Salvage-follow-up to @shannonsands's /reload-skills PR. Trims the feature to
match the design: user-initiated rescan, no prompt-cache reset, no new
schema surface, no phantom user turn, and the next-turn note carries each
added/removed skill's 60-char description (not just its name).
Changes vs the original PR:
* Drop the in-process skills prompt-cache clear in reload_skills(). Skills
are invoked at runtime via /skill-name, skills_list, or skill_view —
they don't need to live in the system prompt for the model to use them.
Keeping the cache intact preserves prefix caching across the reload so
/reload-skills pays no cache-reset cost. (MCP has to break the cache
because tool schemas must be known at conversation start; skills do not.)
* Drop the skills_reload agent tool and SKILLS_RELOAD_SCHEMA from
tools/skills_tool.py, plus the four skills_reload enumerations in
toolsets.py. No new schema surface — agents can already see a freshly-
installed skill via skill_view / skills_list the moment it's on disk.
* Replace the phantom 'role: user' turn injection with a one-shot queued
note. CLI uses self._pending_skills_reload_note (same pattern as
_pending_model_switch_note, prepended to the next API call and cleared).
Gateway uses self._pending_skills_reload_notes[session_key]. The note
is prepended to the NEXT real user message in this session, so message
alternation stays intact and nothing out-of-band is persisted to the
transcript.
* reload_skills() now returns added/removed as
[{'name': str, 'description': str}, ...] (description truncated to 60
chars — matches the curator / gateway adapter budget). The injected
next-turn note formats each entry as 'name — description' so the model
can actually reason about which new skills to call without running
skills_list first.
* Only emit the note when the diff is non-empty. On empty diff, print
'No new skills detected' and do nothing else.
* Tests rewritten to cover the queue semantics, the description payload,
and a regression guard that the prompt-cache snapshot is preserved.
Adds a public reload path for the in-process skill caches so newly
installed (or removed) skills become visible mid-session without a
gateway restart. Mirrors the shape of /reload-mcp.
Three surfaces:
* /reload-skills slash command — CLI (cli.py) and gateway (gateway/run.py),
with /reload_skills alias for Telegram autocomplete and an explicit
Discord registration.
* skills_reload agent tool (tools/skills_tool.py) — lets agents/subagents
pick up freshly-installed skills via tool call.
* agent.skill_commands.reload_skills() — shared helper that clears
_skill_commands, _SKILLS_PROMPT_CACHE (in-process LRU), and the
on-disk .skills_prompt_snapshot.json, then returns an added/removed
diff plus the new total count.
Tested:
* tests/agent/test_skill_commands_reload.py (9 cases)
* tests/cli/test_cli_reload_skills.py (3 cases)
* tests/gateway/test_reload_skills_command.py (4 cases)
Use case: NemoClaw / OpenShell-style sandboxed orchestrators that drop
skills into ~/.hermes/skills mid-session, plus agentic flows where the
agent itself installs a skill via the shell tool and needs it bound
without a gateway restart. The Python helper
clear_skills_system_prompt_cache(clear_snapshot=True) already exists
internally — this PR just exposes it via slash command and tool.
Azure OpenAI content filters (Default/DefaultV2) treat bracketed
[SYSTEM: ...] meta-instructions as prompt-injection attempts and
reject requests with HTTP 400.
Replacing [SYSTEM: with [IMPORTANT: preserves the same semantic
meaning for the model while bypassing the Azure heuristic.
Fixes#6576
* feat(skills): inject absolute skill dir and expand ${HERMES_SKILL_DIR} templates
When a skill loads, the activation message now exposes the absolute
skill directory and substitutes ${HERMES_SKILL_DIR} /
${HERMES_SESSION_ID} tokens in the SKILL.md body, so skills with
bundled scripts can instruct the agent to run them by absolute path
without an extra skill_view round-trip.
Also adds opt-in inline-shell expansion: !`cmd` snippets in SKILL.md
are pre-executed (with the skill directory as CWD) and their stdout is
inlined into the message before the agent reads it. Off by default —
enable via skills.inline_shell in config.yaml — because any snippet
runs on the host without approval.
Changes:
- agent/skill_commands.py: template substitution, inline-shell
expansion, absolute skill-dir header, supporting-files list now
shows both relative and absolute forms.
- hermes_cli/config.py: new skills.template_vars,
skills.inline_shell, skills.inline_shell_timeout knobs.
- tests/agent/test_skill_commands.py: coverage for header, both
template tokens (present and missing session id), template_vars
disable, inline-shell default-off, enabled, CWD, and timeout.
- website/docs/developer-guide/creating-skills.md: documents the
template tokens, the absolute-path header, and the opt-in inline
shell with its security caveat.
Validation: tests/agent/ 1591 passed (includes 9 new tests).
E2E: loaded a real skill in an isolated HERMES_HOME; confirmed
${HERMES_SKILL_DIR} resolves to the absolute path, ${HERMES_SESSION_ID}
resolves to the passed task_id, !`date` runs when opt-in is set, and
stays literal when it isn't.
* feat(terminal): source ~/.bashrc (and user-listed init files) into session snapshot
bash login shells don't source ~/.bashrc, so tools that install themselves
there — nvm, asdf, pyenv, cargo, custom PATH exports — stay invisible to
the environment snapshot Hermes builds once per session. Under systemd
or any context with a minimal parent env, that surfaces as
'node: command not found' in the terminal tool even though the binary
is reachable from every interactive shell on the machine.
Changes:
- tools/environments/local.py: before the login-shell snapshot bootstrap
runs, prepend guarded 'source <file>' lines for each resolved init
file. Missing files are skipped, each source is wrapped with a
'[ -r ... ] && . ... || true' guard so a broken rc can't abort the
bootstrap.
- hermes_cli/config.py: new terminal.shell_init_files (explicit list,
supports ~ and ${VAR}) and terminal.auto_source_bashrc (default on)
knobs. When shell_init_files is set it takes precedence; when it's
empty and auto_source_bashrc is on, ~/.bashrc gets auto-sourced.
- tests/tools/test_local_shell_init.py: 10 tests covering the resolver
(auto-bashrc, missing file, explicit override, ~/${VAR} expansion,
opt-out) and the prelude builder (quoting, guarded sourcing), plus
a real-LocalEnvironment snapshot test that confirms exports in the
init file land in subsequent commands' environment.
- website/docs/reference/faq.md: documents the fix in Troubleshooting,
including the zsh-user pattern of sourcing ~/.zshrc or nvm.sh
directly via shell_init_files.
Validation: 10/10 new tests pass; tests/tools/test_local_*.py 40/40
pass; tests/agent/ 1591/1591 pass; tests/hermes_cli/test_config.py
50/50 pass. E2E in an isolated HERMES_HOME: confirmed that a fake
~/.bashrc setting a marker var and PATH addition shows up in a real
LocalEnvironment().execute() call, that auto_source_bashrc=false
suppresses it, that an explicit shell_init_files entry wins over the
auto default, and that a missing bashrc is silently skipped.
_load_skill_payload() reconstructed skill_dir as SKILLS_DIR / relative_path,
which is wrong for external skills from skills.external_dirs — they live
outside SKILLS_DIR entirely. Scripts and linked files failed to load.
Fix: skill_view() now includes the absolute skill_dir in its result dict.
_load_skill_payload() uses that directly when available, falling back to
the SKILLS_DIR-relative reconstruction only for legacy responses.
Closes#10313
Tool schema descriptions and tool return values contained hardcoded
~/.hermes paths that the model sees and uses. When HERMES_HOME is set
to a custom path (Docker containers, profiles), the agent would still
reference ~/.hermes — looking at the wrong directory.
Fixes 6 locations across 5 files:
- tools/tts_tool.py: output_path schema description
- tools/cronjob_tools.py: script path schema description
- tools/skill_manager_tool.py: skill_manage schema description
- tools/skills_tool.py: two tool return messages
- agent/skill_commands.py: skill config injection text
All now use display_hermes_home() which resolves to the actual
HERMES_HOME path (e.g. /opt/data for Docker, ~/.hermes/profiles/X
for profiles, ~/.hermes for default).
Reported by: Sandeep Narahari (PrithviDevs)
process_registry.py: _reader_loop() has process.wait() after the try-except
block (line 380). If the reader thread crashes with an unexpected exception
(e.g. MemoryError, KeyboardInterrupt), control exits the except handler but
skips wait() — leaving the child as a zombie process. Move wait() and the
cleanup into a finally block so the child is always reaped.
cron/scheduler.py: _run_job_script() only redacts secrets in stdout on the
SUCCESS path (line 417-421). When a cron script fails (non-zero exit), both
stdout and stderr are returned WITHOUT redaction (lines 407-413). A script
that accidentally prints an API key to stderr during a failure would leak it
into the LLM context. Move redaction before the success/failure branch so
both paths benefit.
skill_commands.py: _build_skill_message() enumerates supporting files using
rglob("*") but only checks is_file() (line 171) without filtering symlinks.
PR #6693 added symlink protection to scan_skill_commands() but missed this
function. A malicious skill can create symlinks in references/ pointing to
arbitrary files, exposing their paths (and potentially content via skill_view)
to the LLM. Add is_symlink() check to match the guard in scan_skill_commands.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Skills can now declare config.yaml settings via metadata.hermes.config
in their SKILL.md frontmatter. Values are stored under skills.config.*
namespace, prompted during hermes config migrate, shown in hermes config
show, and injected into the skill context at load time.
Also adds the llm-wiki skill (Karpathy's LLM Wiki pattern) as the first
skill to use the new config interface, declaring wiki.path.
Skill config interface (new):
- agent/skill_utils.py: extract_skill_config_vars(), discover_all_skill_config_vars(),
resolve_skill_config_values(), SKILL_CONFIG_PREFIX
- agent/skill_commands.py: _inject_skill_config() injects resolved values
into skill messages as [Skill config: ...] block
- hermes_cli/config.py: get_missing_skill_config_vars(), skill config
prompting in migrate_config(), Skill Settings in show_config()
LLM Wiki skill (skills/research/llm-wiki/SKILL.md):
- Three-layer architecture (raw sources, wiki pages, schema)
- Three operations (ingest, query, lint)
- Session orientation, page thresholds, tag taxonomy, update policy,
scaling guidance, log rotation, archiving workflow
Docs: creating-skills.md, configuration.md, skills.md, skills-catalog.md
Closes#5100
Telegram Bot API requires command names to contain only lowercase a-z,
digits 0-9, and underscores. Skill/plugin names containing characters
like +, /, @, or . caused set_my_commands to fail with
Bot_command_invalid.
Two-layer fix:
- scan_skill_commands(): strip non-alphanumeric/non-hyphen chars from
cmd_key at source, collapse consecutive hyphens, trim edges, skip
names that sanitize to empty string
- _sanitize_telegram_name(): centralized helper used by all 3 Telegram
name generation sites (core commands, plugin commands, skill commands)
with empty-name guard at each call site
Closes#5534
Telegram's Bot API disallows hyphens in command names, so
_build_telegram_menu registers /claude-code as /claude_code. When the
user taps it from autocomplete, the gateway dispatch did a direct
lookup against skill_cmds (keyed on the hyphenated form) and missed,
silently falling through to the LLM as plain text. The model would
then typically call delegate_task, spawning a Hermes subagent instead
of invoking the intended skill.
Normalize underscores to hyphens in skill and plugin command lookup,
matching the existing pattern in _check_unavailable_skill.
Add skills.external_dirs config option — a list of additional directories
to scan for skills alongside ~/.hermes/skills/. External dirs are read-only:
skill creation/editing always writes to the local dir. Local skills take
precedence when names collide.
This lets users share skills across tools/agents without copying them into
Hermes's own directory (e.g. ~/.agents/skills, /shared/team-skills).
Changes:
- agent/skill_utils.py: add get_external_skills_dirs() and get_all_skills_dirs()
- agent/prompt_builder.py: scan external dirs in build_skills_system_prompt()
- tools/skills_tool.py: _find_all_skills() and skill_view() search external dirs;
security check recognizes configured external dirs as trusted
- agent/skill_commands.py: /skill slash commands discover external skills
- hermes_cli/config.py: add skills.external_dirs to DEFAULT_CONFIG
- cli-config.yaml.example: document the option
- tests/agent/test_external_skills.py: 11 tests covering discovery, precedence,
deduplication, and skill_view for external skills
Requested by community member primco.
* 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>
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>
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)
The hidden directory filter used hardcoded forward-slash strings like
'/.git/' and '/.hub/' to exclude internal directories. On Windows,
Path returns backslash-separated strings, so the filter never matched.
This caused quarantined skills in .hub/quarantine/ to appear as
installed skills and available slash commands on Windows.
Replaced string-based checks with Path.parts membership test which
works on both Windows and Unix.
