# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Remove identity override from kanban guidance prompt

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These items address a bug where KANBAN_GUIDANCE was overriding identity definitions set in SOUL.md, and propose removing the conflicting worker identity claim to preserve role-purity in the system prompt.

## TL;DR

- 3 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 1 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 1 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #19427. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #19427 (and any competing PRs below) before filing. Confirm the merged change covers your symptom.

## Maintainer resolution verdict

- Internal-tracker verdict over this cluster's issue members: `resolved` · deciding PR(s): `pr-19427`. This is distinct from the fix status above. Weigh it yourself.

## How this cluster was grouped

- Link evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.
- Pairwise link density `0.67`: the share of member pairs that carry a link, counting a structural link in full and a relevance-only link at 0.36. `1.00` means every pair is linked.

## Closed / duplicate issues

- #19351: \[Bug\] KANBAN_GUIDANCE overrides SOUL.md identity in system prompt, breaking role-purity enforcement

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#19367: fix(kanban): remove identity override from KANBAN_GUIDANCE to preserve SOUL.md role-purity**. closed without merge · fix tier `suggested`
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`
  - _suggested-tier fix detail withheld; re-request with `?tier=all` to include it._
- **#19427: fix(kanban): drop worker identity claim from KANBAN_GUIDANCE**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `agent/prompt_builder.py`
  - fix hunks:
  - `agent/prompt_builder.py`

    ```diff
    @@ -183,8 +183,8 @@ def _strip_yaml_frontmatter(content: str) -> str:
     )
     
     KANBAN_GUIDANCE = (
    -    "# You are a Kanban worker\n"
    -    "You were spawned by the Hermes Kanban dispatcher to execute ONE task from "
    +    "# Kanban task execution protocol\n"
    +    "You have been assigned ONE task from "
         "the shared board at `~/.hermes/kanban.db`. Your task id is in "
         "`$HERMES_KANBAN_TASK`; your workspace is `$HERMES_KANBAN_WORKSPACE`. "
         "The `kanban_*` tools in your schema are your primary coordination surface — "
    ```

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #19427 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-05-03`.