* feat(profile): shareable profile distributions (pack/install/update/info)
Closes#20456.
Turns a profile into a portable, versioned artifact. Packs SOUL.md, config,
skills, cron, and an env-var manifest into a tar.gz that others can install
from a local path, URL, or git repo. Updates re-pull the distribution while
preserving user data (memories, sessions, auth.json, .env) and the user's
config.yaml overrides.
New subcommands (under hermes profile, no parallel tree):
hermes profile pack <name> [-o FILE]
hermes profile install <source> [--name N] [--alias] [--force] [-y]
hermes profile update <name> [--force-config] [-y]
hermes profile info <name>
Manifest (distribution.yaml at the profile root): name, version,
hermes_requires, author, env_requires, distribution_owned.
Security:
- Installer shows manifest + env-var requirements before mutating disk;
confirmation required unless -y.
- auth.json and .env are never packed (same exclude set as profile export).
- Cron jobs are packed but NOT auto-scheduled — user is pointed at
'hermes -p <name> cron list' to review.
- Archive extraction rejects path traversal (../ members).
- Alias creation is opt-in via --alias.
Update semantics:
- Distribution-owned paths (SOUL.md, skills/, cron/, mcp.json, manifest):
replaced from the new archive.
- config.yaml: preserved by default; --force-config to overwrite.
- User-owned paths (memories/, sessions/, auth.json, .env, state.db*,
logs/, workspace/, plans/, home/, *_cache/, local/): never touched.
Version pin:
hermes_requires accepts >=, <=, ==, !=, >, < or a bare version (treated
as >=). Install fails with a clear error when the running Hermes version
doesn't satisfy the spec.
Sources supported by 'install':
- Local .tar.gz / .tgz archive
- Local directory
- HTTP(S) URL pointing to a .tar.gz (uses httpx, already a dep)
- Git URL (github.com/user/repo, https://..., git@..., ssh://, git://)
Tests: 43 new unit tests (manifest parsing, version checks, env template,
pack/install/update round-trip, config-preservation, security).
E2E validated via real CLI invocations against an isolated HERMES_HOME
covering pack, install with confirmation, update preservation, update
--force-config, decline-preview, duplicate-install rejection, and
version-requirement rejection.
* refactor(profile-dist): git-only — drop tar.gz/HTTP transports and pack
Scope-cut on top of the original distribution PR: a profile distribution
is now exclusively a git repository (or a local directory during
development). The tar.gz / HTTP archive transports and the matching
`hermes profile pack` subcommand have been removed.
Why:
* GitHub tags, branches, and commits are already the right versioning
primitive. Tag pushes do for us what 'pack + upload' did.
* `hermes profile export` / `import` already cover local backup and
restore; they are not a distribution format and stay untouched.
* One transport means one install/update code path, one doc page,
and one mental model. The extra source types doubled the surface
for no real user win — GitHub auto-attaches release tarballs, and
`git bundle` / `git clone --mirror` cover the airgap case.
Changes:
* hermes_cli/profile_distribution.py — removed pack_profile,
_fetch_tar_archive (_http_fetch), _safe_extract, _archive_roots,
_safe_parts, _find_dist_root, tarfile/io/urlparse imports. The
new _stage_source has two arms: git URL → clone, local directory
→ use in place.
* hermes_cli/main.py — removed the 'pack' subparser and action
handler. Install help text updated to match the reduced source list.
* tests/hermes_cli/test_profile_distribution.py — rewritten around a
local-directory staging fixture. The install/update/describe suites
now build a distribution tree on disk directly and install from it,
which is what a real git clone produces after .git is stripped.
Dropped TestPack, TestFindDistRoot, and the tar-specific security
test. New tests cover _looks_like_git_url, env_example emission,
hermes_requires enforcement, and 'installer does not import
credentials if an author mistakenly leaks them in the staging tree'.
* website/docs/reference/profile-commands.md — 'Distribution commands'
section rewritten around git. Added a 'Publishing a distribution'
section. export/import stay documented as local backup/restore.
* website/docs/reference/cli-commands.md — dropped 'pack' from the
profile subcommand table.
* website/package.json — 'lint:diagrams' now passes
--exclude-code-blocks to ascii-guard. Without it, markdown tables
and box-drawing diagrams inside fenced code blocks were being
misidentified as malformed ASCII boxes, blocking the PR's
docs-site-checks CI with 8 false-positive errors.
Validation:
* Targeted suite: tests/hermes_cli/test_profile_distribution.py —
56/56 pass (down from 43 — reorganized to cover the new
local-dir paths).
* Regression: test_profiles.py + test_profile_export_credentials.py
102/102 still pass. export/import behaviour unchanged.
* Docs lint: ascii-guard lint --exclude-code-blocks docs returns
0 errors (was 8 on the PR before the flag bump).
* E2E: ran the real `hermes profile install`/`info` against a
local staging dir under an isolated HERMES_HOME — install writes
SOUL.md + skills to the target profile, info reads the manifest
back, a bogus source produces a clear error, and `hermes profile
pack` is now rejected by argparse as expected.
* feat(profile-dist): distribution-aware list/show/delete + installed_at + env preview
Polish pass on top of the git-only scope cut. Five additions, all small,
wiring into existing commands rather than adding new surface.
1. `installed_at` timestamp on the manifest
* Stamped automatically inside plan_install() on both fresh install
and update — ISO-8601 UTC, seconds resolution.
* Surfaced in `hermes profile info` as `Installed: <ts>`.
* Lets users tell "installed 6 months ago, needs update" from
"installed yesterday" without guessing from file mtimes.
2. `hermes profile list` grows a `Distribution` column
* Plain profiles: "—"
* Distribution profiles: "<name>@<version>" (e.g. `telemetry@1.2.3`)
* ProfileInfo gains three optional fields — distribution_name,
distribution_version, distribution_source — populated by a new
_read_distribution_meta() helper that swallows manifest read errors
so a broken distribution.yaml in one profile can't break `list`
for the others.
3. `hermes profile show` and `hermes profile delete` surface
distribution provenance
* show: `Distribution: name@version` + `Installed from: <source>`
plus a pointer to `hermes profile info <name>` for the full
manifest.
* delete: same lines in the pre-confirmation preview, so a user
deleting "telemetry" can see it came from
`github.com/kyle/telemetry-distribution` before they type
`telemetry` to confirm. No change to the confirmation gate itself —
deletion semantics are identical to plain profiles.
4. Install preview checks env vars against the current environment
* Replaces the "Env vars you'll need to set:" header with a simpler
"Env vars:" block.
* Each required var is labeled:
- `✓ set` — already in `os.environ` OR present as a key in the
target profile's existing .env (update case).
- `needs setting` — required but not found in either place.
- `—` — optional.
* Mirrors pip's "Requirement already satisfied" UX: no unnecessary
nagging about keys the user already has configured.
5. Docs: private distributions
* New "Private distributions" section in
website/docs/reference/profile-commands.md explaining that we
shell out to the user's `git` binary, so SSH keys / credential
helpers / GitHub CLI stored creds all work transparently. One
paragraph, two examples.
* `hermes profile info` section updated to mention `Installed:`.
Module-level hoist:
* `from datetime import datetime, timezone` was previously lazy-imported
inside plan_install(). Hoisted to module scope so tests can monkeypatch
`hermes_cli.profile_distribution.datetime` to freeze time.
Tests (+7):
* TestInstalledAtStamp.test_install_stamps_installed_at — format check
(4-digit year, 'T', +00:00 suffix).
* TestInstalledAtStamp.test_update_refreshes_installed_at — freezes
datetime.now() to 2099-01-01 and confirms update writes a new stamp.
* TestProfileInfoDistribution.test_installed_distribution_shows_in_list
— ProfileInfo.distribution_{name,version,source} populated after install.
* TestProfileInfoDistribution.test_plain_profile_has_no_distribution_fields
— plain profiles have None.
* TestProfileInfoDistribution.test_malformed_manifest_does_not_break_list
— broken distribution.yaml in one profile doesn't break list_profiles().
Validation:
* 163/163 tests pass (56 distribution + 102 profile regression +
5 new from this commit — up from 158).
* docs-lint: 0 errors.
* E2E verified: install preview shows ✓/needs-setting per env var,
`profile list` shows Distribution column, `profile show` + `delete`
preview mentions source URL, `info` shows Installed: timestamp.
* fix(profile-dist): clean errors + warn when overwriting plain profiles
Two small polish fixes found during collision sweeps of the PR:
1. ValueError from validate_profile_name now caught cleanly
* A distribution.yaml whose 'name' field can't be used as a profile
identifier (spaces, path traversal, etc.) raises ValueError from
hermes_cli.profiles.validate_profile_name, which was escaping as a
raw Python traceback from 'hermes profile install/update/info'.
* Broadened the except clause in all three handlers to catch
(DistributionError, ValueError) — users now see:
Error: Invalid profile name '../../etc/passwd'. Must match
[a-z0-9][a-z0-9_-]{0,63}
instead of a stack trace.
2. Install preview distinguishes plain profile overwrite from
distribution re-install
* When plan.target_dir exists and IS a distribution (has
distribution.yaml), preview still shows the mild
(profile exists — will overwrite distribution-owned files only)
* When plan.target_dir exists but is a HAND-BUILT plain profile (no
distribution.yaml), preview now shows a loud warning:
⚠ Profile exists but is NOT a distribution. Installing here will
overwrite its SOUL.md, skills/, cron/, and mcp.json.
Your memories, sessions, auth.json, and .env will be preserved,
but any hand-edits to distribution-owned files will be lost.
* Users who type 'hermes profile install foo --force' against a
profile they hand-built now see what they're signing up for. User
data is still safe (memories, sessions, auth, .env are in
USER_OWNED_EXCLUDE), but custom SOUL/skills get stomped.
Tests (+2):
* TestErrorSurfaces.test_bad_profile_name_raises_valueerror_not_traceback
* TestErrorSurfaces.test_path_traversal_name_rejected
Validation:
* 165/165 tests pass (was 163).
* E2E: bad manifest names produce 'Error: Invalid profile name ...'
with no traceback; installing over a plain profile shows the warning;
re-installing over an existing distribution shows the normal
overwrite message.
* Bad HTTPS URLs still produce 'Error: git clone failed: ...' — git
itself generates a clean enough message that no wrapper is needed.
* 'install .' works correctly from any cwd.
* fix(profiles): reject reserved names at validate time
Before: `hermes profile create hermes` / `profile install` / `profile rename`
all silently accepted reserved names like `hermes`, `test`, `tmp`, `root`,
`sudo`. The profile directory was created; only alias creation failed (via
check_alias_collision), leaving a confusingly-named profile on disk — e.g.
`~/.hermes/profiles/hermes/` sitting next to `~/.hermes/` itself.
The reserved set already exists (_RESERVED_NAMES, introduced alongside alias
collision detection). This commit moves the check up one layer to
validate_profile_name so every entry point — create, install, import,
rename, dashboard web API — shares the same gate.
The error message points the user at the cause without being cryptic:
Error: Profile name 'hermes' is reserved — it collides with either the
Hermes installation itself or a common system binary. Pick a different
name.
`default` continues to pass through (it's a special alias for ~/.hermes).
_HERMES_SUBCOMMANDS (`chat`, `model`, `gateway`, etc.) stays at
alias-collision time only — those are fine as bare profile names with
`--no-alias`.
Tests (+5): test_reserved_names_rejected parametrized over the full
_RESERVED_NAMES set, matching the existing pattern in TestValidateProfileName.
No existing test uses a reserved name as a profile identifier (greppped
create_profile("hermes|test|tmp|root|sudo") — zero hits).
Validation:
* 170/170 tests pass in the profile suites.
* E2E: `profile create hermes`, `profile install` with manifest
name=hermes, and `profile install ... --name hermes` all produce the
same clean `Error: Profile name 'hermes' is reserved ...` with rc=1
and no traceback. Normal names (`mybot`) still work.
Adds `hermes profile create <name> --no-skills` to create a profile with
zero bundled skills. Writes a `.no-bundled-skills` marker file in the
profile root so `hermes update`'s all-profile skill sync loop also skips
the profile — without the marker, every update would re-seed skills and
the user would have to delete them again.
Use case (from @hiut1u): orchestrator profiles and narrow-task profiles
don't need 100+ bundled skills polluting their system prompt.
- create_profile() gains a `no_skills` param, mutually exclusive with
`--clone` / `--clone-all` (cloning explicitly copies skills).
- seed_profile_skills() no-ops on opted-out profiles and returns
`{skipped_opt_out: True}` so callers can report cleanly.
- Web API (POST /api/profiles) accepts `no_skills: bool`.
- Delete `.no-bundled-skills` to opt back in — next `hermes update`
re-seeds normally.
6 new tests in TestNoSkillsOptOut cover marker write, mutual exclusion
with clone, seed_profile_skills opt-out, fresh profile unaffected, and
delete-marker-re-enables-seeding.
Follow-up to @changchun989's cherry-pick: reverts the validate-via-
normalize change so validate_profile_name remains a strict regex check
on the input AS-GIVEN. Callers that accept mixed-case user input
(dashboard UI, CLI args, import flows) call normalize_profile_name()
first, then validate the result. This keeps validate honest about
what the on-disk directory name must look like — e.g. ' jules '
(trailing whitespace) is now rejected instead of silently trimmed
and accepted.
- validate_profile_name: strict lowercase/regex check again, 'UPPER'
back in the invalid-names parametrize
- 8 call sites in profiles.py (create_profile, delete_profile,
set_active_profile, export_profile, import_profile, rename_profile,
resolve_profile_env, plus the clone_from branch): swap the
normalize-then-validate order
- scripts/release.py: add changchun989@proton.me -> changchun989 to
AUTHOR_MAP so CI doesn't block on the unmapped contributor email
All kanban + profile tests pass (268 across test_profiles.py +
test_kanban_db.py + test_kanban_core_functionality.py, plus 73 in
test_kanban_tools.py + test_kanban_dashboard_plugin.py).
Closes#18498.
- Add normalize_profile_name() for lowercase canonical IDs and Default alias
- Use canonical names in create/delete/rename/export/import/set_active paths
- Canonicalize Kanban assignee on create/assign, list filter, and worker spawn
- Tests for mixed-case assignees and profile resolution (fixes#18498)
Merge resolved conflicts in web/src/{i18n/{en,zh,types}.ts,lib/api.ts}
by keeping both this branch's `profiles` additions and upstream's new
`models` page additions.
Copilot review feedback:
- Implement POST /api/profiles/{name}/open-terminal endpoint (already
present); align Windows branch to `cmd.exe /c start "" <cmd>` so it
matches the new test and spawns a fresh window instead of /k reusing
the parent console.
- Move backslash escaping out of the macOS AppleScript f-string
expression (Python <3.12 disallows backslashes inside f-string
expression parts).
- Patch `_get_wrapper_dir` via monkeypatch in
test_profiles_create_creates_wrapper_alias_when_safe so the test no
longer writes to the real `~/.local/bin`.
- Extend test_dashboard_browser_safe_imports to scan `.ts` files in
addition to `.tsx`.
- Switch upstream's new ModelsPage.tsx away from the `@nous-research/ui`
root barrel onto per-component subpaths to satisfy the stricter scan.
- Fix NouiTypography `leading-1.4` -> `leading-[1.4]` so Tailwind
actually emits the line-height for the `sm` variant.
- Guard ProfilesPage.openSoulEditor against out-of-order responses by
tracking the latest requested profile via a ref.
- Replace ProfilesPage's hand-rolled setup command with a fetch to
`/api/profiles/{name}/setup-command` so the copied command always
matches what the backend would actually run (handles wrapper-alias
collisions and reserved names correctly).
- Wire SOUL.md textarea label `htmlFor` -> textarea `id` so screen
readers and clicking the label work as expected.
shutil.copytree from default ~/.hermes duplicated ~/.hermes/profiles into
the new profile, causing nested profiles/.../profiles/... and huge disk use.
Match export behavior (_DEFAULT_EXPORT_EXCLUDE_ROOT) by ignoring the sibling
profiles tree at the source root.
Made-with: Cursor
Fresh profiles (created without --clone) now:
- Auto-seed a default SOUL.md immediately, so users have a file to
customize right away instead of discovering it only after first use
- Print a clear warning that the profile has no API keys and will
inherit from the shell environment unless configured separately
- Show the SOUL.md path for personality customization
Previously, fresh profiles started with no SOUL.md (only seeded on
first use via ensure_hermes_home), no mention of credential isolation,
and no guidance about customizing personality. Users reported confusion
about profiles using the wrong model/plan tokens and SOUL.md not
being read — both traced to operational gaps in the creation UX.
Closes#8093 (investigated: code correctly loads SOUL.md from profile
HERMES_HOME; issue was operational, not a code bug).
Isolate system tool configs (git, ssh, gh, npm) per profile by injecting
a per-profile HOME into subprocess environments only. The Python
process's own os.environ['HOME'] and Path.home() are never modified,
preserving all existing profile infrastructure.
Activation is directory-based: when {HERMES_HOME}/home/ exists on disk,
subprocesses see it as HOME. The directory is created automatically for:
- Docker: entrypoint.sh bootstraps it inside the persistent volume
- Named profiles: added to _PROFILE_DIRS in profiles.py
Injection points (all three subprocess env builders):
- tools/environments/local.py _make_run_env() — foreground terminal
- tools/environments/local.py _sanitize_subprocess_env() — background procs
- tools/code_execution_tool.py child_env — execute_code sandbox
Single source of truth: hermes_constants.get_subprocess_home()
Closes#4426
In Docker, HERMES_HOME=/opt/data (set in Dockerfile) and users mount
their .hermes directory to /opt/data. However, profile operations used
Path.home() / '.hermes' which resolves to /root/.hermes in Docker —
an ephemeral container path, not the mounted volume.
This caused:
- Profiles created at /root/.hermes/profiles/ (lost on container recreate)
- active_profile sticky file written to wrong location
- profile list looking at wrong directory
Fix: Add get_default_hermes_root() to hermes_constants.py that detects
Docker/custom deployments (HERMES_HOME outside ~/.hermes) and returns
HERMES_HOME as the root. Also handles Docker profiles correctly
(<root>/profiles/<name> → root is grandparent).
Files changed:
- hermes_constants.py: new get_default_hermes_root()
- hermes_cli/profiles.py: _get_default_hermes_home() delegates to shared fn
- hermes_cli/main.py: _apply_profile_override() + _invalidate_update_cache()
- hermes_cli/gateway.py: _profile_suffix() + _profile_arg()
- Tests: 12 new tests covering Docker scenarios
Adds a new CLI command that outputs a compact, plain-text dump of the
user's Hermes setup — version, OS, model/provider, API key presence,
toolsets, gateway status, platforms, cron jobs, skills, and any
non-default config overrides.
Designed for support context: no ANSI colors, ready to paste into
Discord/GitHub/Telegram. Secrets shown as 'set/not set' by default;
--show-keys reveals redacted prefixes (first/last 4 chars).
Files:
- hermes_cli/dump.py (new) — run_dump() implementation
- hermes_cli/main.py — parser + cmd_dump wiring
- hermes_cli/profiles.py — shell completions + subcommand set
Comprehensive cleanup across 80 files based on automated (ruff, pyflakes, vulture)
and manual analysis of the entire codebase.
Changes by category:
Unused imports removed (~95 across 55 files):
- Removed genuinely unused imports from all major subsystems
- agent/, hermes_cli/, tools/, gateway/, plugins/, cron/
- Includes imports in try/except blocks that were truly unused
(vs availability checks which were left alone)
Unused variables removed (~25):
- Removed dead variables: connected, inner, channels, last_exc,
source, new_server_names, verify, pconfig, default_terminal,
result, pending_handled, temperature, loop
- Dropped unused argparse subparser assignments in hermes_cli/main.py
(12 instances of add_parser() where result was never used)
Dead code removed:
- run_agent.py: Removed dead ternary (None if False else None) and
surrounding unreachable branch in identity fallback
- run_agent.py: Removed write-only attribute _last_reported_tool
- hermes_cli/providers.py: Removed dead @property decorator on
module-level function (decorator has no effect outside a class)
- gateway/run.py: Removed unused MCP config load before reconnect
- gateway/platforms/slack.py: Removed dead SessionSource construction
Undefined name bugs fixed (would cause NameError at runtime):
- batch_runner.py: Added missing logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
- tools/environments/daytona.py: Added missing Dict and Path imports
Unnecessary global statements removed (14):
- tools/terminal_tool.py: 5 functions declared global for dicts
they only mutated via .pop()/[key]=value (no rebinding)
- tools/browser_tool.py: cleanup thread loop only reads flag
- tools/rl_training_tool.py: 4 functions only do dict mutations
- tools/mcp_oauth.py: only reads the global
- hermes_time.py: only reads cached values
Inefficient patterns fixed:
- startswith/endswith tuple form: 15 instances of
x.startswith('a') or x.startswith('b') consolidated to
x.startswith(('a', 'b'))
- len(x)==0 / len(x)>0: 13 instances replaced with pythonic
truthiness checks (not x / bool(x))
- in dict.keys(): 5 instances simplified to in dict
- Redefined unused name: removed duplicate _strip_mdv2 import in
send_message_tool.py
Other fixes:
- hermes_cli/doctor.py: Replaced undefined logger.debug() with pass
- hermes_cli/config.py: Consolidated chained .endswith() calls
Test results: 3934 passed, 17 failed (all pre-existing on main),
19 skipped. Zero regressions.
Three fixes for memory+profile isolation bugs:
1. memory_tool.py: Replace module-level MEMORY_DIR constant with
get_memory_dir() function that calls get_hermes_home() dynamically.
The old constant was cached at import time and could go stale if
HERMES_HOME changed after import. Internal MemoryStore methods now
call get_memory_dir() directly. MEMORY_DIR kept as backward-compat
alias.
2. profiles.py: profile create --clone now copies MEMORY.md and USER.md
from the source profile. These curated memory files are part of the
agent's identity (same as SOUL.md) and should carry over on clone.
3. holographic plugin: initialize() now expands $HERMES_HOME and
${HERMES_HOME} in the db_path config value, so users can write
'db_path: $HERMES_HOME/memory_store.db' and it resolves to the
active profile directory, not the default home.
Tests updated to mock get_memory_dir() alongside the legacy MEMORY_DIR.
The original PR excluded auth.json from _DEFAULT_EXPORT_EXCLUDE_ROOT and
filtered both auth.json and .env from named profile exports, but missed
adding .env to the default profile exclusion set. Default exports would
still leak .env containing API keys.
Added .env to _DEFAULT_EXPORT_EXCLUDE_ROOT, added test coverage, and
updated the existing test that incorrectly asserted .env presence.
- Add _DEFAULT_EXPORT_EXCLUDE_ROOT constant with 25+ entries to exclude
from default profile exports: repo checkout (hermes-agent), worktrees,
databases (state.db), caches, runtime state, logs, binaries
- Add _default_export_ignore() with root-level and universal exclusions
(__pycache__, *.sock, *.tmp at any depth)
- Remove redundant shutil/tempfile imports from contributor's if-block
- Block import_profile() from accepting 'default' as target name with
clear guidance to use --name
- Add 7 tests covering: archive creation, inclusion of profile data,
exclusion of infrastructure, nested __pycache__ exclusion, import
rejection without --name, import rejection with --name default,
full export-import roundtrip with a different name
Addresses review feedback on PR #4370.
Fixes a zip-slip path traversal vulnerability in hermes profile import.
shutil.unpack_archive() on untrusted tar members allows entries like
../../escape.txt to write files outside ~/.hermes/profiles/.
- Add _normalize_profile_archive_parts() to reject absolute paths
(POSIX and Windows), traversal (..), empty paths, backslash tricks
- Add _safe_extract_profile_archive() for manual per-member extraction
that only allows regular files and directories (rejects symlinks)
- Replace shutil.unpack_archive() with the safe extraction path
- Add regression tests for traversal and absolute-path attacks
Co-authored-by: Gutslabs <gutslabsxyz@gmail.com>
