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Improving agent self-knowledge of its own runtime/docs

NousResearch/hermes-agent · cluster 24154 · agent

Data as of

Nothing open on GitHub. Fix merged in #38538. Check it covers your case.

The short answer

0open issues
0open PRs
6items grouped
Known?
Yes. 6 related items grouped here, 2 issues already closed.
Fix event
A fix was merged to main in PR #38538. Check it covers your case. No release data is tracked.
Tracker
The maintainers' tracker marks this unresolved. That is separate from the fix event.
Still open
Nothing open on GitHub.

These issues and PRs address the agent's lack of awareness about its own framework, capabilities, and documentation sources. Work involves adding skills, broadening guidance prompts, and surfacing canonical docs into the agent's context.

Open issues0

No open issues.

Open PRs0

No open pull requests.

Fixes on record

Merged to main. A stamp counts the issues a fix is linked to.

  • #38538 feat(prompt): broaden Hermes self-knowledge pointer to docs + skill

    merged to main

    files: agent/prompt_builder.py

    Show the diff
    • agent/prompt_builder.py
      @@ -129,9 +129,14 @@ def _strip_yaml_frontmatter(content: str) -> str:
 )
 
 HERMES_AGENT_HELP_GUIDANCE = (
-    "If the user asks about configuring, setting up, or using Hermes Agent "
-    "itself, load the `hermes-agent` skill with skill_view(name='hermes-agent') "
-    "before answering. Docs: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs"
+    "You run on Hermes Agent (by Nous Research). When the user needs help with "
+    "Hermes itself — configuring, setting up, using, extending, or troubleshooting "
+    "it — or when you need to understand your own features, tools, or capabilities, "
+    "the documentation at https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs is your "
+    "authoritative reference and always holds the latest, most up-to-date "
+    "information. Load the `hermes-agent` skill with skill_view(name='hermes-agent') "
+    "for additional guidance and proven workflows, but treat the docs as the source "
+    "of truth when the two differ."
 )
 
 MEMORY_GUIDANCE = (

3 PRs closed without merging

From the close comments: done elsewhere 2 · duplicate 1

  • #24163 Add bundled hermes-agent skill so the agent knows what framework it's running on (fixes #24154) · done elsewhere → f99665f, #38538
  • #26168 feat(agent): widen self-knowledge guidance and add live documentation sources reference · done elsewhere → f99665f, #26167
  • #26171 fix(prompt): widen HERMES_AGENT_HELP_GUIDANCE for uncertainty triggers · duplicate → #26168
Closed issues · 2
  • Closed#24154Agent has no self-knowledge of its own runtime — canonical docs exist on disk but are never surfaced into context
  • Closed#26167Agent lacks guidance to check own docs/source when uncertain about its capabilities
How this cluster was grouped
  • Link evidence (partly structural links): some members are connected by structural evidence (shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference); the rest are joined by an automated relevance judgement over their text.
  • Members outside that structural core may belong to a different underlying problem.
  • Pairwise link density 0.29: the share of item 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.

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At a glance

Subsystem
agent
Merged PRs
#38538
Closed issues
2
Attempts
3 PRs closed without merging
Fix link checked
4 Jun 2026

For your agent

The same facts, typed.

cluster/24154.json
cluster/24154.md