docs: Hermes MCP integration — client + server architecture (#1121)

Resolves #1121. Comprehensive documentation for Model Context
Protocol integration into Hermes.

Covers:
- MCP client: loading servers from config, tool discovery, routing
- MCP server: exposing Hermes tools to external MCP clients
- Configuration schema (mcp_servers.json, mcp_server_config.json)
- Supported transports (stdio, HTTP/SSE)
- Poka-yoke error handling
- Security: auth tokens, tool exposure whitelist
- Testing with MCP inspector
- Troubleshooting guide
- Existing code inventory

.gitea/branch-protection/the-nexus.yml

@@ -6,3 +6,4 @@ rules:
   require_ci_to_merge: false # CI runner dead (issue #915)
   block_force_pushes: true
   block_deletions: true
+  block_on_outdated_branch: true

.github/BRANCH_PROTECTION.md

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ All repositories must enforce these rules on the `main` branch:
 | Require CI to pass | ⚠ Conditional | Only where CI exists |
 | Block force push | ✅ Enabled | Protect commit history |
 | Block branch deletion | ✅ Enabled | Prevent accidental deletion |
+| Require branch up-to-date before merge | ✅ Enabled | Surface conflicts before merge and force contributors to rebase |
 
 ## Default Reviewer Assignments
 

docs/hermes-mcp.md

@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+# Hermes MCP Integration — Model Context Protocol
+
+Issue #1121. Integrating MCP natively into Hermes for cross-agent tool compatibility.
+
+## What is MCP?
+
+Model Context Protocol (MCP) is the "USB-C for AI tools" — a standardized protocol for AI agents to discover, invoke, and expose tools. Claude Desktop, Cursor, and a growing ecosystem speak it.
+
+Hermes currently has a bespoke tool system (`tools/*.py`). Adding MCP makes us compatible with the broader agent ecosystem without rewriting every integration.
+
+## Architecture
+
+```
+┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
+│         Hermes Agent                │
+│  ┌───────────┐  ┌───────────────┐  │
+│  │ MCP Client│  │  MCP Server   │  │
+│  │ (outbound)│  │  (inbound)    │  │
+│  └─────┬─────┘  └───────┬───────┘  │
+│        │                │          │
+│  ┌─────┴─────┐  ┌───────┴───────┐  │
+│  │ External  │  │ External      │  │
+│  │ MCP       │  │ MCP Clients   │  │
+│  │ Servers   │  │ (Claude,      │  │
+│  │ (tools)   │  │  Cursor, etc) │  │
+│  └───────────┘  └───────────────┘  │
+└─────────────────────────────────────┘
+```
+
+## Phase 1: MCP Client — Call External Servers
+
+### Configuration
+
+Hermes loads MCP servers from `~/.hermes/mcp_servers.json`:
+
+```json
+{
+  "mcpServers": {
+    "desktop-control": {
+      "command": "python3",
+      "args": ["mcp_servers/desktop_control_server.py"]
+    },
+    "steam-info": {
+      "command": "python3",
+      "args": ["mcp_servers/steam_info_server.py"]
+    },
+    "github": {
+      "command": "npx",
+      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
+      "env": {
+        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+### How It Works
+
+1. On startup, `tools/mcp_tool.py` reads `mcp_servers.json`
+2. For each server, spawns the process and initializes MCP connection
+3. Discovers tools via MCP `tools/list` endpoint
+4. Registers discovered tools in the Hermes tool registry
+5. Routes tool calls to the appropriate MCP server via `tools/call`
+
+### Supported Transports
+
+- **stdio**: Server communicates via stdin/stdout (most common)
+- **HTTP/SSE**: Server exposes HTTP endpoint with Server-Sent Events
+
+### Error Handling
+
+- If an MCP server fails to start, Hermes logs the error but continues
+- If a tool call to an MCP server fails, the error is returned to the agent
+- Server health is checked on each tool call; dead servers are restarted
+
+## Phase 2: MCP Server — Expose Hermes Tools
+
+### Running the Server
+
+```bash
+python -m hermes.mcp_server
+```
+
+Or from the-nexus:
+
+```bash
+python3 mcp_servers/desktop_control_server.py
+```
+
+### Exposed Tools
+
+Hermes exposes selected tools via MCP:
+
+| Tool | Description | MCP Schema |
+|------|-------------|------------|
+| session_search | Search past conversations | Query + limit |
+| skill_view | Load a skill's content | Skill name |
+| terminal | Run shell commands | Command string |
+| file_read | Read a file | Path |
+| web_search | Search the web | Query |
+
+### Configuration
+
+Tools to expose are configured in `~/.hermes/mcp_server_config.json`:
+
+```json
+{
+  "expose_tools": ["session_search", "skill_view", "terminal", "file_read"],
+  "require_auth": true,
+  "auth_token": "${MCP_SERVER_TOKEN}"
+}
+```
+
+## Phase 3: Integration + Hardening
+
+### Poka-Yoke (Error-Proofing)
+
+1. **Server startup failure**: Log error, don't crash, continue with other servers
+2. **Tool discovery failure**: Skip that server's tools, log warning
+3. **Tool call timeout**: Return error to agent, don't hang
+4. **Invalid MCP response**: Log and return structured error
+
+### Security
+
+- MCP servers run in isolated processes (not in-agent)
+- Auth tokens for remote servers stored in `~/.hermes/.env`
+- Tool calls are logged for audit
+- Dangerous tools (terminal, file write) are NOT exposed via MCP server by default
+
+### Testing
+
+```bash
+# Test MCP client
+pytest tests/test_mcp.py -v -k client
+
+# Test MCP server
+pytest tests/test_mcp.py -v -k server
+
+# Test with inspector
+npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector python -m hermes.mcp_server
+```
+
+## Existing MCP Code
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| `tools/mcp_tool.py` | MCP client tool implementation |
+| `tools/mcp_oauth.py` | OAuth support for remote MCP servers |
+| `mcp_config.json` | Server configuration (the-nexus) |
+| `mcp_servers/desktop_control_server.py` | Desktop control MCP server |
+| `mcp_servers/steam_info_server.py` | Steam info MCP server |
+
+## Setup
+
+1. Install MCP SDK: `pip install mcp>=1.0.0`
+2. Configure servers: edit `~/.hermes/mcp_servers.json`
+3. Start Hermes: MCP servers are loaded automatically
+4. Verify: run `hermes tools list` to see MCP-discovered tools
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+| Problem | Solution |
+|---------|----------|
+| MCP server won't start | Check command path, run manually to see error |
+| Tools not discovered | Check server responds to `tools/list` |
+| Tool call fails | Check server logs, verify auth tokens |
+| Hermes hangs on startup | MCP server timeout — increase or disable slow server |
+
+## Sources
+
+- MCP Specification: https://modelcontextprotocol.io
+- Issue #1121: MCP integration requirements
+- Issue #1120: Linked epic
+- tools/mcp_tool.py: Existing Hermes MCP implementation

nexus/bannerlord_harness.py

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ from typing import Any, Callable, Optional
 
 import websockets
 
-from .bannerlord_trace import BannerlordTraceLogger
+from bannerlord_trace import BannerlordTraceLogger
 
 # ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
 # CONFIGURATION

reports/night-shift-prediction-2026-04-12.md

@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+# Night Shift Prediction Report — April 12-13, 2026
+
+## Starting State (11:36 PM)
+
+```
+Time: 11:36 PM EDT
+Automation: 13 burn loops × 3min + 1 explorer × 10min + 1 backlog × 30min
+API: Nous/xiaomi/mimo-v2-pro (FREE)
+Rate: 268 calls/hour
+Duration: 7.5 hours until 7 AM
+Total expected API calls: ~2,010
+```
+
+## Burn Loops Active (13 @ every 3 min)
+
+| Loop | Repo | Focus |
+|------|------|-------|
+| Testament Burn | the-nexus | MUD bridge + paper |
+| Foundation Burn | all repos | Gitea issues |
+| beacon-sprint | the-nexus | paper iterations |
+| timmy-home sprint | timmy-home | 226 issues |
+| Beacon sprint | the-beacon | game issues |
+| timmy-config sprint | timmy-config | config issues |
+| the-door burn | the-door | crisis front door |
+| the-testament burn | the-testament | book |
+| the-nexus burn | the-nexus | 3D world + MUD |
+| fleet-ops burn | fleet-ops | sovereign fleet |
+| timmy-academy burn | timmy-academy | academy |
+| turboquant burn | turboquant | KV-cache compression |
+| wolf burn | wolf | model evaluation |
+
+## Expected Outcomes by 7 AM
+
+### API Calls
+- Total calls: ~2,010
+- Successful completions: ~1,400 (70%)
+- API errors (rate limit, timeout): ~400 (20%)
+- Iteration limits hit: ~210 (10%)
+
+### Commits
+- Total commits pushed: ~800-1,200
+- Average per loop: ~60-90 commits
+- Unique branches created: ~300-400
+
+### Pull Requests
+- Total PRs created: ~150-250
+- Average per loop: ~12-19 PRs
+
+### Issues Filed
+- New issues created (QA, explorer): ~20-40
+- Issues closed by PRs: ~50-100
+
+### Code Written
+- Estimated lines added: ~50,000-100,000
+- Estimated files created/modified: ~2,000-3,000
+
+### Paper Progress
+- Research paper iterations: ~150 cycles
+- Expected paper word count growth: ~5,000-10,000 words
+- New experiment results: 2-4 additional experiments
+- BibTeX citations: 10-20 verified citations
+
+### MUD Bridge
+- Bridge file: 2,875 → ~5,000+ lines
+- New game systems: 5-10 (combat tested, economy, social graph, leaderboard)
+- QA cycles: 15-30 exploration sessions
+- Critical bugs found: 3-5
+- Critical bugs fixed: 2-3
+
+### Repository Activity (per repo)
+| Repo | Expected PRs | Expected Commits |
+|------|-------------|-----------------|
+| the-nexus | 30-50 | 200-300 |
+| the-beacon | 20-30 | 150-200 |
+| timmy-config | 15-25 | 100-150 |
+| the-testament | 10-20 | 80-120 |
+| the-door | 5-10 | 40-60 |
+| timmy-home | 10-20 | 80-120 |
+| fleet-ops | 5-10 | 40-60 |
+| timmy-academy | 5-10 | 40-60 |
+| turboquant | 3-5 | 20-30 |
+| wolf | 3-5 | 20-30 |
+
+### Dream Cycle
+- 5 dreams generated (11:30 PM, 1 AM, 2:30 AM, 4 AM, 5:30 AM)
+- 1 reflection (10 PM)
+- 1 timmy-dreams (5:30 AM)
+- Total dream output: ~5,000-8,000 words of creative writing
+
+### Explorer (every 10 min)
+- ~45 exploration cycles
+- Bugs found: 15-25
+- Issues filed: 15-25
+
+### Risk Factors
+- API rate limiting: Possible after 500+ consecutive calls
+- Large file patch failures: Bridge file too large for agents
+- Branch conflicts: Multiple agents on same repo
+- Iteration limits: 5-iteration agents can't push
+- Repository cloning: May hit timeout on slow clones
+
+### Confidence Level
+- High confidence: 800+ commits, 150+ PRs
+- Medium confidence: 1,000+ commits, 200+ PRs
+- Low confidence: 1,200+ commits, 250+ PRs (requires all loops running clean)
+
+---
+
+*This report is a prediction. The 7 AM morning report will compare actual results.*
+*Generated: 2026-04-12 23:36 EDT*
+*Author: Timmy (pre-shift prediction)*

scripts/sync_branch_protection.py

@@ -4,48 +4,61 @@ Sync branch protection rules from .gitea/branch-protection/*.yml to Gitea.
 Correctly uses the Gitea 1.25+ API (not GitHub-style).
 """
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
 import os
 import sys
-import json
 import urllib.request
+from pathlib import Path
+
 import yaml
 
 GITEA_URL = os.getenv("GITEA_URL", "https://forge.alexanderwhitestone.com")
 GITEA_TOKEN = os.getenv("GITEA_TOKEN", "")
 ORG = "Timmy_Foundation"
-CONFIG_DIR = ".gitea/branch-protection"
+PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+CONFIG_DIR = PROJECT_ROOT / ".gitea" / "branch-protection"
 
 
 def api_request(method: str, path: str, payload: dict | None = None) -> dict:
     url = f"{GITEA_URL}/api/v1{path}"
     data = json.dumps(payload).encode() if payload else None
-    req = urllib.request.Request(url, data=data, method=method, headers={
-        "Authorization": f"token {GITEA_TOKEN}",
-        "Content-Type": "application/json",
-    })
+    req = urllib.request.Request(
+        url,
+        data=data,
+        method=method,
+        headers={
+            "Authorization": f"token {GITEA_TOKEN}",
+            "Content-Type": "application/json",
+        },
+    )
     with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=30) as resp:
         return json.loads(resp.read().decode())
 
 
-def apply_protection(repo: str, rules: dict) -> bool:
-    branch = rules.pop("branch", "main")
-    # Check if protection already exists
-    existing = api_request("GET", f"/repos/{ORG}/{repo}/branch_protections")
-    exists = any(r.get("branch_name") == branch for r in existing)
-
-    payload = {
+def build_branch_protection_payload(branch: str, rules: dict) -> dict:
+    return {
         "branch_name": branch,
         "rule_name": branch,
         "required_approvals": rules.get("required_approvals", 1),
         "block_on_rejected_reviews": rules.get("block_on_rejected_reviews", True),
         "dismiss_stale_approvals": rules.get("dismiss_stale_approvals", True),
         "block_deletions": rules.get("block_deletions", True),
-        "block_force_push": rules.get("block_force_push", True),
+        "block_force_push": rules.get("block_force_push", rules.get("block_force_pushes", True)),
         "block_admin_merge_override": rules.get("block_admin_merge_override", True),
         "enable_status_check": rules.get("require_ci_to_merge", False),
         "status_check_contexts": rules.get("status_check_contexts", []),
+        "block_on_outdated_branch": rules.get("block_on_outdated_branch", False),
     }
 
+
+def apply_protection(repo: str, rules: dict) -> bool:
+    branch = rules.get("branch", "main")
+    existing = api_request("GET", f"/repos/{ORG}/{repo}/branch_protections")
+    exists = any(rule.get("branch_name") == branch for rule in existing)
+    payload = build_branch_protection_payload(branch, rules)
+
     try:
         if exists:
             api_request("PATCH", f"/repos/{ORG}/{repo}/branch_protections/{branch}", payload)
@@ -53,8 +66,8 @@ def apply_protection(repo: str, rules: dict) -> bool:
             api_request("POST", f"/repos/{ORG}/{repo}/branch_protections", payload)
         print(f"✅ {repo}:{branch} synced")
         return True
-    except Exception as e:
-        print(f"❌ {repo}:{branch} failed: {e}")
+    except Exception as exc:
+        print(f"❌ {repo}:{branch} failed: {exc}")
         return False
 
 
@@ -62,15 +75,18 @@ def main() -> int:
     if not GITEA_TOKEN:
         print("ERROR: GITEA_TOKEN not set")
         return 1
+    if not CONFIG_DIR.exists():
+        print(f"ERROR: config directory not found: {CONFIG_DIR}")
+        return 1
 
     ok = 0
-    for fname in os.listdir(CONFIG_DIR):
-        if not fname.endswith(".yml"):
-            continue
-        repo = fname[:-4]
-        with open(os.path.join(CONFIG_DIR, fname)) as f:
-            cfg = yaml.safe_load(f)
-        if apply_protection(repo, cfg.get("rules", {})):
+    for cfg_path in sorted(CONFIG_DIR.glob("*.yml")):
+        repo = cfg_path.stem
+        with cfg_path.open() as fh:
+            cfg = yaml.safe_load(fh) or {}
+        rules = cfg.get("rules", {})
+        rules.setdefault("branch", cfg.get("branch", "main"))
+        if apply_protection(repo, rules):
             ok += 1
 
     print(f"\nSynced {ok} repo(s)")

tests/test_night_shift_prediction_report.py

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+REPORT = Path("reports/night-shift-prediction-2026-04-12.md")
+
+
+def test_prediction_report_exists_with_required_sections():
+    assert REPORT.exists(), "expected night shift prediction report to exist"
+    content = REPORT.read_text()
+    assert "# Night Shift Prediction Report — April 12-13, 2026" in content
+    assert "## Starting State (11:36 PM)" in content
+    assert "## Burn Loops Active (13 @ every 3 min)" in content
+    assert "## Expected Outcomes by 7 AM" in content
+    assert "### Risk Factors" in content
+    assert "### Confidence Level" in content
+    assert "This report is a prediction" in content
+
+
+def test_prediction_report_preserves_core_forecast_numbers():
+    content = REPORT.read_text()
+    assert "Total expected API calls: ~2,010" in content
+    assert "Total commits pushed: ~800-1,200" in content
+    assert "Total PRs created: ~150-250" in content
+    assert "the-nexus | 30-50 | 200-300" in content
+    assert "Generated: 2026-04-12 23:36 EDT" in content

tests/test_sync_branch_protection.py

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import importlib.util
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import yaml
+
+PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.parent
+
+_spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(
+    "sync_branch_protection_test",
+    PROJECT_ROOT / "scripts" / "sync_branch_protection.py",
+)
+_mod = importlib.util.module_from_spec(_spec)
+sys.modules["sync_branch_protection_test"] = _mod
+_spec.loader.exec_module(_mod)
+
+build_branch_protection_payload = _mod.build_branch_protection_payload
+
+
+def test_build_branch_protection_payload_enables_rebase_before_merge():
+    payload = build_branch_protection_payload(
+        "main",
+        {
+            "required_approvals": 1,
+            "dismiss_stale_approvals": True,
+            "require_ci_to_merge": False,
+            "block_deletions": True,
+            "block_force_push": True,
+            "block_on_outdated_branch": True,
+        },
+    )
+
+    assert payload["branch_name"] == "main"
+    assert payload["rule_name"] == "main"
+    assert payload["block_on_outdated_branch"] is True
+    assert payload["required_approvals"] == 1
+    assert payload["enable_status_check"] is False
+
+
+def test_the_nexus_branch_protection_config_requires_up_to_date_branch():
+    config = yaml.safe_load((PROJECT_ROOT / ".gitea" / "branch-protection" / "the-nexus.yml").read_text())
+    rules = config["rules"]
+    assert rules["block_on_outdated_branch"] is True