# NousResearch/hermes-agent · System error messages appearing with wrong role assignment ## Open now - Nothing open on GitHub. These issues and fixes concern a bug where system-generated error messages were being injected with a dynamic or incorrect role (appearing as role=user instead of role=assistant). The cluster focuses on correcting role assignment for system error messages and related session resume behavior. ## TL;DR - 6 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 1 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 4 PR(s) closed without merging. - A fix was merged to main in PR #2303. Verify it addresses your case. - **Recommended:** read PR #2303 (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: `unresolved`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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 `0.33`: 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 - #2228: bug: system error messages injected with dynamic role, can appear as role=user ## Prior & competing PRs - **#2303: fix: remove synthetic error message injection, fix session resume after repeated failures**. merged to main · fix tier `verified` - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded` - files: `hermes_cli/plugins.py`, `run_agent.py`, `tests/test_plugins.py`, `website/docs/reference/environment-variables.md`, `website/docs/user-guide/features/plugins.md` - fix hunks: - `hermes_cli/plugins.py` ```diff @@ -5,7 +5,8 @@ Discovers, loads, and manages plugins from three sources: 1. **User plugins** – ``~/.hermes/plugins//`` -2. **Project plugins** – ``./.hermes/plugins//`` +2. **Project plugins** – ``./.hermes/plugins//`` (opt-in via + ``HERMES_ENABLE_PROJECT_PLUGINS``) 3. **Pip plugins** – packages that expose the ``hermes_agent.plugins`` entry-point group. ``` ```diff @@ -62,6 +63,11 @@ _NS_PARENT = "hermes_plugins" +def _env_enabled(name: str) -> bool: + """Return True when an env var is set to a truthy opt-in value.""" + return os.getenv(name, "").strip().lower() in {"1", "true", "yes", "on"} + + # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Data classes # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ``` ```diff @@ -186,8 +192,9 @@ def discover_and_load(self) -> None: manifests.extend(self._scan_directory(user_dir, source="user")) # 2. Project plugins (./.hermes/plugins/) - project_dir = Path.cwd() / ".hermes" / "plugins" - manifests.extend(self._scan_directory(project_dir, source="project")) + if _env_enabled("HERMES_ENABLE_PROJECT_PLUGINS"): + project_dir = Path.cwd() / ".hermes" / "plugins" + manifests.extend(self._scan_directory(project_dir, source="project")) # 3. Pip / entry-point plugins manifests.extend(self._scan_entry_points()) ``` - `run_agent.py` ```diff @@ -6807,20 +6807,18 @@ def _stop_spinner(): pending_handled = True break - if not pending_handled: - # Error happened before tool processing (e.g. response parsing). - # Choose role to avoid consecutive same-role messages. - last_role = messages[-1].get("role") if messages else None - err_role = "assistant" if last_role == "user" else "user" - sys_err_msg = { - "role": err_role, - "content": f"[System error during processing: {error_msg}]", - } - messages.append(sys_err_msg) - + # Non-tool errors don't need a synthetic message injected. + # The error is already printed to the user (line above), and + # the retry loop continues. Injecting a fake user/assistant + # message pollutes history, burns tokens, and risks violating + # role-alternation invariants. + # If we're near the limit, break to avoid infinite loops if api_call_count >= self.max_iterations - 1: final_response = f"I apologize, but I encountered repeated errors: {error_msg}" + # Append as assistant so the history stays valid for + # session resume (avoids consecutive user messages). + messages.append({"role": "assistant", "content": final_response}) break if final_response is None and ( ``` - `tests/test_plugins.py` ```diff @@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ def test_discover_project_plugins(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch): project_dir = tmp_path / "project" project_dir.mkdir() monkeypatch.chdir(project_dir) + monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_ENABLE_PROJECT_PLUGINS", "true") plugins_dir = project_dir / ".hermes" / "plugins" _make_plugin_dir(plugins_dir, "proj_plugin") ``` ```diff @@ -76,6 +77,19 @@ def test_discover_project_plugins(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch): assert "proj_plugin" in mgr._plugins assert mgr._plugins["proj_plugin"].enabled + def test_discover_project_plugins_skipped_by_default(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch): + """Project plugins are not discovered unless explicitly enabled.""" + project_dir = tmp_path / "project" + project_dir.mkdir() + monkeypatch.chdir(project_dir) + plugins_dir = project_dir / ".hermes" / "plugins" + _make_plugin_dir(plugins_dir, "proj_plugin") + + mgr = PluginManager() + mgr.discover_and_load() + + assert "proj_plugin" not in mgr._plugins + def test_discover_is_idempotent(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch): """Calling discover_and_load() twice does not duplicate plugins.""" plugins_dir = tmp_path / "hermes_test" / "plugins" ``` - `website/docs/reference/environment-variables.md` ```diff @@ -232,6 +232,7 @@ For native Anthropic auth, Hermes prefers Claude Code's own credential files whe | `HERMES_QUIET` | Suppress non-essential output (`true`/`false`) | | `HERMES_API_TIMEOUT` | LLM API call timeout in seconds (default: `900`) | | `HERMES_EXEC_ASK` | Enable execution approval prompts in gateway mode (`true`/`false`) | +| `HERMES_ENABLE_PROJECT_PLUGINS` | Enable auto-discovery of repo-local plugins from `./.hermes/plugins/` (`true`/`false`, default: `false`) | | `HERMES_BACKGROUND_NOTIFICATIONS` | Background process notification mode in gateway: `all` (default), `result`, `error`, `off` | | `HERMES_EPHEMERAL_SYSTEM_PROMPT` | Ephemeral system prompt injected at API-call time (never persisted to sessions) | ``` - `website/docs/user-guide/features/plugins.md` ```diff @@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ Drop a directory into `~/.hermes/plugins/` with a `plugin.yaml` and Python code: Start Hermes — your tools appear alongside built-in tools. The model can call them immediately. +Project-local plugins under `./.hermes/plugins/` are disabled by default. Enable them only for trusted repositories by setting `HERMES_ENABLE_PROJECT_PLUGINS=true` before starting Hermes. + ## What plugins can do | Capability | How | ``` ```diff @@ -38,7 +40,7 @@ Start Hermes — your tools appear alongside built-in tools. The model can call | Source | Path | Use case | |--------|------|----------| | User | `~/.hermes/plugins/` | Personal plugins | -| Project | `.hermes/plugins/` | Project-specific plugins | +| Project | `.hermes/plugins/` | Project-specific plugins (requires `HERMES_ENABLE_PROJECT_PLUGINS=true`) | | pip | `hermes_agent.plugins` entry_points | Distributed packages | ## Available hooks ``` - **#2231: fix: always use role=assistant for system error messages**. closed without merge - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `#2303` - **#2236: fix(agent): always use role=assistant for system error messages, never role=user**. closed without merge - maintainer direction: category `silent_close`; implication `active` - **#2253: fix: always use assistant role for system error messages**. closed without merge - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `#2303` - **#2263: fix: bug: system error messages injected with dynamic role, can appear**. closed without merge - maintainer direction: category `silent_close`; implication `active` ## Fix status - Merged to main in PR #2303 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream. - Fix last verified (merged) `2026-03-21`. This confirmation is old and may be out of date (a revert/reopen would not have invalidated it here); re-verify. - Subsystem: `agent`