The published Docker image seals the agent venv (root-owned, read-only
/opt/hermes) and sets HERMES_DISABLE_LAZY_INSTALLS=1 so a runtime install
can't mutate and brick the core. But opt-in backends (Firecrawl web search,
Exa, Feishu, ...) deliberately keep their SDKs in tools/lazy_deps.py and out
of [all] (pyproject policy 2026-05-12: one quarantined release must not break
every install). The two policies collided: the SDK isn't baked in AND can't
lazy-install, so the default Firecrawl web_search/web_extract fail out of the
box in Docker (#51136), as do Exa (#49445) and Feishu (#50205).
Fix the whole class instead of baking in one backend: when
HERMES_LAZY_INSTALL_TARGET is set, lazy installs are redirected to a writable
dir on the durable /opt/data volume via `pip/uv install --target`, and that
dir is APPENDED to the end of sys.path. Because the core venv always wins
name collisions, a package installed this way can only ADD new modules — it
can never shadow, downgrade, or break a module the core ships. The worst a
bad/incompatible backend package can do is fail to import and report itself
unavailable; the agent core stays healthy. That structural guarantee is what
made it safe to seal the venv, and it is preserved here even with installs
re-enabled.
- tools/lazy_deps.py: durable-target mode — `--target` install + core-pinned
`--constraint` file (shared deps resolve to core's versions, conflicts fail
loudly at install time), append-only sys.path activation, ABI/Python-version
stamp that wipes the store if an image rebuild bumps the interpreter, and a
reworked gate so HERMES_DISABLE_LAZY_INSTALLS=1 redirects (rather than hard-
blocks) when a target is set. security.allow_lazy_installs=false still
disables installs in every mode.
- hermes_bootstrap.py: activate the durable target on sys.path at first import
(before any backend imports its SDK) so packages installed on a previous run
are importable on this run.
- Dockerfile: set HERMES_LAZY_INSTALL_TARGET=/opt/data/lazy-packages.
- docker/stage2-hook.sh: seed + chown the dir on the data volume.
- tests: real-install E2E proving installs land in the target, import cleanly,
don't leak into the sealed venv, and that a core package is never shadowed;
ABI-stamp wipe/preserve; gate matrix; Dockerfile/stage2 contract test.
Fixes#51136
The install method (docker/git/pip/...) describes the *running binary*, but
detect_install_method() read it from $HERMES_HOME/.install_method — a shared
DATA directory. The Docker docs deliberately bind-mount $HERMES_HOME
(~/.hermes:/opt/data) so config/sessions/memory persist and can be shared with
a host-side Desktop/CLI install.
When a containerized gateway and a host install share one $HERMES_HOME, the
home-scoped stamp is a single slot describing two installs: the published image
stamps 'docker' on every boot, the host install then reads 'docker' and the
in-app updater refuses to run 'hermes update' ("doesn't apply inside the Docker
container"). Reinstalling the Desktop app from the DMG doesn't help because the
contaminated stamp is re-read every time.
Fix (option 1 — code-scoped stamp):
- detect_install_method() reads <install tree>/.install_method first (next to
the running code, immune to the shared data dir). It falls back to the legacy
$HERMES_HOME stamp for back-compat, but IGNORES a 'docker' home stamp when
not actually containerized — so already-poisoned shared homes self-heal.
- stamp_install_method() writes the code-scoped stamp.
- install.sh stamps $INSTALL_DIR instead of $HERMES_HOME.
- Dockerfile bakes 'docker' into /opt/hermes/.install_method at build time
(inside the immutable block); stage2-hook.sh no longer writes the home stamp
and proactively removes a stale 'docker' one to heal existing shared homes.
Genuine containers still resolve to 'docker' (baked stamp, or legacy home stamp
honored when containerized). Unstamped installs in generic containers still fall
through to git/pip (preserves the #34397 fix).
