Procedural manuals, distilled heuristics, host-specific reality, and dynamic ops guides.
SKILL πͺ Procedural Manual
Actionable API/tool logic utilizing progressive disclosure (reads YAML frontmatter, loads body on-demand).
Skill Anatomy
~/.hermes/skills/<category>/<skill-name>/
βββ SKILL.md # Full executable workflow (YAML frontmatter + markdown)
βββ references/ # Supporting docs (API specs, patterns, pitfalls)
β βββ api.md
β βββ patterns.md
β βββ pitfalls.md
βββ templates/ # Reusable templates
β βββ config.yaml.tmpl
βββ scripts/ # Automation scripts
β βββ validate.py
βββ assets/ # Static assets
βββ icon.png
Frontmatter Schema
---
name: "skill-name"
version: "1.0.0"
category: "devops|frontend|docs|mlops|..."
description: "One-line purpose"
triggers:
- "user asks about X"
- "task involves Y"
toolsets: ["terminal", "file", "web", "browser"]
pitfalls:
- "Common mistake 1"
- "Common mistake 2"
verification:
- "How to confirm success"
---Progressive Disclosure
| Load Stage | Content | Token Cost |
|---|---|---|
| List | skills_list() β name + description only | ~50 |
| View | skill_view(name) β frontmatter + body | ~2K |
| Reference | skill_view(name, file_path='references/x.md') | ~1K |
Skill Lifecycle
graph LR A[Create] --> B[Test] B --> C[Patch on issues] C --> D[Pin if critical] D --> E[Prune if stale]
Current Active Skills (7 with SKILL.md)
| Skill | Category | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
hermes-essentials | hermes-essentials | Core config, debugging, planning, TDD |
superpower-pipeline | superpower-pipeline | Research + web search pipeline |
superpower-research | superpower-research | Deep research automation |
omp-suite | omp-suite | OMP plugin agent |
hugo-llm-wiki | hugo-llm-wiki | Hugo docs site patterns (cron-loaded) |
thermo-nuclear-code-quality-review | thermo-nuclear-code-quality-review | Strict maintainability review |
transcript-extract | transcript-extract | Extract transcripts from URLs |
PROCEDURES π§ Learned Dispositions
Distilled records of effective strategies and heuristic patterns extracted from past experiences.
Format
## Procedure: <name>
**Context**: When this applies
**Pattern**: The heuristic (if X, then Y)
**Evidence**: Sessions where this worked
**Confidence**: 0.0-1.0
**Last Validated**: YYYY-MM-DDCurrent Procedures
| Procedure | Pattern | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Skill-first | Always skill_view before tool use for known domains | 0.95 |
| Memory-first | Check session_search before web search for past context | 0.90 |
| Verify handles | Never trust subagent βsuccessβ β fetch URL, stat file, read back | 1.00 |
| Cron env | Always source ~/.hermes/.env in cron scripts | 1.00 |
| Fetch timeout | Always withTimeout() + safety timer for Svelte fetch | 0.98 |
| Patch skills | Update skill immediately when pitfall discovered | 0.92 |
Extraction Protocol
- Trigger β Repeated success (3+ times) or user correction
- Distill β Write as heuristic, not instruction
- Validate β Apply next 2 times, confirm
- Record β Add to PROCEDURES with confidence score
TOOLS π Physical Reality
Host-specific connection strings, local IP addresses, DB paths, and timeout policies.
Connection Registry
| Tool | Connection | Timeout | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL | postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/db | 30s | Via ~/.pgpass |
| SQLite (kanban) | ~/.hermes/kanban.db | 10s | OMP Suite |
| SQLite (state) | ~/.hermes/state.db | 10s | Session/usage stats |
| Nginx | systemctl reload nginx | 10s | Requires sudo |
| Hugo | hugo --minify | 60s | From ~/hugo-llm-wiki/ |
| Discord Bot | DISCORD_TOKEN from .env | β | Never in execute_code |
| OpenRouter | OPENROUTER_API_KEY from .env | 180s | Gateway timeout |
Timeout Policies
timeouts:
terminal_foreground: 180s
terminal_background: 600s
gateway_request: 1800s
fetch_with_timeout: 30s
skill_load: 10s
memory_inject: 5s
delegate_task: 300sPath Mappings
| Logical | Physical |
|---|---|
~/.hermes/config.yaml | Main config |
~/.hermes/.env | API keys (NOT inherited by crons) |
~/.hermes/skills/ | Installed skills |
~/.hermes/cron/ | Cron job output |
~/.hermes/logs/ | agent.log, errors.log, gateway.log |
~/.hermes/dreams/ | Dream Swarm reports |
~/.hermes/plugins/ | Hermes plugins (OMP Suite) |
~/hugo-llm-wiki/ | LLM Wiki source |
~/svelte-flexiboards-dashboard/ | Svelte 5 dashboard |
checklists_dir β Ops Guides
Step-by-step pre-flight and execution guides (checklists/*.md) referenced dynamically.
Structure
checklists/
βββ pre-flight.md # Before any major operation
βββ deploy.md # Hugo / Svelte / Nginx deploy
βββ cron-create.md # New cron job checklist
βββ skill-create.md # New skill checklist
βββ subagent-spawn.md # delegate_task checklist
βββ memory-write.md # memory tool checklist
βββ model-switch.md # Config model change
βββ incident.md # Production incident response
Checklist Format
# Deploy Checklist
## Pre-Conditions
- [ ] Working directory correct
- [ ] No uncommitted changes (or intentional)
- [ ] Tests pass locally
## Execution
- [ ] `hugo --minify` succeeds
- [ ] `nginx -t` passes
- [ ] `systemctl reload nginx` succeeds
## Verification
- [ ] `curl -s https://llm-wiki.0rk.de | grep -q "LLM Wiki"`
- [ ] JSON feed valid: `curl -s /topics/index.json | python3 -m json.tool`
## Rollback
- [ ] Previous public/ backed up
- [ ] Rollback command documentedDynamic Reference
Skills and cron jobs reference checklists by name:
# In skill script
source ~/hugo-llm-wiki/checklists/deploy.mdCross-References
- Identity Anchors β LEXICON defines SKILL terminology
- Orchestration β OPS gates TOOL connections
- Autonomic β HEARTBEAT runs checklists on schedule
- Spec-Driven β tasks maps to checklists_dir
Capabilities & Infrastructure is the executable layer β it turns architecture into running code.