hermes-agent/tools/env_probe.py
Teknium a124d16764
perf: cut first-turn time-to-first-token by ~80% (all platforms) (#59332)
Four independent pre-request stalls sat on the critical path between
prompt submission and the first streamed token, measured with cProfile
against a live process:

1. Discord capability detection (~2.0s, worst 5s): get_tool_definitions
   -> _get_dynamic_schema made a BLOCKING https call to discord.com
   inside AIAgent.__init__ for any user with DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN set, on
   every platform, every cold process. Now non-blocking: memory cache ->
   24h disk cache -> permissive default + one background detection that
   seeds the disk cache for the next process. The permissive default is
   pinned per-process so tool schemas never flip mid-conversation
   (prompt-cache safety); it mirrors the existing detection-failure
   fallback (all actions exposed, 403s enriched at call time).

2. Ollama /api/show probe (~0.3s): get_model_context_length step 5e
   POSTed to <base_url>/api/show for KNOWN providers (openrouter etc.),
   got a 404, and never cached the miss - so every fresh process paid a
   full HTTP round-trip. Known non-Ollama providers now skip the probe;
   local/custom/unknown endpoints keep the exact previous behavior.

3. env_probe subprocess sweep (~0.5s): the Python-toolchain probe ran
   4-8 subprocess calls inside the FIRST system prompt build. Now warmed
   off-thread during agent init; the prompt build hits the cache (same
   lock, so a mid-flight warm just joins instead of recomputing).

4. tools.mcp_tool import (~0.4s): the between-turns MCP refresh in
   build_turn_context imported the whole mcp package even with zero MCP
   servers configured. MCP tools can only exist if tools.mcp_tool was
   already imported (discovery/reload paths), so gate the import on
   sys.modules membership - no behavior change for MCP users.

CLI additionally pre-imports run_agent + openai off-thread during the
idle banner window (same pattern as the /model picker prewarm), hiding
the remaining ~1.5s of module imports while the user types. Fixes 1-4
apply to every interaction layer (CLI, gateway, TUI, desktop, cron).

Measured cold first turn (submit -> request dispatched, openrouter,
discord token set): 4.3s before -> 0.9s after CLI prewarm (~80%); the
agent-side non-import cost drops 2.9s -> 0.36s (init) + 0.27s (turn
prologue).
2026-07-05 21:37:33 -07:00

275 lines
9.3 KiB
Python

"""Local-environment toolchain probe for the system prompt.
When the terminal backend is local (the agent's tools run on the same
machine as Hermes itself), we surface a single deterministic line about
Python tooling state so models don't have to discover it by hitting
walls. Common failure modes this addresses:
* Hermes ships under one Python (e.g. 3.11 in a bundled venv) while the
user's login shell has a different one (e.g. 3.12 system). ``pip``
resolved from PATH may not match ``python3 -m pip``.
* The bundled-venv Python has no pip module installed → ``python3 -m
pip`` returns ``No module named pip``.
* The system Python is PEP-668 externally-managed → naive
``pip install`` fails with ``error: externally-managed-environment``.
The probe is cheap (a handful of subprocess calls, ~50ms total),
cached for the lifetime of the process, and emits **at most one
short line** when something non-default is detected. When the
environment looks normal (python3+pip both present and matched, no
PEP 668), it emits nothing — no token cost.
Remote terminal backends (docker, modal, ssh, …) are skipped: the
host's Python state is irrelevant when tools run inside a sandbox.
The sandbox has its own existing probe (``_probe_remote_backend``)
in ``agent/prompt_builder.py``.
Toggle via ``agent.environment_probe`` in config.yaml (default True).
"""
from __future__ import annotations
import logging
import os
import shutil
import subprocess
import sys
import threading
from typing import Optional
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
# Module-level cache. The probe result is deterministic for the
# lifetime of the process — Python install state doesn't change
# mid-session in any way that would matter for the system prompt.
_CACHE_LOCK = threading.Lock()
_CACHED_LINE: Optional[str] = None # None = not probed yet; "" = probed, nothing to say.
# Remote backends — keep in sync with agent/prompt_builder.py:_REMOTE_TERMINAL_BACKENDS.
# Duplicated rather than imported to avoid a circular import (prompt_builder
# imports nothing from tools).
_REMOTE_BACKENDS = frozenset({
"docker", "singularity", "modal", "daytona", "ssh", "managed_modal",
})
def _run(cmd: list[str], timeout: float = 3.0) -> tuple[int, str, str]:
"""Run a short subprocess. Returns (returncode, stdout, stderr).
Failures (binary missing, timeout, OSError) return (-1, "", "<reason>").
"""
try:
result = subprocess.run(
cmd,
capture_output=True,
text=True,
timeout=timeout,
check=False,
stdin=subprocess.DEVNULL,
)
return result.returncode, (result.stdout or "").strip(), (result.stderr or "").strip()
except FileNotFoundError:
return -1, "", "not found"
except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
return -1, "", "timeout"
except OSError as exc:
return -1, "", f"oserror: {exc}"
def _python_version_of(binary: str) -> Optional[str]:
"""Return a short version string like ``3.12.4`` for ``binary``, or None."""
if not shutil.which(binary):
return None
rc, out, err = _run([binary, "-c", "import sys; print(f'{sys.version_info.major}.{sys.version_info.minor}.{sys.version_info.micro}')"])
if rc == 0 and out:
return out
return None
def _has_pip_module(binary: str) -> bool:
"""True if ``<binary> -m pip --version`` succeeds."""
if not shutil.which(binary):
return False
rc, _out, _err = _run([binary, "-m", "pip", "--version"])
return rc == 0
def _detect_pep668(binary: str) -> bool:
"""True when ``<binary>``'s install location is PEP-668 externally-managed.
Looks for ``EXTERNALLY-MANAGED`` next to the stdlib (the marker file
Debian/Ubuntu drop in to gate naive ``pip install``).
"""
if not shutil.which(binary):
return False
code = (
"import sys, os;"
"stdlib = os.path.dirname(os.__file__);"
"marker = os.path.join(stdlib, 'EXTERNALLY-MANAGED');"
"print('yes' if os.path.exists(marker) else 'no')"
)
rc, out, _err = _run([binary, "-c", code])
return rc == 0 and out.strip() == "yes"
def _pip_python_version() -> Optional[str]:
"""If ``pip`` is on PATH, return the Python version it's bound to.
``pip --version`` output looks like::
pip 24.0 from /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/pip (python 3.12)
Returns the parenthesised version (e.g. ``"3.12"``) or None.
"""
if not shutil.which("pip"):
return None
rc, out, _err = _run(["pip", "--version"])
if rc != 0 or not out:
return None
# Parse trailing "(python X.Y)".
if "(python " in out and out.endswith(")"):
try:
tail = out.rsplit("(python ", 1)[1]
return tail[:-1].strip()
except (IndexError, AttributeError):
return None
return None
def _build_probe_line() -> str:
"""Build the one-liner. Returns "" when nothing notable is detected.
Emit only when SOMETHING is off — the goal is to save the model from
hitting an avoidable wall, not to narrate a healthy environment.
"""
# Bail out if a remote terminal backend is configured; the host's
# Python state isn't where the agent's tools run.
backend = (os.getenv("TERMINAL_ENV") or "local").strip().lower()
if backend in _REMOTE_BACKENDS:
return ""
py3_ver = _python_version_of("python3")
py_ver = _python_version_of("python") # for systems with a `python` alias
py3_has_pip = _has_pip_module("python3") if py3_ver else False
pip_bound_to = _pip_python_version()
py3_pep668 = _detect_pep668("python3") if py3_ver else False
has_uv = shutil.which("uv") is not None
# If python3 exists, has pip, has uv (or no PEP 668), and there's no
# version mismatch between `pip` and `python3` → environment is
# clean enough to stay silent. The model can discover details by
# running commands if it cares.
mismatch = bool(pip_bound_to and py3_ver and not py3_ver.startswith(pip_bound_to))
silent_conditions = (
py3_ver is not None
and py3_has_pip
and not mismatch
and (not py3_pep668 or has_uv)
)
if silent_conditions:
return ""
# Build a compact factual summary. Keep it ONE line so it doesn't
# dominate the prompt; the model is good at parsing dense info.
bits: list[str] = []
if py3_ver:
py3_bit = f"python3={py3_ver}"
if not py3_has_pip:
py3_bit += " (no pip module)"
bits.append(py3_bit)
else:
bits.append("python3=missing")
if py_ver and py_ver != py3_ver:
bits.append(f"python={py_ver}")
elif not py_ver and py3_ver:
# Common on Debian/Ubuntu — call it out so the model doesn't
# type `python` and hit "command not found".
bits.append("python=missing (use python3)")
if pip_bound_to:
if mismatch:
bits.append(f"pip→python{pip_bound_to} (mismatch)")
elif not py3_has_pip:
# pip exists but `python3 -m pip` doesn't — the script
# works but the module path doesn't.
bits.append(f"pip→python{pip_bound_to}")
elif py3_has_pip:
# `pip` not on PATH but `python3 -m pip` works.
pass
else:
bits.append("pip=missing")
if py3_pep668:
bits.append("PEP 668=yes (use venv or uv)")
if has_uv:
bits.append("uv=installed")
if not bits:
return ""
return "Python toolchain: " + ", ".join(bits) + "."
def get_environment_probe_line(*, force_refresh: bool = False) -> str:
"""Return the cached probe line (building it on first call).
Returns "" when the environment is clean — the system prompt
assembler should drop the section in that case rather than
emit an empty heading.
``force_refresh`` is for tests; real callers should never need it.
"""
global _CACHED_LINE
if force_refresh:
with _CACHE_LOCK:
_CACHED_LINE = None
if _CACHED_LINE is not None:
return _CACHED_LINE
with _CACHE_LOCK:
if _CACHED_LINE is not None: # raced
return _CACHED_LINE
try:
line = _build_probe_line()
except Exception as exc: # never let probe failure block prompt build
logger.debug("env_probe failed: %s", exc)
line = ""
_CACHED_LINE = line
return line
_warm_started = False
def warm_environment_probe_async() -> None:
"""Kick off the probe in a background thread so the first
system-prompt build doesn't pay the ~0.5s of subprocess calls
(python3/pip/PEP-668 version checks) on the time-to-first-token
critical path.
Idempotent and fail-safe. The prompt-build call to
``get_environment_probe_line`` takes the same ``_CACHE_LOCK``, so it
blocks only for whatever remains of an in-flight warm instead of
recomputing. Called from agent init (all platforms); safe to call
from anywhere.
"""
global _warm_started
if _warm_started or _CACHED_LINE is not None:
return
_warm_started = True
threading.Thread(
target=get_environment_probe_line,
name="env-probe-warm",
daemon=True,
).start()
def _reset_cache_for_tests() -> None:
"""Test helper — clear the cache between probe scenarios."""
global _CACHED_LINE, _warm_started
with _CACHE_LOCK:
_CACHED_LINE = None
_warm_started = False