d578d06f59
CRITICAL fixes: - Installation: Remove false prerequisites (installer auto-installs everything except git) - Tools: Remove non-existent 'web_crawl' tool from tools table - Memory: Remove non-existent 'read' action (only add/replace/remove exist) - Code execution: Fix 'search' to 'search_files' in sandbox tools list - CLI commands: Fix --model/--provider/--toolsets/--verbose as chat subcommand flags IMPORTANT fixes: - Installation: Add missing installer features (Node.js, ripgrep, ffmpeg, skills seeding) - Installation: Add 6 missing package extras to table (mcp, honcho, tts-premium, etc) - Installation: Fix mkdir to include all directories the installer creates - Quickstart: Add OpenAI Codex to provider table - CLI: Fix all 'hermes --flag' to 'hermes chat --flag' across all docs - Configuration: Remove non-existent --max-turns CLI flag - Tools: Fix 'search' to 'search_files', add missing 'process' tool - Skills: Remove skills_categories() (not a registered tool) - Cron: Remove unsupported 'daily at 9am' schedule format - TTS: Fix output directory to ~/.hermes/audio_cache/ - Delegation: Clarify depth limit wording - Architecture: Fix default model, chat() signature, file names - Contributing: Fix Python requirement from 3.11+ to 3.10+ - CLI reference: Add missing commands (login, tools, sessions subcommands) - Env vars: Fix TERMINAL_DOCKER_IMAGE default, add HERMES_MODEL
159 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
159 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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sidebar_position: 2
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title: "Skills System"
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description: "On-demand knowledge documents — progressive disclosure, agent-managed skills, and the Skills Hub"
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---
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# Skills System
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Skills are on-demand knowledge documents the agent can load when needed. They follow a **progressive disclosure** pattern to minimize token usage and are compatible with the [agentskills.io](https://agentskills.io/specification) open standard.
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All skills live in **`~/.hermes/skills/`** — a single directory that serves as the source of truth. On fresh install, bundled skills are copied from the repo. Hub-installed and agent-created skills also go here. The agent can modify or delete any skill.
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## Using Skills
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Every installed skill is automatically available as a slash command:
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```bash
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# In the CLI or any messaging platform:
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/gif-search funny cats
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/axolotl help me fine-tune Llama 3 on my dataset
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/github-pr-workflow create a PR for the auth refactor
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# Just the skill name loads it and lets the agent ask what you need:
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/excalidraw
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```
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You can also interact with skills through natural conversation:
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```bash
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hermes chat --toolsets skills -q "What skills do you have?"
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hermes chat --toolsets skills -q "Show me the axolotl skill"
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```
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## Progressive Disclosure
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Skills use a token-efficient loading pattern:
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```
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Level 0: skills_list() → [{name, description}, ...] (~3k tokens)
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Level 1: skill_view(name) → Full content + metadata (varies)
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Level 2: skill_view(name, path) → Specific reference file (varies)
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```
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The agent only loads the full skill content when it actually needs it.
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## SKILL.md Format
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```markdown
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---
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name: my-skill
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description: Brief description of what this skill does
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version: 1.0.0
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metadata:
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hermes:
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tags: [python, automation]
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category: devops
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---
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# Skill Title
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## When to Use
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Trigger conditions for this skill.
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## Procedure
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1. Step one
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2. Step two
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## Pitfalls
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- Known failure modes and fixes
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## Verification
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How to confirm it worked.
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```
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## Skill Directory Structure
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```
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~/.hermes/skills/ # Single source of truth
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├── mlops/ # Category directory
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│ ├── axolotl/
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│ │ ├── SKILL.md # Main instructions (required)
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│ │ ├── references/ # Additional docs
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│ │ ├── templates/ # Output formats
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│ │ └── assets/ # Supplementary files
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│ └── vllm/
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│ └── SKILL.md
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├── devops/
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│ └── deploy-k8s/ # Agent-created skill
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│ ├── SKILL.md
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│ └── references/
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├── .hub/ # Skills Hub state
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│ ├── lock.json
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│ ├── quarantine/
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│ └── audit.log
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└── .bundled_manifest # Tracks seeded bundled skills
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```
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## Agent-Managed Skills (skill_manage tool)
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The agent can create, update, and delete its own skills via the `skill_manage` tool. This is the agent's **procedural memory** — when it figures out a non-trivial workflow, it saves the approach as a skill for future reuse.
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### When the Agent Creates Skills
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- After completing a complex task (5+ tool calls) successfully
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- When it hit errors or dead ends and found the working path
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- When the user corrected its approach
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- When it discovered a non-trivial workflow
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### Actions
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| Action | Use for | Key params |
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|--------|---------|------------|
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| `create` | New skill from scratch | `name`, `content` (full SKILL.md), optional `category` |
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| `patch` | Targeted fixes (preferred) | `name`, `old_string`, `new_string` |
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| `edit` | Major structural rewrites | `name`, `content` (full SKILL.md replacement) |
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| `delete` | Remove a skill entirely | `name` |
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| `write_file` | Add/update supporting files | `name`, `file_path`, `file_content` |
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| `remove_file` | Remove a supporting file | `name`, `file_path` |
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:::tip
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The `patch` action is preferred for updates — it's more token-efficient than `edit` because only the changed text appears in the tool call.
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:::
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## Skills Hub
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Search, install, and manage skills from online registries:
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```bash
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hermes skills search kubernetes # Search all sources
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hermes skills install openai/skills/k8s # Install with security scan
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hermes skills inspect openai/skills/k8s # Preview before installing
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hermes skills list --source hub # List hub-installed skills
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hermes skills audit # Re-scan all hub skills
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hermes skills uninstall k8s # Remove a hub skill
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hermes skills publish skills/my-skill --to github --repo owner/repo
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hermes skills snapshot export setup.json # Export skill config
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hermes skills tap add myorg/skills-repo # Add a custom source
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```
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All hub-installed skills go through a **security scanner** that checks for data exfiltration, prompt injection, destructive commands, and other threats.
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### Trust Levels
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| Level | Source | Policy |
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|-------|--------|--------|
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| `builtin` | Ships with Hermes | Always trusted |
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| `trusted` | openai/skills, anthropics/skills | Trusted sources |
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| `community` | Everything else | Any findings = blocked unless `--force` |
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### Slash Commands (Inside Chat)
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All the same commands work with `/skills` prefix:
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```
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/skills search kubernetes
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/skills install openai/skills/skill-creator
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/skills list
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```
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