# Delegation Readiness Doctor Turn Hermes delegation from an assumed capability into a provable readiness surface. ## Outcome narrow week-one claim: confirm the live delegation-readiness gap, then replace it with one canonical audit-to-fix path that ends in a successful delegated run. ## Who this is for - Hermes operators - AI builders using subagents for parallel work - anyone who loses leverage because delegation looks available until it silently fails ## Current live wedge The original wedge was a stubbed delegation readiness check. That gap is now closed in live code: - `tools/delegate_tool.py` now implements `check_delegate_requirements()` via a real config-aware readiness check - `hermes_cli/doctor.py` now exposes a canonical `◆ Delegation Readiness` section This starter kit now packages the proof line, not just the kickoff gap, so the ship claim stays honest after implementation lands. ## Canonical proof path 1. treat `scripts/verify-current-gap.sh` as the historical kickoff verifier for the original stubbed-check gap 2. run `python -m hermes_cli.main doctor` and confirm `◆ Delegation Readiness` reports the live state 3. run `scripts/prove-broken-state-roundtrip.sh` to prove blocked → ready from an isolated temporary `HERMES_HOME` 4. run one real `delegate_task` proof from the live ready environment 5. freeze the ship/package decision in a durable artifact ## Folder layout - `scripts/verify-current-gap.sh` — current-gap verifier that writes a durable report - `scripts/prove-broken-state-roundtrip.sh` — isolated blocked→ready doctor roundtrip proof that leaves the real `~/.hermes/config.yaml` untouched - `scripts/emit-pr-review-monitor.sh` — live GitHub PR monitor for the clean upstream handoff surface - `scripts/emit-ci-result-interpreter.sh` — fail-closed first-CI interpreter that maps the first real check-run result back to the clean local proof line - `scripts/emit-workflow-approval-brief.sh` — blocker-specific brief for the current fork-workflow approval gate - `scripts/emit-workflow-approval-state-change.sh` — state-change detector; surfaces blocker-clear transitions vs. persist states so automation knows when maintainer approval happened without manual snapshot comparison - `scripts/emit-workflow-approval-trigger.sh` — posting-state-aware nudge/approval packet for the repeated fork-workflow approval stall; prints `WORKFLOW_APPROVAL_TRIGGER_ALREADY_POSTED` when the maintainer request is already live so automation does not mistake a reference-only packet for a fresh action - `scripts/sync-reviewer-handoff-baseline.sh` — keeps `latest-reviewer-handoff.md` aligned to the live PR head/base before state-change detection; polls GitHub mergeability before writing so the handoff does not regress to first-response `mergeability unknown` noise - `scripts/refresh-upstream-blocker-packet.sh` — one-command refresh that syncs the reviewer handoff, reruns the state-change detector, PR monitor, CI interpreter, and approval trigger together, then emits a consolidated blocker packet from the same live PR state; prints `UPSTREAM_BLOCKER_PACKET_UNCHANGED` when the blocker signature is materially identical to the previous latest packet so cron can distinguish revalidation from a real transition; unchanged runs restore prior `latest-*` files and delete just-created timestamped component artifacts so approval-wait cron passes do not dirty the workspace with no-movement files - `scripts/validate-artifact-consistency.sh` — fail-closed consistency check that requires every canonical blocker artifact to record the same live head/base pair before the packet is trusted - `artifacts/latest-current-gap-report.md` — most recent proof packet emitted by the gap verifier - `artifacts/latest-broken-state-roundtrip.md` — canonical blocked-state proof packet with before/after doctor output - `artifacts/latest-pr-review-monitor.md` — canonical live review/merge monitor for PR `#14297` - `artifacts/latest-ci-result-interpreter.md` — first-CI decision surface that fail-closes until real check runs exist, then routes pass/fail signals back to the proof artifacts - `artifacts/latest-workflow-approval-brief.md` — exact maintainer action surface when GitHub Actions suites stay `action_required` with `0` check runs - `artifacts/latest-workflow-approval-state-change.md` — state-change detector; records previous vs current action_required suite count and check-run count so automation can detect when the blocker cleared vs still persists - `artifacts/latest-workflow-approval-trigger.md` — posting-state-aware maintainer nudge/reference packet + exact approval/recheck surfaces for the current head SHA - `artifacts/latest-reviewer-handoff.md` — blocker-specific maintainer brief that maps the PR diff to proof, verification commands, and merge criteria - `artifacts/latest-upstream-blocker-refresh.md` — consolidated one-command blocker packet used by recurring momentum blocks to decide whether the blocker changed, stayed external, or needs current-base refresh ## Fast start From the Hermes repo root: ```bash python -m hermes_cli.main doctor bash starter-kits/delegation-readiness-doctor/scripts/prove-broken-state-roundtrip.sh bash starter-kits/delegation-readiness-doctor/scripts/emit-pr-review-monitor.sh bash starter-kits/delegation-readiness-doctor/scripts/emit-ci-result-interpreter.sh bash starter-kits/delegation-readiness-doctor/scripts/emit-workflow-approval-brief.sh bash starter-kits/delegation-readiness-doctor/scripts/emit-workflow-approval-state-change.sh bash starter-kits/delegation-readiness-doctor/scripts/emit-workflow-approval-trigger.sh bash starter-kits/delegation-readiness-doctor/scripts/refresh-upstream-blocker-packet.sh ``` Historical kickoff verifier: ```bash bash starter-kits/delegation-readiness-doctor/scripts/verify-current-gap.sh ``` Expected results right now: - `python -m hermes_cli.main doctor` includes `◆ Delegation Readiness` - the roundtrip verifier exits successfully, writes a timestamped markdown report under `starter-kits/delegation-readiness-doctor/artifacts/`, and prints `BROKEN_STATE_ROUNDTRIP_PROVED` - the historical gap verifier now exits non-zero because the original unconditional-stub gap is no longer present That failure is honest evidence that the MVP moved past the kickoff gap and should now be judged on the readiness + roundtrip + delegated-run proof line. ## Honest Monday artifact freeze What is now frozen on disk: - the product thesis and scope - the exact live blocker to attack first - one executable verifier entrypoint that proves the blocker is real ## Week-one non-goals - full delegation UX redesign - multi-provider credential orchestration cleanup - dashboard/control-plane expansion - claiming delegation is fixed before one real delegated run passes