_provider() instead
of hardcoded env var checks (future-proof for new providers)
- Rename post_setup key from 'browserbase' to 'agent_browser'
- Update setup hint to mention Browser Use alongside Browserbase
- Add tests: CDP normalization, browserbase direct-only guard,
managed browser-use gateway, direct browserbase fallback
---------
Co-authored-by: rob-maron <132852777+rob-maron@users.noreply.github.com>
Grok models (x-ai/grok-4.20-beta, grok-code-fast-1) now receive tool-use
enforcement guidance, steering them to actually call tools instead of
describing intended actions. Matches both OpenRouter (x-ai/grok-*) and
direct xAI API usage.
Adds OPENAI_MODEL_EXECUTION_GUIDANCE — XML-tagged behavioral guidance
injected for GPT and Codex models alongside the existing tool-use
enforcement. Targets four specific failure modes:
- <tool_persistence>: retry on empty/partial results instead of giving up
- <prerequisite_checks>: do discovery/lookup before jumping to final action
- <verification>: check correctness/grounding/formatting before finalizing
- <missing_context>: use lookup tools instead of hallucinating
Follows the same injection pattern as GOOGLE_MODEL_OPERATIONAL_GUIDANCE
for Gemini/Gemma models. Inspired by OpenClaw PR #38953 and OpenAI's
GPT-5.4 prompting guide patterns.
- Skill invocation: no secret capture callback so SSH remote setup note is emitted
- Patch agent.skill_utils.sys for platform checks (skill_matches_platform)
- Skip CLAUDE.md priority test on Darwin (case-insensitive FS)
Made-with: Cursor
Co-authored-by: kshitijk4poor <82637225+kshitijk4poor@users.noreply.github.com>
Cherry-pick of feat/gpt-tool-steering with modifications:
1. Tool-use enforcement prompt (refactored from GPT-specific):
- Renamed GPT_TOOL_USE_GUIDANCE -> TOOL_USE_ENFORCEMENT_GUIDANCE
- Added TOOL_USE_ENFORCEMENT_MODELS tuple: ('gpt', 'codex')
- Injection logic now checks against the tuple instead of hardcoding
'gpt' — adding new model families is a one-line change
- Addresses models describing actions instead of making tool calls
2. Budget warning history stripping:
- _strip_budget_warnings_from_history() strips _budget_warning JSON
keys and [BUDGET WARNING: ...] text from tool results at the start
of run_conversation()
- Prevents old budget warnings from poisoning subsequent turns
Based on PR #3479 by teknium1.
- add managed modal and gateway-backed tool integrations\n- improve CLI setup, auth, and configuration for subscriber flows\n- expand tests and docs for managed tool support
The default SOUL.md seeded for new users should match
DEFAULT_AGENT_IDENTITY — a short, neutral identity paragraph.
The elaborate voice spec (avoid lists, dialogue examples, symbol
conventions) was never intended as the default for all users.
Users who want a custom persona write their own SOUL.md.
The recursive os.walk for AGENTS.md in subdirectories was undesired.
Only load AGENTS.md from the working directory root, matching the
behavior of CLAUDE.md and .cursorrules.
Covers the case where a SKILL.md has `metadata:` (null) or
`metadata.hermes:` (null), which caused an AttributeError
before the fix in d218cf91.
Made-with: Cursor
Previously, all project context files (AGENTS.md, .cursorrules, .hermes.md)
were loaded and concatenated into the system prompt. This bloated the prompt
with potentially redundant or conflicting instructions.
Now only ONE project context type is loaded, using priority order:
1. .hermes.md / HERMES.md (walk to git root)
2. AGENTS.md / agents.md (recursive directory walk)
3. CLAUDE.md / claude.md (cwd only, NEW)
4. .cursorrules / .cursor/rules/*.mdc (cwd only)
SOUL.md from HERMES_HOME remains independent and always loads.
Also adds CLAUDE.md as a recognized context file format, matching the
convention popularized by Claude Code.
Refactored the monolithic function into four focused helpers:
_load_hermes_md, _load_agents_md, _load_claude_md, _load_cursorrules.
Tests: replaced 1 coexistence test with 10 new tests covering priority
ordering, CLAUDE.md loading, case sensitivity, injection blocking.
* fix: banner skill count now respects disabled skills and platform filtering
The banner's get_available_skills() was doing a raw rglob scan of
~/.hermes/skills/ without checking:
- Whether skills are disabled (skills.disabled config)
- Whether skills match the current platform (platforms: frontmatter)
This caused the banner to show inflated skill counts (e.g. '100 skills'
when many are disabled) and list macOS-only skills on Linux.
Fix: delegate to _find_all_skills() from tools/skills_tool which already
handles both platform gating and disabled-skill filtering.
* fix: system prompt and slash commands now respect disabled skills
Two more places where disabled skills were still surfaced:
1. build_skills_system_prompt() in prompt_builder.py — disabled skills
appeared in the <available_skills> system prompt section, causing
the agent to suggest/load them despite being disabled.
2. scan_skill_commands() in skill_commands.py — disabled skills still
registered as /skill-name slash commands in CLI help and could be
invoked.
Both now load _get_disabled_skill_names() and filter accordingly.
* fix: skill_view blocks disabled skills
skill_view() checked platform compatibility but not disabled state,
so the agent could still load and read disabled skills directly.
Now returns a clear error when a disabled skill is requested, telling
the user to enable it via hermes skills or inspect the files manually.
---------
Co-authored-by: Test <test@test.com>
Adds .hermes.md / HERMES.md discovery for per-project agent configuration.
When the agent starts, it walks from cwd to the git root looking for
.hermes.md (preferred) or HERMES.md, strips any YAML frontmatter, and
injects the markdown body into the system prompt as project context.
- Nearest-first discovery (subdirectory configs shadow parent)
- Stops at git root boundary (no leaking into parent repos)
- YAML frontmatter stripped (structured config deferred to Phase 2)
- Same injection scanning and 20K truncation as other context files
- 22 comprehensive tests
Original implementation by ch3ronsa. Cherry-picked and adapted for current main.
Closes#681 (Phase 1)
Allow cron runs to keep using send_message for additional destinations, but
skip same-target sends when the scheduler will already auto-deliver the final
response there. Add prompt/tool guidance, docs, and regression coverage for
origin/home-channel resolution and thread-aware comparisons.
Remove diary-style memory framing from the system prompt and memory tool
schema, explicitly steer task/session logs to session_search, and clarify
that session_search is for cross-session recall after checking the current
conversation first. Add regression tests for the updated guidance text.
Seed ~/.hermes/SOUL.md when missing, load SOUL only from HERMES_HOME, and inject raw SOUL content without wrapper text. If the file exists but is empty, nothing is added to the system prompt.
When a skill declares required_environment_variables in its YAML
frontmatter, missing env vars trigger a secure TUI prompt (identical
to the sudo password widget) when the skill is loaded. Secrets flow
directly to ~/.hermes/.env, never entering LLM context.
Key changes:
- New required_environment_variables frontmatter field for skills
- Secure TUI widget (masked input, 120s timeout)
- Gateway safety: messaging platforms show local setup guidance
- Legacy prerequisites.env_vars normalized into new format
- Remote backend handling: conservative setup_needed=True
- Env var name validation, file permissions hardened to 0o600
- Redact patterns extended for secret-related JSON fields
- 12 existing skills updated with prerequisites declarations
- ~48 new tests covering skip, timeout, gateway, remote backends
- Dynamic panel widget sizing (fixes hardcoded width from original PR)
Cherry-picked from PR #723 by kshitijk4poor, rebased onto current main
with conflict resolution.
Fixes#688
Co-authored-by: kshitijk4poor <kshitijk4poor@users.noreply.github.com>
Skills can now declare fallback_for_toolsets, fallback_for_tools,
requires_toolsets, and requires_tools in their SKILL.md frontmatter.
The system prompt builder filters skills automatically based on which
tools are available in the current session.
- Add _read_skill_conditions() to parse conditional frontmatter fields
- Add _skill_should_show() to evaluate conditions against available tools
- Update build_skills_system_prompt() to accept and apply tool availability
- Pass valid_tool_names and available toolsets from run_agent.py
- Backward compatible: skills without conditions always show; calling
build_skills_system_prompt() with no args preserves existing behavior
Closes#539
Skills can now declare runtime prerequisites (env vars, CLI binaries) via
YAML frontmatter. Skills with unmet prerequisites are excluded from the
system prompt so the agent never claims capabilities it can't deliver, and
skill_view() warns the agent about what's missing.
Three layers of defense:
- build_skills_system_prompt() filters out unavailable skills
- _find_all_skills() flags unmet prerequisites in metadata
- skill_view() returns prerequisites_warning with actionable details
Tagged 12 bundled skills that have hard runtime dependencies:
gif-search (TENOR_API_KEY), notion (NOTION_API_KEY), himalaya, imessage,
apple-notes, apple-reminders, openhue, duckduckgo-search, codebase-inspection,
blogwatcher, songsee, mcporter.
Closes#658Fixes#630
Add a 'platforms' field to SKILL.md frontmatter that restricts skills
to specific operating systems. Skills with platforms: [macos] only
appear in the system prompt, skills_list(), and slash commands on macOS.
Skills without the field load everywhere (backward compatible).
Implementation:
- skill_matches_platform() in tools/skills_tool.py — core filter
- Wired into all 3 discovery paths: prompt_builder.py, skills_tool.py,
skill_commands.py
- 28 new tests across 3 test files
New bundled Apple/macOS skills (all platforms: [macos]):
- imessage — Send/receive iMessages via imsg CLI
- apple-reminders — Manage Reminders via remindctl CLI
- apple-notes — Manage Notes via memo CLI
- findmy — Track devices/AirTags via AppleScript + screen capture
Docs updated: CONTRIBUTING.md, AGENTS.md, creating-skills.md,
skills.md (user guide)
_make_cli() now patches CLI_CONFIG with clean defaults so
test_cli_init tests don't depend on the developer's local config.yaml.
test_empty_dir_returns_empty now mocks Path.home() so it doesn't pick
up a global SOUL.md.
Credit to teyrebaz33 for identifying and fixing these in PR #557.
Fixes#555.
