hermes-agent/hermes_cli
Teknium 3db6b9cc87
feat(cron): add no_agent mode for script-only cron jobs (watchdog pattern) (#19709)
* feat(cron): add no_agent mode for script-only cron jobs (watchdog pattern)

Adds a no_agent=True option to the cronjob system. When enabled, the
scheduler runs the attached script on schedule and delivers its stdout
directly to the job's target — no LLM, no agent loop, no token spend.
This is the classic bash-watchdog pattern (memory alert every 5 min,
disk alert every 15 min, CI ping) reimplemented as a first-class Hermes
primitive instead of a systemd timer + curl + bot token triplet living
outside the system.

## What

  hermes cron create "every 5m" \
    --no-agent \
    --script memory-watchdog.sh \
    --deliver telegram \
    --name memory-watchdog

Agent tool:

  cronjob(action='create',
          schedule='every 5m',
          script='memory-watchdog.sh',
          no_agent=True,
          deliver='telegram')

Semantics:
- Script stdout (trimmed) → delivered verbatim as the message
- Empty stdout          → silent tick (no delivery; watchdog pattern)
- wakeAgent=false gate  → silent tick (same gate LLM jobs use)
- Non-zero exit/timeout → delivered as an error alert
                          (broken watchdogs shouldn't fail silently)
- No LLM ever invoked; no tokens spent; no provider fallback applied

## Implementation

cron/jobs.py
  * create_job gains no_agent: bool = False
  * prompt becomes Optional (no_agent jobs don't need one)
  * Validation: no_agent=True requires a script at create time
  * Field roundtrips via load_jobs / save_jobs / update_job

cron/scheduler.py
  * run_job: new short-circuit branch at the top that runs the script,
    wraps its output into the (success, doc, final_response, error)
    tuple downstream delivery already expects, and returns before any
    AIAgent import or construction
  * _run_job_script: picks interpreter by extension — .sh/.bash run
    under /bin/bash, anything else under sys.executable (Python).
    Shell support unlocks the bash-watchdog pattern without wrapping
    scripts in Python. Extension is explicit; we deliberately do NOT
    trust the file's own shebang. Path-containment guard (scripts dir)
    unchanged.

tools/cronjob_tools.py
  * Schema: new no_agent boolean property with clear trigger guidance
  * cronjob() accepts no_agent and validates mode-specific shape:
    - no_agent=True requires script; prompt/skills optional
    - no_agent=False keeps the existing 'prompt or skill required' rule
  * update path rejects flipping no_agent=True on a job without a script
  * _format_job surfaces no_agent in list output
  * Handler lambda forwards no_agent from tool args

hermes_cli/main.py, hermes_cli/cron.py
  * 'hermes cron create --no-agent' and edit's --no-agent / --agent
    pair for toggling at CLI parity with the agent tool
  * Existing --script help text updated to describe both modes
  * List / create / edit output now shows 'Mode: no-agent (...)' when set

## Tests

tests/cron/test_cron_no_agent.py — 18 tests covering:
  * create_job: no_agent shape, validation, field persistence
  * update_job: flag roundtrip across reload
  * cronjob tool: schema validation, update toggling, mode-specific
    requirements, prompt-relaxation rule
  * run_job short-circuit:
    - success path delivers stdout verbatim
    - empty stdout → SILENT_MARKER (no delivery downstream)
    - wakeAgent=false gate → silent
    - script failure → error alert
    - run_job does NOT import AIAgent (verified via mock)
  * _run_job_script:
    - .sh executes via bash (no shebang required)
    - .bash executes via bash
    - .py still runs via sys.executable (regression)
    - path-traversal still blocked (security regression)

All 18 new tests pass. 341/342 pre-existing cron tests still pass; the
one failure (test_script_empty_output_noted) was already broken on main
and is unrelated to this change.

## Docs

website/docs/guides/cron-script-only.md — new dedicated guide covering
the watchdog pattern, interpreter rules, delivery mapping, worked
examples (memory / disk alerts), and the comparison table vs hermes send,
regular LLM cron jobs, and OS-level cron.

website/docs/user-guide/features/cron.md — new 'No-agent mode' section
in the cron feature reference, cross-linked to the guide.

website/docs/guides/automate-with-cron.md — new tip box pointing users
to no-agent mode when they don't need LLM reasoning.

## Compatibility

- Existing jobs: unchanged. no_agent defaults to False, existing code
  paths untouched until the flag is set.
- Schema additive only; older jobs.json without the field load fine
  via .get() with False default.
- New CLI flags are opt-in and don't alter existing flag behavior.

* fix(cron): lazy-import AIAgent + SessionDB so no_agent ticks pay zero

The unconditional `from run_agent import AIAgent` + SessionDB() init at
the top of run_job() meant every no_agent tick still paid the full agent
module load cost (~300ms + transitive imports + DB open) even though it
never touched any of that machinery.

Move both to live under the default (LLM) path, after the no_agent
short-circuit has returned. Now a no_agent tick's sys.modules stays
clean — verified end-to-end:

    assert 'run_agent' not in sys.modules  # before
    run_job(no_agent_job)
    assert 'run_agent' not in sys.modules  # after

The existing mock-based unit test (test_run_job_no_agent_never_invokes_aiagent)
kept passing because patch() replaces the class AFTER import; the leak
was only visible via real subprocess-style verification. End-to-end
demo confirmed: agent calls cronjob(no_agent=True) → script runs →
stdout delivered → no LLM machinery loaded.

* docs(cron): tighten no_agent tool schema — defaults, silent semantics, pick rule

Previous description buried the important bits in one long sentence.
Agents could plausibly miss three things an LLM-facing schema should
make unmissable:

1. What the default is — now first sentence + JSON Schema `default: false`
2. What 'silent run' actually means for the user — now spelled out:
   'nothing is sent to the user and they won't see anything happened'
3. When to pick True vs False — now a concrete decision rule with
   examples on both sides (watchdogs/metrics/pollers → True;
   summarize/draft/pick/rephrase → False)

Also adds explicit 'prompt and skills are ignored when True' since the
agent could otherwise still pass them out of habit.

No behavior change — schema text only.
2026-05-04 12:31:01 -07:00
..
__init__.py fix(windows): enforce UTF-8 stdout/stderr to prevent UnicodeEncodeError crash 2026-05-03 16:58:25 -07:00
_parser.py refactor(cli): derive relaunch flag table from argparse introspection 2026-04-29 20:33:29 -07:00
auth.py feat(nous): persist Nous OAuth across profiles via shared token store (#19712) 2026-05-04 04:54:55 -07:00
auth_commands.py feat(nous): persist Nous OAuth across profiles via shared token store (#19712) 2026-05-04 04:54:55 -07:00
azure_detect.py chore: remove unused imports and dead locals (ruff F401, F841) (#17010) 2026-04-28 06:46:45 -07:00
backup.py fix(backup): floor pre-update backup_keep to 1 so the new backup survives 2026-05-04 05:07:13 -07:00
banner.py fix(banner): show correct update status on nix-built hermes (#17550) 2026-04-30 07:03:00 +05:30
browser_connect.py fix(browser): address Copilot review on /browser connect 2026-04-28 22:11:10 -07:00
callbacks.py fix: ESC cancels secret/sudo prompts, clearer skip messaging (#9902) 2026-04-14 16:11:37 -07:00
claw.py feat(claw-migrate): harden OpenClaw import with plan-first apply, redaction, and pre-migration backup (#16911) 2026-04-28 01:50:23 -07:00
cli_output.py refactor: remove dead code — 1,784 lines across 77 files (#9180) 2026-04-13 16:32:04 -07:00
clipboard.py feat: fix img pasting in new ink plus newline after tools 2026-04-11 13:14:32 -05:00
codex_models.py feat(codex): add gpt-5.5 and wire live model discovery into picker (#14720) 2026-04-23 13:32:43 -07:00
colors.py feat: respect NO_COLOR env var and TERM=dumb (#4079) 2026-03-30 17:07:21 -07:00
commands.py feat(telegram): /topic off + help + auth gate + screenshot debounce 2026-05-04 12:07:17 -07:00
completion.py fix: preserve profile name completion in dynamic shell completion 2026-04-14 10:45:42 -07:00
config.py fix(backup): floor pre-update backup_keep to 1 so the new backup survives 2026-05-04 05:07:13 -07:00
copilot_auth.py fix(copilot): exchange raw GitHub token for Copilot API JWT 2026-04-24 05:09:08 -07:00
cron.py feat(cron): add no_agent mode for script-only cron jobs (watchdog pattern) (#19709) 2026-05-04 12:31:01 -07:00
curator.py fix(curator): authoritative absorbed_into on delete + restore cron skill links on rollback (#18671) (#18731) 2026-05-02 01:29:57 -07:00
curses_ui.py fix: treat ctrl-c as curses cancel 2026-05-04 01:36:44 -07:00
debug.py fix(debug): redact log content at upload time in hermes debug share 2026-05-03 11:42:20 -07:00
default_soul.py fix: reset default SOUL.md to baseline identity text (#3159) 2026-03-26 01:34:27 -07:00
dingtalk_auth.py chore: remove unused imports and dead locals (ruff F401, F841) (#17010) 2026-04-28 06:46:45 -07:00
doctor.py fix(doctor): check global agent-browser when local install not found 2026-05-04 03:13:22 -07:00
dump.py refactor(redact): canonical mask_secret helper; fix status.py DIM drift (#17207) 2026-04-28 21:04:35 -07:00
env_loader.py refactor: consolidate symlink-safe atomic replace into shared helper 2026-04-28 04:58:22 -07:00
fallback_cmd.py feat(cli): add 'hermes fallback' command to manage fallback providers (#16052) 2026-04-26 06:19:04 -07:00
gateway.py fix(gateway): show friendly error when service is not installed 2026-05-04 04:49:51 -07:00
goals.py feat: /goal — persistent cross-turn goals (Ralph loop) (#18262) 2026-04-30 23:10:20 -07:00
hooks.py chore: remove unused imports and dead locals (ruff F401, F841) (#17010) 2026-04-28 06:46:45 -07:00
kanban.py feat(kanban): multi-project boards — one install, many kanbans (#19653) 2026-05-04 04:42:38 -07:00
kanban_db.py fix(profiles): normalize profile IDs for Kanban assignees and lookups 2026-05-04 04:44:37 -07:00
logs.py feat: component-separated logging with session context and filtering (#7991) 2026-04-11 17:23:36 -07:00
main.py feat(cron): add no_agent mode for script-only cron jobs (watchdog pattern) (#19709) 2026-05-04 12:31:01 -07:00
mcp_config.py refactor(config): migrate remaining 33 cfg_get call sites (#17311) 2026-04-29 04:03:03 -07:00
memory_setup.py fix(cli): decode .env as UTF-8 to avoid GBK crash on Windows 2026-05-02 01:40:31 -07:00
model_catalog.py chore: remove unused imports and dead locals (ruff F401, F841) (#17010) 2026-04-28 06:46:45 -07:00
model_normalize.py feat(minimax-oauth): full integration with peer OAuth providers 2026-04-29 09:53:42 -07:00
model_switch.py fix(model-picker): exclude providers with empty credential pool entries 2026-05-04 03:12:12 -07:00
models.py fix(anthropic): restrict fast mode to Opus 4.6 (Anthropic API contract) 2026-05-04 06:23:52 -07:00
nous_subscription.py fix(cli): coerce use_gateway config flags in tool routing 2026-04-26 19:02:55 -07:00
oneshot.py fix(tui): honor launch toolsets (#17623) 2026-04-29 16:55:27 -07:00
pairing.py fix(pairing): handle null user_name in pairing list display 2026-04-23 02:34:11 -07:00
platforms.py feat: complete plugin platform parity — all 12 integration points 2026-04-29 21:56:51 -07:00
plugins.py fix(plugins): bound async plugin command await with 30s timeout 2026-04-30 19:56:18 -07:00
plugins_cmd.py feat(dashboard): add Plugins page with enable/disable, auth status, install/remove 2026-04-30 20:29:37 -04:00
profiles.py fix(profiles): keep validate_profile_name strict; callers normalize first 2026-05-04 04:44:37 -07:00
providers.py fix: prevent bare 'custom' slug in model.provider (#17478) 2026-04-30 04:32:11 -07:00
pty_bridge.py fix(pty): default TERM for resize probes 2026-05-04 02:38:54 -07:00
relaunch.py remove relaunch_chat 2026-04-29 20:33:29 -07:00
runtime_provider.py fix(fallback): let custom_providers shadow built-in aliases 2026-04-30 20:18:44 -07:00
setup.py fix(setup): skip AUXILIARY_VISION_MODEL write when input is blank 2026-05-04 02:41:47 -07:00
skills_config.py refactor(config): migrate remaining 33 cfg_get call sites (#17311) 2026-04-29 04:03:03 -07:00
skills_hub.py feat(skills): install skills from a direct HTTP(S) URL (#16323) 2026-04-26 20:57:10 -07:00
skin_engine.py fix(tui): restore macOS copy behavior and theme polish (#17131) 2026-04-28 18:47:14 -05:00
slack_cli.py fix(paths): route achievements plugin + profile-tui through HERMES_HOME 2026-04-30 23:21:54 -07:00
status.py fix(status): add missing popular provider API keys to hermes status display 2026-05-04 05:14:13 -07:00
timeouts.py refactor(timeouts): drop redundant ImportError in except clause 2026-04-26 20:48:20 -07:00
tips.py feat(tips): add cost-saving tips from April 30 tip-of-the-day (#17841) 2026-04-30 02:30:36 -07:00
tools_config.py fix(cli): sync use_gateway in _reconfigure_provider for tts, browser, and web 2026-05-04 02:33:55 -07:00
uninstall.py feat(uninstall): offer to remove named profiles when uninstalling from default 2026-04-18 19:18:13 -07:00
vercel_auth.py feat: add Vercel Sandbox backend 2026-04-29 07:22:33 -07:00
voice.py fix(tui): ignore SIGPIPE so stderr back-pressure can't kill the gateway 2026-04-23 16:18:15 -07:00
web_server.py feat(docker): launch dashboard as side-process via HERMES_DASHBOARD=1 2026-05-04 15:37:27 +10:00
webhook.py refactor(config): migrate remaining 33 cfg_get call sites (#17311) 2026-04-29 04:03:03 -07:00