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)
Drop the swe-rex dependency for Modal terminal backend and use the
Modal SDK directly (Sandbox.create + Sandbox.exec). This fixes:
- AsyncUsageWarning from synchronous App.lookup() in async context
- DeprecationError from unencrypted_ports / .url on unencrypted tunnels
(deprecated 2026-03-05)
The new implementation:
- Uses modal.App.lookup.aio() for async-safe app creation
- Uses Sandbox.create.aio() with 'sleep infinity' entrypoint
- Uses Sandbox.exec.aio() for direct command execution (no HTTP server
or tunnel needed)
- Keeps all existing features: persistent filesystem snapshots,
configurable resources (CPU/memory/disk), sudo support, interrupt
handling, _AsyncWorker for event loop safety
Consistent with the Docker backend precedent (PR #2804) where we
removed mini-swe-agent in favor of direct docker run.
Files changed:
- tools/environments/modal.py - core rewrite
- tools/terminal_tool.py - health check: modal instead of swerex
- hermes_cli/setup.py - install modal instead of swe-rex[modal]
- pyproject.toml - modal extra: modal>=1.0.0 instead of swe-rex[modal]
- scripts/kill_modal.sh - grep for hermes-agent instead of swe-rex
- tests/ - updated for new implementation
- environments/README.md - updated patches section
- website/docs - updated install command
- 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
Drop the mini-swe-agent git submodule. All terminal backends now use
hermes-agent's own environment implementations directly.
Docker backend:
- Inline the `docker run -d` container startup (was 15 lines in
minisweagent's DockerEnvironment). Our wrapper already handled
execute(), cleanup(), security hardening, volumes, and resource limits.
Modal backend:
- Import swe-rex's ModalDeployment directly instead of going through
minisweagent's 90-line passthrough wrapper.
- Bake the _AsyncWorker pattern (from environments/patches.py) directly
into ModalEnvironment for Atropos compatibility without monkey-patching.
Cleanup:
- Remove minisweagent_path.py (submodule path resolution helper)
- Remove submodule init/install from install.sh and setup-hermes.sh
- Remove mini-swe-agent from .gitmodules
- environments/patches.py is now a no-op (kept for backward compat)
- terminal_tool.py no longer does sys.path hacking for minisweagent
- mini_swe_runner.py guards imports (optional, for RL training only)
- Update all affected tests to mock the new direct subprocess calls
- Update README.md, CONTRIBUTING.md
No functionality change — all Docker, Modal, local, SSH, Singularity,
and Daytona backends behave identically. 6093 tests pass.
Salvaged from PR #979 onto current main.
Preserve the current terminal backend checks while surfacing actionable
preflight errors for unknown TERMINAL_ENV values, missing SSH host/user
configuration, and missing Modal credentials/config. Tighten the modal
regression test so it deterministically exercises the config-missing
path.
