fix(curator): defer first run and add --dry-run preview (#18373)#18389
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Curator was meant to run 7 days after install, not on the very first gateway tick. On a fresh install (no .curator_state), should_run_now() returned True immediately because last_run_at was None — so the gateway cron ticker fired Curator against a fresh skill library moments after 'hermes update'. Combined with the binary 'agent-created' provenance model (anything not bundled and not hub-installed), this consolidated hand-authored user workflow skills without consent. Changes: - should_run_now(): first observation seeds last_run_at='now' and returns False. The next real pass fires one full interval_hours later (7 days by default), matching the original design intent. - hermes curator run --dry-run: produces the same review report without applying automatic transitions OR permitting the LLM to call skill_manage / terminal mv. A DRY-RUN banner is prepended to the prompt and the caller skips apply_automatic_transitions. State is NOT advanced so a preview doesn't defer the next scheduled real pass. - hermes update: prints a one-liner on fresh installs pointing at --dry-run, pause, and the docs. Silent on steady state. - Docs: curator.md and cli-commands.md explain the deferred first-run behavior and warn that hand-written SKILL.md files share the 'agent-created' bucket, with guidance to pin or preview before the first pass. Tests: - test_first_run_defers replaces the old 'first run always eligible' assertion — same fixture, inverted expectation. - test_maybe_run_curator_defers_on_fresh_install covers the gateway tick path end-to-end. - Three new dry-run tests cover state-advance suppression, prompt banner injection, and apply_automatic_transitions skipping. Fixes #18373.
alt-glitch
added
type/bug
Every real curator pass now snapshots ~/.hermes/skills/ into
~/.hermes/skills/.curator_backups/<utc-iso>/skills.tar.gz before calling
apply_automatic_transitions or the LLM review. If a run consolidates or
archives something the user didn't want touched, 'hermes curator
rollback' restores the tree in one command. Dry-run is skipped — no
mutation means no snapshot needed.
Changes:
- agent/curator_backup.py (new): tar.gz snapshot + safe rollback. The
snapshot excludes .curator_backups/ (would recurse) and .hub/ (managed
by the skills hub). Extract refuses absolute paths and .. components,
and uses tarfile's filter='data' on Python 3.12+. Rollback takes a
pre-rollback safety snapshot FIRST, stages the current tree into
.rollback-staging-<ts>/ so the extract lands in an empty dir, and
cleans the staging dir on success. A failed extract restores the
staged contents.
- agent/curator.py: run_curator_review() calls curator_backup.
snapshot_skills(reason='pre-curator-run') before apply_automatic_
transitions. Best-effort — a failed snapshot logs at debug and the
run continues (a transient disk issue shouldn't silently disable
curator forever).
- hermes_cli/curator.py: new 'hermes curator backup' and 'hermes curator
rollback' subcommands. rollback supports --list, --id <ts>, -y.
- hermes_cli/config.py: curator.backup.{enabled, keep} config block
with sane defaults (enabled=true, keep=5).
- Docs: curator.md gets a 'Backups and rollback' section; cli-commands
.md table gets the new rows.
Tests (new file tests/agent/test_curator_backup.py, 16 cases):
- snapshot creates tarball + manifest with correct counts
- snapshot excludes .curator_backups/ (recursion guard) and .hub/
- snapshot disabled via config returns None without creating anything
- snapshot uniquifies ids within the same second (-01 suffix)
- prune honors keep count, newest-first
- list_backups + _resolve_backup cover newest-default and unknown-id
- rollback restores a deleted skill with content intact
- rollback is itself undoable — safety snapshot shows up in list_backups
- rollback with no snapshots returns an error
- rollback refuses tarballs with absolute paths or .. components
- real curator runs take a 'pre-curator-run' snapshot; dry-runs do not
All curator tests: 210 passing locally.
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May 11, 2026
…#18373) (NousResearch#18389) * fix(curator): defer first run and add --dry-run preview (NousResearch#18373) Curator was meant to run 7 days after install, not on the very first gateway tick. On a fresh install (no .curator_state), should_run_now() returned True immediately because last_run_at was None — so the gateway cron ticker fired Curator against a fresh skill library moments after 'hermes update'. Combined with the binary 'agent-created' provenance model (anything not bundled and not hub-installed), this consolidated hand-authored user workflow skills without consent. Changes: - should_run_now(): first observation seeds last_run_at='now' and returns False. The next real pass fires one full interval_hours later (7 days by default), matching the original design intent. - hermes curator run --dry-run: produces the same review report without applying automatic transitions OR permitting the LLM to call skill_manage / terminal mv. A DRY-RUN banner is prepended to the prompt and the caller skips apply_automatic_transitions. State is NOT advanced so a preview doesn't defer the next scheduled real pass. - hermes update: prints a one-liner on fresh installs pointing at --dry-run, pause, and the docs. Silent on steady state. - Docs: curator.md and cli-commands.md explain the deferred first-run behavior and warn that hand-written SKILL.md files share the 'agent-created' bucket, with guidance to pin or preview before the first pass. Tests: - test_first_run_defers replaces the old 'first run always eligible' assertion — same fixture, inverted expectation. - test_maybe_run_curator_defers_on_fresh_install covers the gateway tick path end-to-end. - Three new dry-run tests cover state-advance suppression, prompt banner injection, and apply_automatic_transitions skipping. Fixes NousResearch#18373. * feat(curator): pre-run backup + rollback (NousResearch#18373) Every real curator pass now snapshots ~/.hermes/skills/ into ~/.hermes/skills/.curator_backups/<utc-iso>/skills.tar.gz before calling apply_automatic_transitions or the LLM review. If a run consolidates or archives something the user didn't want touched, 'hermes curator rollback' restores the tree in one command. Dry-run is skipped — no mutation means no snapshot needed. Changes: - agent/curator_backup.py (new): tar.gz snapshot + safe rollback. The snapshot excludes .curator_backups/ (would recurse) and .hub/ (managed by the skills hub). Extract refuses absolute paths and .. components, and uses tarfile's filter='data' on Python 3.12+. Rollback takes a pre-rollback safety snapshot FIRST, stages the current tree into .rollback-staging-<ts>/ so the extract lands in an empty dir, and cleans the staging dir on success. A failed extract restores the staged contents. - agent/curator.py: run_curator_review() calls curator_backup. snapshot_skills(reason='pre-curator-run') before apply_automatic_ transitions. Best-effort — a failed snapshot logs at debug and the run continues (a transient disk issue shouldn't silently disable curator forever). - hermes_cli/curator.py: new 'hermes curator backup' and 'hermes curator rollback' subcommands. rollback supports --list, --id <ts>, -y. - hermes_cli/config.py: curator.backup.{enabled, keep} config block with sane defaults (enabled=true, keep=5). - Docs: curator.md gets a 'Backups and rollback' section; cli-commands .md table gets the new rows. Tests (new file tests/agent/test_curator_backup.py, 16 cases): - snapshot creates tarball + manifest with correct counts - snapshot excludes .curator_backups/ (recursion guard) and .hub/ - snapshot disabled via config returns None without creating anything - snapshot uniquifies ids within the same second (-01 suffix) - prune honors keep count, newest-first - list_backups + _resolve_backup cover newest-default and unknown-id - rollback restores a deleted skill with content intact - rollback is itself undoable — safety snapshot shows up in list_backups - rollback with no snapshots returns an error - rollback refuses tarballs with absolute paths or .. components - real curator runs take a 'pre-curator-run' snapshot; dry-runs do not All curator tests: 210 passing locally.
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Summary
Curator no longer auto-mutates a fresh skill library on the first gateway tick after
hermes update. First observation seedslast_run_at='now'and defers the first real pass by one fullinterval_hours(7 days by default), matching the original design intent.hermes curator run --dry-runpreviews what a pass would do without touching anything.Root cause:
should_run_now()returnedTruewhenlast_run_atwasNone, so the gateway cron ticker (maybe_run_curator(idle_for_seconds=inf, …)) fired immediately on fresh installs. Combined with the binary 'agent-created' provenance model (anything not bundled and not hub-installed), this consolidated hand-authored user workflow skills without consent — exactly what #18373 reported.Changes
agent/curator.py:should_run_now()seeds state and returnsFalseon first observation.run_curator_review()acceptsdry_run=True— skipsapply_automatic_transitions, prepends a DRY-RUN banner to the LLM prompt ("DO NOT call skill_manage / terminal mv"), and does not advancelast_run_atorrun_count. NewCURATOR_DRY_RUN_BANNERconstant.hermes_cli/curator.py:hermes curator run --dry-runflag wired through. Dry-run output is labeled and instructs the user how to follow up.hermes_cli/main.py:_print_curator_first_run_notice()prints a short heads-up afterhermes update— only when curator is enabled AND has never run. Silent otherwise. Called from bothcmd_updatepaths.tests/agent/test_curator.py: oldtest_first_run_always_eligiblereplaced withtest_first_run_defers(same fixture, inverted expectation). Newtest_maybe_run_curator_defers_on_fresh_installcovers the gateway tick path. Three dry-run tests: state-advance suppression, prompt-banner injection,apply_automatic_transitionsskipping.website/docs/user-guide/features/curator.mdgets an:::info First-run behavioradmonition and a:::warningspelling out that hand-writtenSKILL.mdfiles share the 'agent-created' bucket.website/docs/reference/cli-commands.mdadds the--dry-runrow.Validation
maybe_run_curator(idle=inf)on fresh installNone, seeds state, silentshould_run_now()whenlast_run_at=NoneTrueFalse(seeds and defers)hermes curator run --dry-runlast_run_athermes updateoutput on fresh installℹ Skill curatornotice with preview commandE2E: ran the exact gateway call (
maybe_run_curator(idle_for_seconds=float('inf'))) against an isolated temp HERMES_HOME with a user-authored SKILL.md — confirmed the skill survives the first two ticks,.archiveis never created,should_run_now()opens the gate only after 8 days, and a dry-run pass produces a banner-carrying prompt with no state advance.Fixes #18373.