Reloading MCP servers rebuilds the tool set for the active session, which
invalidates the provider prompt cache (tool schemas are baked into the
system prompt). The next message re-sends full input tokens — can be
expensive on long-context or high-reasoning models.
To surface that cost, /reload-mcp now routes through a new slash-confirm
primitive with three options: Approve Once / Always Approve / Cancel.
'Always Approve' persists approvals.mcp_reload_confirm: false so future
reloads run silently.
Coverage:
* Classic CLI (cli.py) — interactive numbered prompt.
* TUI (tui_gateway + Ink ops.ts) — text warning on first call; `now` /
`always` args skip the gate; `always` also persists the opt-out.
* Messenger gateway — button UI on Telegram (inline keyboard), Discord
(discord.ui.View), Slack (Block Kit actions); text fallback on every
other platform via /approve /always /cancel replies intercepted in
gateway/run.py _handle_message.
* Config key: approvals.mcp_reload_confirm (default true).
* Auto-reload paths (CLI file watcher, TUI config-sync mtime poll) pass
confirm=true so they do NOT prompt.
Implementation:
* tools/slash_confirm.py — module-level pending-state store used by all
adapters and by the CLI prompt. Thread-safe register/resolve/clear.
* gateway/platforms/base.py — send_slash_confirm hook (default 'Not
supported' → text fallback).
* gateway/run.py — _request_slash_confirm helper + text intercept in
_handle_message (yields to in-progress tool-exec approvals so
dangerous-command /approve still unblocks the tool thread first).
Tests:
* tests/tools/test_slash_confirm.py — primitive lifecycle + async
resolution + double-click atomicity (16 tests).
* tests/hermes_cli/test_mcp_reload_confirm_gate.py — default-config
shape + deep-merge preserves user opt-out (5 tests).
Targeted runs (hermetic): 89 passed (slash-confirm, config gate,
existing agent cache, existing telegram approval buttons).
Match classic CLI perceived startup behavior: show the TUI shell and composer
before constructing the full AIAgent. session.create now returns a lightweight
placeholder session with lazy=true and no longer starts _make_agent eagerly.
The first method that needs the agent triggers _start_agent_build() via _sess();
prompt.submit is routed through the RPC worker pool so that the initial wait for
agent construction does not block the stdio dispatcher.
The intro panel renders skeleton rows for tools/skills while the real
session.info payload is absent, then hydrates to the real tools/skills panel once
AIAgent initialization completes. Also skip the startup /voice status probe and
avoid the input.detect_drop RPC for ordinary plain-text prompts to keep early
startup/first-submit paths cheap.
Measurements on macOS Terminal.app:
- Previous full ready p50 after earlier PR commits: ~1537ms
- Lazy skeleton panel p50: ~794ms
- Original baseline full ready p50: ~1843ms
So the visible startup surface is now ~743ms faster than the prior PR state and
~1.05s faster than the original baseline. First prompt still pays the same agent
construction cost if it races the background/skeleton state, matching classic
CLI's deferred behavior.
Tests:
- python -m py_compile tui_gateway/server.py
- cd ui-tui && npm run type-check && npm run build
- scripts/run_tests.sh tests/tui_gateway/test_protocol.py::test_sess_found tests/tools/test_code_execution_modes.py tests/tools/test_code_execution.py
- cd ui-tui && npm test -- --run src/__tests__/useSessionLifecycle.test.ts src/__tests__/useConfigSync.test.ts
* fix(tui): honor documented mouse_tracking config key
The TUI runtime was reading display.tui_mouse while docs and user-facing
examples pointed users at display.mouse_tracking. That made persistent
mouse-disable config look like a no-op for users trying to restore native
terminal selection/copy behavior on Linux/SSH/tmux terminals.
Use display.mouse_tracking as the canonical key, keep display.tui_mouse as
a legacy fallback, and have /mouse write the documented key. Both gateway
config.get and client-side config sync now share the same precedence: the
canonical key wins, then the legacy key, then default on.
* review(copilot): align mouse tracking config coercion
- Load gateway config once before deriving display.mouse_tracking state.
- Use key-presence precedence on the TUI client too, so canonical
mouse_tracking wins over legacy tui_mouse even when the value is null.
- Treat numeric 0 as disabled on both gateway and client, matching the
existing string "0" handling.
- Widen ConfigDisplayConfig mouse fields because config.get full returns raw
YAML, not normalized booleans.
* feat(tui): pluggable busy-indicator styles (kaomoji/emoji/unicode/ascii)
The status-bar `FaceTicker` rotated through wide-and-variable kaomoji
glyphs (`(｡•́︿•̀｡)`, `( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)`, …) every 2.5s. Real display widths range
from ~5 to ~16 columns, so the rest of the bar (cwd, ctx %, voice,
bg counter) shifted on every cycle. Padding the verb alone (#17116)
helped but didn't address the dominant jitter source — the glyph
itself.
Add four indicator styles, configurable + hot-swappable:
* `kaomoji` (default — preserves the existing vibe; verb is now
pad-stable so the only width churn left is the kaomoji itself).
* `emoji` — single 2-col emoji frame (`⚕ 🌀🤔✨🍵🔮`).
* `unicode` — `unicode-animations` braille spinner (1-col, smooth).
* `ascii` — `| / - \` (1-col, max compat).
Wires:
* `display.tui_status_indicator` in `DEFAULT_CONFIG` (default
`kaomoji`).
* New JSON-RPC `config.set/get indicator` keys, narrow allow-list.
* `applyDisplay` reads the field and patches `UiState.indicatorStyle`,
so the existing `mtime` poll picks up `~/.hermes/config.yaml` edits
within ~5s without a TUI restart.
* `/indicator [style]` slash command (alias `/indicator-style`,
subcommand completion `kaomoji|emoji|unicode|ascii`). Bare form
shows the current style; setter fires `config.set` and
optimistically `patchUiState({ indicatorStyle })` so the live TUI
swaps immediately, matching the `/skin` UX.
* `CommandDef("indicator", ..., subcommands=...)` so classic CLI
autocomplete + TUI `complete.slash` both surface it.
* `FaceTicker` decouples spinner cadence from verb cadence — the
glyph runs at the spinner's authored interval (or `FACE_TICK_MS`
for kaomoji), the verb stays on the original 2.5s cycle, and both
re-arm cleanly when style changes.
Tests:
* `normalizeIndicatorStyle` rejects unknown / non-string input.
* `applyDisplay → tui_status_indicator` covers fan-out + fallback.
* `/indicator <style>` hot-swaps `UiState.indicatorStyle` after a
successful `config.set`.
* `/indicator sparkle` rejects with the usage hint and never hits
the gateway.
* Slash-parity matrix gets `'/indicator'` → `config.get`.
Validation:
cd ui-tui && npm run type-check — clean; npm test --run — 398/398.
scripts/run_tests.sh tests/test_tui_gateway_server.py
tests/hermes_cli/test_commands.py — 220/220.
* chore(tui): drop /indicator-style alias to declutter autocomplete
* fix(tui): drop verb-width pad — /indicator handles glyph jitter directly
* fix(tui): unicode indicator style hides the verb (cleanest option)
* refactor(tui): single source of truth for INDICATOR_STYLES; cleaner error format
Round 1 Copilot review on PR #17150:
- Exported `INDICATOR_STYLES` const tuple from `interfaces.ts`;
`IndicatorStyle` union type is derived from it. `useConfigSync`
builds its validation Set from the tuple, and `session.ts` uses it
for both the usage hint and the runtime allow-list — adding/removing
a style now touches one line.
- Backend `config.set indicator` error message: switched
`sorted(allowed)` list repr to `pick one of ascii|emoji|kaomoji|unicode`
(matches the TUI usage hint), and reports the normalized `raw`
instead of the original `value`. Backend allowed tuple now has a
comment pointing back at `INDICATOR_STYLES` so the two stay aligned.
Note: kept the verb portion unpadded per design intent — fixed-width
padding was the exact UX the `/indicator` command was added to remove.
Stable width comes from the glyph; verbs cycling is part of the kawaii
aesthetic. Reply on the verb thread will explain.
* fix(tui): drop type collapse + gate verb timer + DEFAULT_INDICATOR_STYLE
Round 2 Copilot review on PR #17150:
- `tui_status_indicator?: 'ascii' | ... | string` collapses to `string`
in TS — consumers got no narrowing. Documented as plain `string` with
a comment about runtime validation via `normalizeIndicatorStyle`.
- `FaceTicker` always started a 2.5s verb interval, even for the
`unicode` style which hides the verb entirely. Now gated on
`showVerb` from `renderIndicator` — `unicode` stays calm.
Pre-emptive self-review (avoid round 3):
- Three call sites duplicated the literal `'kaomoji'` default
(uiStore, normalizeIndicatorStyle, slash command). Added
`DEFAULT_INDICATOR_STYLE` to interfaces.ts and threaded it through
so changing the default touches one line.
* fix(tui-gateway): normalize config.get indicator output to match TUI render
Round 4 Copilot review on PR #17150: `config.get` for `indicator`
returned the raw `display.tui_status_indicator` value without
validation, so a hand-edited config.yaml with stray casing or an
unknown style would leave `/indicator` printing one thing while
the TUI rendered the kaomoji default (frontend's
`normalizeIndicatorStyle` does this normalization on receive).
Lifted the allow-list to module scope as `_INDICATOR_STYLES` /
`_INDICATOR_DEFAULT`, reused by both `config.set` and `config.get`.
Comment notes the alignment with `INDICATOR_STYLES` /
`DEFAULT_INDICATOR_STYLE` in interfaces.ts so adding/removing a
style is a one-line change on each end.
Tests cover: known value verbatim, casing/whitespace normalize,
unknown→default, unset→default.
* fix(tui-gateway): preserve falsy-input diagnostics in config.set indicator error
Round 5 Copilot review on PR #17150: `raw = str(value or "").strip().lower()`
collapsed any falsy non-string (`0`, `False`, `[]`) to empty string,
so the error message read `unknown indicator: ` with nothing after —
losing the original input.
Switched to `("" if value is None else str(value)).strip().lower()`
so only `None` (the genuine 'no value' case) becomes blank. Used
`{raw!r}` in the error so the diagnostic is unambiguous (`'0'` vs `0`).
Tests:
- known-value happy path (`'EMOJI'` → `'emoji'`)
- falsy non-string inputs (`0` / `False` / `[]`) surface meaningfully
- `None` keeps the blank-repr error
* fix(tui): honor display.busy_input_mode in TUI v2
The TUI v2 frontend hard-coded `composerActions.enqueue(full)` whenever
`ui.busy` was true. The classic CLI and gateway adapters honor the
`display.busy_input_mode` config key (`interrupt` | `queue` | `steer`),
but Ink ignored it — sending a message during a long-running turn always
landed in the queue regardless of config. The config default is already
`interrupt` (hermes_cli/config.py), so users who explicitly opted into
that experience were silently stuck on the legacy queue path.
This wires the value through the existing config-sync surface:
* `applyDisplay` now reads `display.busy_input_mode`, defaults to
`interrupt` (matching `_load_busy_input_mode` in tui_gateway), and
drops it into a new `UiState.busyInputMode` field.
* `dispatchSubmission` and the queue-edit fall-through call a shared
`handleBusyInput` helper that branches on the mode:
* `queue` — legacy behavior, append to the queue.
* `steer` — call `session.steer`; on rejection, fall back to
queue with a sys note.
* `interrupt` — `turnController.interruptTurn(...)` then `send()`,
so the new prompt actually moves.
* Mtime polling in `useConfigSync` already re-applies `config.full`, so
flipping `display.busy_input_mode` in `~/.hermes/config.yaml` takes
effect on the next 5s tick without restarting the TUI.
Tests:
* `applyDisplay → busy_input_mode` covers normalization + UiState fan-out.
* `normalizeBusyInputMode` mirrors the Python side's allow-list.
Validation:
* `npm run type-check` (in `ui-tui/`) — clean.
* `npm test --run` (in `ui-tui/`) — 394/394.
* review(copilot): narrow busy_input_mode type, preserve queue order on steer fallback
* review(copilot): clarify handleBusyInput comment (option, not return value)
* fix(tui): default busy_input_mode to queue in TUI (CLI keeps interrupt)
In a full-screen TUI users typically author the next prompt while the
agent is still streaming, so an unintended interrupt loses in-flight
typing. TUI fallback now defaults to `queue`; CLI / messaging
adapters keep `interrupt` as the framework default.
Override per-config via `display.busy_input_mode: interrupt` (or
`steer`) — the normalize/wire path is unchanged, only the missing-
value branch differs from the Python default.
uiStore initial value also flipped to `queue` so first-frame render
before `config.full` lands matches the eventual normalized value.
On Windows WSL2, ConPTY implicitly enables mouse event injection when
the alternate screen buffer (DEC 1049) is entered, causing raw escape
sequences to appear in the transcript as ghost characters.
Fix (two parts):
1. ConPTY fix: send DISABLE_MOUSE_TRACKING immediately after entering
alt screen when mouse tracking is off (AlternateScreen.tsx)
2. Runtime toggle: add /mouse [on|off|toggle] slash command with config
persistence (display.tui_mouse) so users can manage this at runtime
The env var HERMES_TUI_DISABLE_MOUSE continues to work as the initial
default, but can now be overridden via /mouse and persisted to config.
Closes: upstream ConPTY mouse injection issue
Credits: OutThisLife / PR #13716 for the toggle concept
- normalizeStatusBar: replace Set + early-returns + cast with a single
alias lookup table. Handles legacy `false`, trims/lowercases strings,
maps `on` → `top` in one pass. One expression, no `as` hacks.
- Tab title block: drop the narrative comment, fold
blockedOnInput/titleStatus/cwdTag/terminalTitle into inline expressions
inside useTerminalTitle. Avoids shadowing the outer `cwd`.
- tui_gateway statusbar set branch: read `display` once instead of
`cfg0.get("display")` twice.
- normalizeStatusBar: trim/lowercase + 'on' → 'top' alias so user-edited
YAML variants (Top, " bottom ", on) coerce correctly
- shift-tab yolo: no-op with sys note when no live session; success-gated
echo and catch fallback so RPC failures don't report as 'yolo off'
- tui_gateway config.set/get statusbar: isinstance(display, dict) guards
mirroring the compact branch so a malformed display scalar in config.yaml
can't raise
Tests: +1 vitest for trim/case/on, +2 pytest for non-dict display survival.
- normalizeStatusBar collapses to one ternary expression
- /statusbar slash hoists the toggle value and flattens the branch tree
- shift-tab yolo comment reduced to one line
- cursorLayout/offsetFromPosition lose paragraph-length comments
- appLayout collapses the three {!overlay.agents && …} into one fragment
- StatusRule drops redundant flexShrink={0} (Yoga default)
- server.py uses a walrus + frozenset and trims the compat helper
Net -43 LoC. 237 vitest + 46 pytest green, layouts unchanged.
'top' and 'bottom' are positions relative to the input row, not the alt
screen viewport:
- top (default) → inline above the input, where the bar originally lived
(what 'on' used to mean)
- bottom → below the input, pinned to the last row
- off → hidden
Drops the literal top-of-screen placement; 'on' is kept as a backward-
compat alias that resolves to 'top' at both the config layer
(normalizeStatusBar, _coerce_statusbar) and the slash command.
Default is back to 'on' (inline, above the input) — bottom was too far
from the input and felt disconnected. Users who want it pinned can
opt in explicitly.
- UiState.statusBar: boolean → 'on' | 'off' | 'bottom' | 'top'
- /statusbar [on|off|bottom|top|toggle]; no-arg still binary-toggles
between off and on (preserves muscle memory)
- appLayout renders StatusRulePane in three slots (inline inside
ComposerPane for 'on', above transcript row for 'top', after
ComposerPane for 'bottom'); only the slot matching ui.statusBar
actually mounts
- drop the input's marginBottom when 'bottom' so the rule sits tight
against the input instead of floating a row below
- useConfigSync.normalizeStatusBar coerces legacy bool (true→on,
false→off) and unknown shapes to 'on' for forward-compat reads
- tui_gateway: split compact from statusbar config handlers; persist
string enum with _coerce_statusbar helper for legacy bool configs
Extends ConfigDisplayConfig and UiState so the four new display flags
flow from `config.get {key:"full"}` into the nanostore. applyDisplay is
exported to keep the fan-out testable without an Ink harness.
Defaults mirror v1 parity: streaming + inline_diffs default true
(opt-out via `=== false`), show_cost + show_reasoning default false
(opt-in via plain truthy check).
- tui_gateway: route approvals through gateway callback (HERMES_GATEWAY_SESSION/
HERMES_EXEC_ASK) so dangerous commands emit approval.request instead of
silently falling through the CLI input() path and auto-denying
- approval UX: dedicated PromptZone between transcript and composer, safer
defaults (sel=0, numeric quick-picks, no Esc=deny), activity trail line,
outcome footer under the cost row
- text input: Ctrl+A select-all, real forward Delete, Ctrl+W always consumed
(fixes Ctrl+Backspace at cursor 0 inserting literal w)
- hermes-ink selection: swap synchronous onRender() for throttled
scheduleRender() on drag, and only notify React subscribers on presence
change — no more per-cell paint/subscribe spam
- useConfigSync: silence config.get polling failures instead of surfacing
'error: timeout: config.get' in the transcript
Hoist turn state from a 286-line hook into $turnState atom + turnController
singleton. createGatewayEventHandler becomes a typed dispatch over the
controller; its ctx shrinks from 30 fields to 5. Event-handler refs and 16
threaded actions are gone.
Fold three createSlash*Handler factories into a data-driven SlashCommand[]
registry under slash/commands/{core,session,ops}.ts. Aliases are data;
findSlashCommand does name+alias lookup. Shared guarded/guardedErr combinator
in slash/guarded.ts.
Split constants.ts + app/helpers.ts into config/ (timing/limits/env),
content/ (faces/placeholders/hotkeys/verbs/charms/fortunes), domain/ (roles/
details/messages/paths/slash/viewport/usage), protocol/ (interpolation/paste).
Type every RPC response in gatewayTypes.ts (26 new interfaces); drop all
`(r: any)` across slash + main app.
Shrink useMainApp from 1216 -> 646 lines by extracting useSessionLifecycle,
useSubmission, useConfigSync. Add <Fg> themed primitive and strip ~50
`as any` color casts.
Tests: 50 passing. Build + type-check clean.
