Two fixes from teknium1's next install run:
1. **npm install: "npm.ps1 cannot be loaded because running scripts is
disabled on this system."** Get-Command's default PATHEXT ordering
picked up ``npm.ps1`` (the PowerShell shim) ahead of ``npm.cmd`` (the
batch shim). Most Windows users have PowerShell's execution policy
set to Restricted or RemoteSigned, which blocks unsigned ``.ps1``
files. ``npm.cmd`` has no such restriction and works universally.
Install-NodeDeps now detects when Get-Command returned npm.ps1, looks
for a sibling npm.cmd in the same directory, and prefers it. Prints
an info line so the user sees why. Emits a warning + hint if only
npm.ps1 is available.
2. **"Launch hermes chat now? Y" crashes with "%1 is not a valid Win32
application" on Windows installs.** The setup wizard calls
``relaunch(["chat"])``; ``resolve_hermes_bin()`` returned
``sys.argv[0]`` which was ``...\\hermes_cli\\main.py`` (because hermes
was launched via ``python -m hermes_cli.main`` during setup).
On Windows, ``os.access(script.py, os.X_OK)`` returns True because
PATHEXT lists ``.py`` when the Python launcher is registered — but
``subprocess.run([script.py, ...])`` can't actually execute a ``.py``
directly. CreateProcessW needs a real PE file.
Fixed ``resolve_hermes_bin`` to reject ``.py``/``.pyc`` argv0 values
on Windows specifically. Falls through to ``shutil.which("hermes")``
(hermes.exe in the venv Scripts dir) or, as a final fallback, lets
build_relaunch_argv build ``[sys.executable, "-m", "hermes_cli.main"]``
which is bulletproof. POSIX behaviour unchanged — ``.py`` argv0 with
a shebang + chmod+x is still a valid exec target there.
3 new tests cover the Windows paths: .py argv0 + hermes.exe on PATH →
returns hermes.exe; .py argv0 + no PATH → returns None (caller uses
python -m); POSIX + executable .py → still accepted.
26 relaunch tests pass, no POSIX regressions.
Three bugs from teknium1's successful install + diagnostic chat on Windows:
1. **Start-Process -FilePath npm.cmd fails with "%1 is not a valid Win32
application".** Start-Process bypasses cmd.exe and PATHEXT to call
CreateProcessW directly, which refuses .cmd batch shims. Switched
Install-NodeDeps to use PowerShell's invocation operator (``& $npmExe
install --silent *> $log``) which DOES honour PATHEXT. Extracted a
``_Run-NpmInstall`` helper so the browser + TUI paths share the same
logic. Captures $LASTEXITCODE correctly, still surfaces the real
stderr on failure with a log-file pointer for the full output.
2. **patch tool returns false-negative on Windows due to CRLF round-trip.**
Root cause was upstream of patch: ``subprocess.Popen(..., text=True,
stdin=PIPE)`` on Windows translates ``\\n`` → ``\\r\\n`` when data flows
through the stdin pipe. ``_pipe_stdin()`` was writing the patch's
new_content string through a text-mode pipe, bash then wrote those
CRLF bytes to disk, and patch's post-write verify compared the
on-disk CRLF bytes against the original LF-only string — fail.
Fixed in two places for defense in depth:
- ``_pipe_stdin()`` now writes through ``proc.stdin.buffer`` with
explicit UTF-8 encoding, bypassing Python's newline translation on
every platform. No behaviour change on POSIX (bytes are identical)
but stops the CRLF injection on Windows.
- ``patch_replace``'s post-write verify normalizes CRLF→LF on both
sides before comparing, so even if some future backend still
translates newlines the patch tool won't report a bogus failure.
3. **SOUL.md gets a UTF-8 BOM on Windows PowerShell 5.1.** ``Set-Content
-Encoding UTF8`` on PS5.1 writes UTF-8 WITH a byte-order-mark (changed
in PS7 via ``utf8NoBOM``). Hermes's prompt-injection scanner sees
the BOM (U+FEFF invisible char) and refuses to load the file, so
SOUL.md's persona instructions never get applied.
Fixed by writing the file via ``[System.IO.File]::WriteAllText``
with an explicit ``UTF8Encoding($false)`` — BOM-free on every
PowerShell version.
All POSIX behaviour verified unchanged: 198 tests pass across
test_file_operations, test_local_env_cwd_recovery, test_code_execution,
test_windows_native_support, test_windows_compat.
User hit 'fatal: not in a git directory' on re-install because:
1. They ran Remove-Item -Force $env:LOCALAPPDATA\hermes -ErrorAction
SilentlyContinue WHILE cd'd inside the install dir. Windows
silently refuses to delete a directory any shell is currently cd'd
inside and leaves the skeleton intact, but the -ErrorAction
SilentlyContinue swallowed every partial-delete failure so they
thought the wipe succeeded.
2. The installer then walked into Install-Repository, saw $InstallDir
still exists with a partial .git stub, my repo-validity probe
returned success (the probe's git rev-parse may have exit-code-zeroed
in a way I didn't expect), and the real git fetch died with three
'fatal: not a git repository' errors.
Two fixes belt-and-braces:
- Main() now cds to $env:USERPROFILE at start if the current shell
is inside $InstallDir. Harmless when the user ran from elsewhere;
critical when they didn't. This alone fixes the user's case.
- Install-Repository's 'is this a valid repo' probe now runs BOTH
git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree AND git status, resets
$LASTEXITCODE before each to avoid picking up a stale 0, and
requires BOTH to succeed. Also requires rev-parse's output to
match 'true' (not just exit 0) to rule out exit-0-with-empty-output
edge cases.
teknium1 hit "fatal: not in a git directory" on re-install when the previous
install left a $InstallDir\.git stub that Test-Path matched but git didn't
recognize (three "fatal: not a git repository" lines, then the script
exited before touching anything).
Two bugs:
1. Test-Path "$InstallDir\.git" was a weak gate — it matches .git
whether it's a directory, file, symlink, submodule gitfile, OR a
broken stub from a failed previous Remove-Item. Replaced with a
real repo probe: Push-Location + git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree
+ $LASTEXITCODE check. If git itself can't see a repo, we treat
the directory as not-a-repo and fall through to fresh clone.
2. The original update path ignored $LASTEXITCODE. fetch/checkout/pull
all emitted fatals but the script kept going. Now each command
checks $LASTEXITCODE and throws with an explicit message.
Also: when the directory exists but isn't a valid repo, the new code
wipes it (Remove-Item -ErrorAction Stop) and falls through to fresh
clone, instead of dying with the old "Directory exists but is not a git
repository" error. If the wipe itself fails (file locked, hermes still
running), we throw with a user-readable "close any programs using files
in <dir>" hint.
Refactored the function to use a $didUpdate flag instead of my earlier
draft's early `return` — that was skipping the submodule init block at
the bottom of the function. Both the update and fresh-clone paths now
fall through to the submodule init step, which is correct (git pull
doesn't auto-update submodules).
PowerShell structural check: 21 functions defined, braces balanced.
Three real bugs from teknium1's first Windows install run:
1. **MinGit has no bash.exe.** MinGit is the minimal-automation Git for Windows
distribution — it ships git.exe but deliberately strips bash and the POSIX
coreutils. Installer logged "Could not locate bash.exe" and Hermes would
fail to run any shell command. Switched to PortableGit — the full Git for
Windows minus the installer UI. PortableGit ships bash.exe at
<root>\bin\bash.exe plus sh, awk, sed, grep, curl, ssh in usr\bin\. ARM64
variant is detected separately (PortableGit-*-arm64.7z.exe). 32-bit falls
back to MinGit-32-bit with a warning (PortableGit is 64-bit only).
PortableGit ships as a 7z self-extractor (56MB vs MinGit's 38MB). We
invoke it with `-o<target> -y` to extract silently — no 7z install needed,
it's self-contained.
Updated tools/environments/local.py::_find_bash candidate order to prefer
the PortableGit layout (<root>\bin\bash.exe) with the MinGit layout
(<root>\usr\bin\bash.exe) as a fallback so existing installs keep working.
2. **os.execvp "Exec format error" on Windows.** Setup wizard's "Launch
hermes chat now? Y" called `os.execvp(["hermes", "chat"])` which on
Windows can only swap to real Win32 .exe files — chokes with OSError(8)
on .cmd batch shims and Python console-script wrappers. Added a
win32 branch in hermes_cli/relaunch.py::relaunch() that uses
subprocess.run + sys.exit — functionally identical (user sees "hermes
exited, then new hermes started") with one extra PID in play. POSIX
path is UNCHANGED — still uses os.execvp for in-place replacement.
Catches OSError in the Windows branch and surfaces a "open a new
terminal so PATH picks up, then re-run hermes" hint instead of a
cryptic traceback.
3. **npm install failures silent on Windows.** The install.ps1 was invoking
`npm install --silent 2>&1 | Out-Null` inside a try/catch. PowerShell's
try/catch does NOT trigger on non-zero process exit codes — only on
unhandled .NET exceptions — so npm failing printed a generic "npm
install failed" with zero information about WHY. The silent pipe ate
the stderr.
Rewrote Install-NodeDeps to:
- Resolve npm.cmd via Get-Command (respects PATHEXT) instead of
relying on bare `npm` name resolution.
- Use Start-Process with -PassThru to capture the actual exit code.
- Redirect stderr to a temp log and surface the first ~800 chars of
the real npm error when install fails, plus the log path for the
full text.
- Fail loudly with the right exit code instead of a misleading success.
- Bail cleanly with a helpful message when npm isn't on PATH at all.
4. **"True" printing to console after Node check.** `Test-Node` returns $true;
installer called it as a bare statement (no assignment, no cast). PowerShell
prints bare return values. Wrapped the call in `[void](Test-Node)`.
## Tests
- Added 3 new tests in tests/hermes_cli/test_relaunch.py covering the
Windows branch: subprocess is called (not execvp), child exit code
propagates, OSError surfaces a helpful message. All 23 tests pass
(20 existing + 3 new).
- 77 Windows-compat tests still pass, POSIX behaviour unchanged.
User hit a real failure case: their system Git was in a half-installed state
(can neither uninstall nor reinstall) and winget refused to work around it.
We were one step away from shipping an installer that would have left users
with exactly the problem he already had.
What other agents do (reality check):
- Claude Code: requires pre-installed Git; breaks if user doesn't have it.
- OpenCode, Codex: don't need bash at all — PowerShell-first design.
- Cline: uses whatever shell VSCode is configured with; installs nothing.
None of them solve the "broken system Git" problem. We need to own our Git.
Changes:
- scripts/install.ps1::Install-Git: dropped winget path entirely. Now:
(1) use existing git if present; (2) download portable MinGit from the
official git-for-windows GitHub release to %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\git.
No winget, no admin, no Windows installer registry, no system impact.
- Added %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\git\{cmd,usr\bin} to User PATH so git + bash
+ POSIX coreutils (which, env, grep, …) resolve in fresh shells.
- tools/environments/local.py::_find_bash: reorder so Hermes' portable
MinGit install is checked BEFORE falling through to shutil.which("bash")
or system install locations. This way a broken system Git can't
hijack the bash lookup.
- README + installation docs reworded to reflect the new story: "portable
Git Bash, isolated from any system install, recoverable via rm -rf if it
ever breaks."
Recoverability: if Hermes' Git install ever breaks, ``Remove-Item %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\git``
and re-run the installer — no system impact, no uninstall drama, no winget
to fight with.
Remove eager npm install of @whiskeysockets/baileys during
install.sh, install.ps1, and Docker build. The bridge deps are
already installed on-demand by `hermes whatsapp` (Step 4 checks
for node_modules and runs npm install if missing), so there is no
need to pay the cost at initial install for users who never use
WhatsApp.
Complete cleanup after dropping the mini-swe-agent submodule (PR #2804):
- Remove MSWEA_SILENT_STARTUP and MSWEA_GLOBAL_CONFIG_DIR env var
settings from cli.py, run_agent.py, hermes_cli/main.py, doctor.py
- Remove mini-swe-agent health check from hermes doctor
- Remove 'minisweagent' from logger suppression lists
- Remove litellm/typer/platformdirs from requirements.txt
- Remove mini-swe-agent install steps from install.ps1 (Windows)
- Remove mini-swe-agent install steps from website docs
- Update all stale comments/docstrings referencing mini-swe-agent
in terminal_tool.py, tools/__init__.py, code_execution_tool.py,
environments/README.md, environments/agent_loop.py
- Remove mini_swe_runner from pyproject.toml py-modules
(still exists as standalone script for RL training use)
- Shrink test_minisweagent_path.py to empty stub
The orphaned mini-swe-agent/ directory on disk needs manual removal:
rm -rf mini-swe-agent/
Git for Windows can completely fail to write files during clone due to
antivirus software, Windows Defender Controlled Folder Access, or NTFS
filter drivers. Even with windows.appendAtomically=false, the checkout
phase fails with 'unable to create file: Invalid argument'.
New install strategy (3 attempts):
1. git clone with -c windows.appendAtomically=false (SSH then HTTPS)
2. If clone fails: download GitHub ZIP archive, extract with
Expand-Archive (Windows native, no git file I/O), then git init
the result for future updates
3. All git commands now use -c flag to inject the atomic write fix
Also passes -c flag on update path (fetch/checkout/pull) and makes
submodule init failure non-fatal with a warning.
Move Windows install location from ~\.hermes (user profile root) to
%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes (C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\hermes).
The user profile directory is prone to issues from OneDrive sync,
Windows Defender Controlled Folder Access, and NTFS filter drivers
that break git's atomic file operations. %LOCALAPPDATA% is the
standard Windows location for per-user app data (used by VS Code,
Discord, etc.) and avoids these issues.
Changes:
- Default HermesHome to $env:LOCALAPPDATA\hermes
- Set HERMES_HOME user env var so Python code finds the new location
- Auto-migrate existing ~\.hermes installations on first run
- Update completion message to show actual paths
The previous fix set git config --global before clone, but on systems
where atomic writes are broken (OneDrive, antivirus, NTFS filter
drivers), even writing ~/.gitconfig fails with 'Invalid argument'.
Fix: inject the config via GIT_CONFIG_COUNT/KEY/VALUE environment
variables, which git reads before performing any file I/O. This
bypasses the chicken-and-egg problem where git can't write the config
file that would fix its file-writing issue.
Git for Windows can fail during clone when copying hook template files
from the system templates directory. The error:
fatal: cannot copy '.../templates/hooks/fsmonitor-watchman.sample'
to '.git/hooks/...': Invalid argument
The script already set windows.appendAtomically=false but only AFTER
clone, which is too late since clone itself triggers the error.
Fix:
- Set git config --global windows.appendAtomically false BEFORE clone
- Add a third fallback: clone with --template='' to skip hook template
copying entirely (they're optional .sample files)
When running via 'irm ... | iex', the script executes in the caller's
session scope. The 'exit 1' calls (lines 424, 460, 849-851) would kill
the entire PowerShell window instead of just stopping the script.
Fix:
- Replace all 'exit 1' with 'throw' for proper error propagation
- Wrap Main() call in try/catch so errors are caught and displayed
with a helpful message instead of silently closing the terminal
- Show fallback instructions to download and run as a .ps1 file
if the piped install keeps failing
- Set 'git config windows.appendAtomically false' in hermes update
command (win32 only) and in install.ps1 after cloning. Fixes the
'fatal: unable to write loose object file: Invalid argument' error
on Windows filesystems.
- Fix venv pip fallback path: Scripts/pip on Windows vs bin/pip on Unix
- Gate .env encoding fix behind _IS_WINDOWS (no change to Linux/macOS)
Root cause: PowerShell with $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop' only
creates NativeCommandError from stderr when you CAPTURE it via 2>&1.
Without the redirect, stderr flows directly to the console and
PowerShell never intercepts it.
This is how OpenClaw's install.ps1 handles it — bare git commands
with no stderr redirection. Wrap SSH clone attempt in try/catch
since it's expected to fail (falls back to HTTPS).
PowerShell with $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop' treats ANY stderr
output from native commands as a terminating NativeCommandError —
even successful git operations that write progress to stderr
(e.g. 'Cloning into ...').
Fix: temporarily set $ErrorActionPreference = 'Continue' around all
git commands (clone, fetch, checkout, pull, submodule update). This
lets git run normally while preserving strict error handling for
the rest of the installer.
The Windows installer was swallowing uv python install errors with
| Out-Null, making failures impossible to diagnose. Now:
- Shows the actual uv error output when installation fails
- Falls back to finding any existing Python 3.10-3.13 on the system
- Falls back to system python if available
- Shows helpful manual install instructions (python.org URL + winget)
- Updated the SSH cloning process to include a cleanup step for partial clones if the SSH attempt fails, improving the fallback to HTTPS.
- Modified output messages for clarity, including renaming the gateway installation command to better reflect its function.
- Introduced a new mapping for toolset environment variable requirements, enhancing the configuration process by prompting users for missing API keys.
- Implemented a function to check and prompt users for necessary API keys when enabling toolsets, improving user experience and ensuring proper setup.
- Updated the tools command to integrate the new API key checks, streamlining the configuration workflow for users.
- Removed legacy cron daemon functionality, integrating cron job execution directly into the gateway process for improved efficiency.
- Updated CLI commands to reflect changes, replacing `hermes cron daemon` with `hermes cron status` and enhancing documentation for cron job management.
- Clarified messaging in the README and other documentation regarding the gateway's role in managing cron jobs.
- Removed obsolete terminal_hecate tool and related configurations to simplify the codebase.
- Updated the README to include a new banner image and changed the title emoji from 🦋 to ⚕.
- Modified various CLI outputs and scripts to reflect the new branding, ensuring consistency in the use of the ⚕ emoji.
- Added a new banner image asset for enhanced visual appeal during installation and setup processes.
- Changed the banner message in both PowerShell and shell scripts to reflect the new branding of the Hermes Agent as an open source AI agent by Nous Research, enhancing clarity and consistency across installation scripts.
- Added a new `skill_manager_tool` to enable agents to create, update, and delete their own skills, enhancing procedural memory capabilities.
- Updated the skills directory structure to support user-created skills in `~/.hermes/skills/`, allowing for better organization and management.
- Enhanced the CLI and documentation to reflect the new skill management functionalities, including detailed instructions on creating and modifying skills.
- Implemented a manifest-based syncing mechanism for bundled skills to ensure user modifications are preserved during updates.
- Introduced a new function to check for configured messaging platform tokens and prompt the user to start the gateway.
- Updated the installation scripts to automatically start the gateway if messaging tokens are detected, enhancing user experience.
- Expanded the README to include instructions for starting the gateway, ensuring users are informed about the necessary steps for message handling.
- Updated the doctor script to load environment variables from user-specific and project-specific `.env` files, improving configuration management.
- Added checks for the existence of the `SOUL.md` persona file, providing feedback on its status and creating it with a template if missing.
- Enhanced install scripts to create the `SOUL.md` file if it doesn't exist, ensuring users can easily customize the agent's personality.
- Integrated `uv` as a fast Python package manager for automatic Python provisioning and dependency management.
- Updated installation scripts (`setup-hermes.sh`, `install.sh`, `install.ps1`) to utilize `uv` for installing Python and packages, streamlining the setup process.
- Revised `README.md` to reflect changes in installation steps, including symlinking `hermes` for global access and clarifying Python version requirements.
- Adjusted commands in `doctor.py` and other scripts to recommend `uv` for package installations, ensuring consistency across the project.
- Added `prompt_toolkit` as a direct dependency for interactive CLI support.
- Updated `modal` optional dependency to require `swe-rex[modal]>=1.4.0` for improved cloud execution capabilities.
- Enhanced `messaging` optional dependencies to include `aiohttp>=3.9.0` for WhatsApp bridge communication.
- Refined installation scripts to check for Python version requirements, emphasizing the need for Python 3.11+ for RL training tools.
- Improved setup scripts to ensure proper installation of submodules and dependencies, enhancing user experience during setup.
- Introduced file manipulation capabilities in `model_tools.py`, including functions for reading, writing, patching, and searching files.
- Added a new `file` toolset in `toolsets.py` and updated distributions to include file tools.
- Enhanced `setup-hermes.sh` and `install.sh` scripts to check for and optionally install `ripgrep` for faster file searching.
- Implemented a new `file_operations.py` module to encapsulate file operations using shell commands.
- Updated `doctor.py` and `install.ps1` to check for `ripgrep` and provide installation guidance if not found.
- Added fuzzy matching and patch parsing capabilities to improve file manipulation accuracy and flexibility.
- Modified `model_tools.py` to update default model IDs and add new RL function `rl_test_inference`.
- Enhanced `README.md` with installation instructions for submodules and updated API key usage.
- Improved `rl_cli.py` to load configuration from `~/.hermes/config.yaml` and set terminal working directory for RL tools.
- Updated `run_agent.py` to handle empty string arguments as empty objects for better JSON validation.
- Refined installation scripts to ensure submodules are cloned and installed correctly, enhancing setup experience.
- Updated the setup wizard and installation scripts to standardize the configuration file paths under ~/.hermes, enhancing clarity for users.
- Improved messaging in the CLI to clearly indicate where configuration files and data directories are located.
- Streamlined the creation of configuration files, ensuring they are easily accessible and organized within the new directory structure.
- Updated the install script to attempt cloning via SSH first for private repositories, falling back to HTTPS if the SSH method fails.
- Added detailed error handling and user guidance for SSH key setup, improving the installation experience for users with private repositories.
- Modified the install script to include separate variables for SSH and HTTPS repository URLs, enhancing flexibility for users during the cloning process.
- This change allows users to choose their preferred method of accessing the repository, improving the overall installation experience.
- Updated CLI to load configuration from user-specific and project-specific YAML files, prioritizing user settings.
- Introduced a new command `/platforms` to display the status of connected messaging platforms (Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp).
- Implemented a gateway system for handling messaging interactions, including session management and delivery routing for cron job outputs.
- Added support for environment variable configuration and a dedicated gateway configuration file for advanced settings.
- Enhanced documentation in README.md and added a new messaging.md file to guide users on platform integrations and setup.
- Updated toolsets to include platform-specific capabilities for Telegram, Discord, and WhatsApp, ensuring secure and tailored interactions.
