The shipped tri-state write_mode (on|off|approve) conflated two concepts —
whether writes are enabled and whether they're gated — so 'on' (writes flow
freely, gate inactive) read like 'gating is on'. Replace it with a single
clear boolean gate that defaults off.
memory.write_approval / skills.write_approval:
false (default) — write freely; the approval gate is off (pre-gate behaviour)
true — require approval: memory foreground prompts inline, memory
background-review + all skill writes stage for review
The old 'off = block all writes' mode is dropped; memory_enabled: false already
disables memory entirely, so a third 'block' state was redundant.
- tools/write_approval.py: get_write_mode/MODE_* → write_approval_enabled() bool;
evaluate_gate() loses the config-driven 'blocked' path (blocked now only comes
from an interactive user denial).
- tools/memory_tool.py, tools/skill_manager_tool.py: comment + behaviour follow.
- hermes_cli/config.py: memory/skills write_mode → write_approval (False);
_config_version 28→29 with a 28→29 migration that renames any persisted
write_mode (approve→true, on/off/unset→false) and drops the old key.
- slash commands: '/memory|/skills mode <on|off|approve>' → 'approval <on|off>'
('mode' kept as a back-compat alias); set_mode_fn callback now takes a bool.
- write_approval_commands.py, cli_commands_mixin.py, gateway/slash_commands.py,
commands.py: handlers + registry args/subcommands updated.
- docs + tests rewritten for the boolean model; added migration tests.
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