Hermes Toolkit MCP

Hermes Toolkit MCP is a safety-first MCP operations cockpit for Hermes Agent installations. It exposes typed, evidence-producing management primitives rather than a generic proxy for every Hermes tool or an untyped “ask Hermes” bridge.

Experimental: the no-config default exposes the owner-tier surface for local development. Review the policy model and configure policy.mode: read_only or narrower feature gates before connecting it to an installation you care about.

The project is maintained on a best-effort basis. See CONTRIBUTING.md for development guidance and SECURITY.md for private vulnerability reporting.

Framework decision

The package uses the official Python mcp SDK as the protocol baseline (mcp>=1.9,<2). The stdio server keeps stdout reserved for MCP protocol frames; diagnostics belong on stderr or in bounded artifacts. FastMCP is intentionally not used in this vertical slice because the plan calls for explicit control over policy gates, result envelopes, artifact receipts, and stdout/stderr behavior.

Implemented MCP tools

Tier	Tools
M1 read-only	hermes_status_overview, hermes_detect_install, hermes_toolkit_info, hermes_profiles_list, hermes_config_summary
M2a API docs	hermes_api_docs_list, hermes_api_docs_read, hermes_kanban_api_docs_list, hermes_kanban_api_docs_read
M2c Hermes API metadata	hermes_api_models_list, hermes_api_capabilities_get, hermes_api_health, hermes_api_health_detailed, hermes_api_skills_list, hermes_api_toolsets_list
M2c Hermes API calls	hermes_api_chat_completions, hermes_api_responses_create, hermes_api_responses_get, hermes_api_responses_delete, hermes_api_runs_start, hermes_api_runs_get, hermes_api_runs_events, hermes_api_runs_stop, hermes_api_runs_approval, hermes_api_jobs_list, hermes_api_jobs_create, hermes_api_jobs_get, hermes_api_jobs_update, hermes_api_jobs_delete, hermes_api_jobs_pause, hermes_api_jobs_resume, hermes_api_jobs_run
M2c Kanban API metadata	hermes_kanban_board_get, hermes_kanban_task_get, hermes_kanban_workers_active, hermes_kanban_run_get, hermes_kanban_run_inspect, hermes_kanban_profiles_list, hermes_kanban_orchestration_get, hermes_kanban_config_get
M2c Kanban API calls	hermes_kanban_task_create, hermes_kanban_task_update, hermes_kanban_tasks_bulk_update, hermes_kanban_task_comment_create, hermes_kanban_link_create, hermes_kanban_link_delete, hermes_kanban_task_specify, hermes_kanban_task_decompose, hermes_kanban_profile_update, hermes_kanban_orchestration_update, hermes_kanban_dispatch_nudge
M2d smoke / M3 eval / M4-M5 diagnostics	hermes_api_smoke, hermes_eval_suites_list, hermes_eval_run, hermes_eval_start, hermes_job_status, hermes_job_cancel, hermes_deploy_guard_check, hermes_config_compare_surfaces, hermes_deploy_repair_plan, hermes_gateway_status, hermes_log_tail
M6 skill workflow	hermes_skills_list, hermes_skill_read, hermes_skill_eval_start, hermes_skill_patch_proposal
M7 fallback	hermes_agent_ask_fallback
M8 mutation	hermes_skill_patch_apply, hermes_config_patch_apply, hermes_gateway_restart, hermes_deploy_repair_apply

Goals

• Provide a curated MCP server for Hermes management and diagnostics.
• Treat this package as experimental local tooling: the no-config default exposes all implemented feature tiers, while operators can set policy.mode: read_only or lower gates explicitly for conservative deployments.
• Model policy tiers, tool metadata, redaction, path containment, API route-table controls, and artifact receipts before live calls.
• Produce structured evidence and private artifacts for non-trivial operations.
• Prefer typed wrappers and documented route tables over generic fallback tools.
• Keep hermes_agent_ask_fallback visibly last resort: it is optional, gated by api_call policy plus live/model/tool/external-side-effect gates, and should never be the primary workflow.

Non-goals and default denials for M1/M2a/M2b/M2c/M2d/M3/M4/M5/M6/M7/M8

• No user-facing raw Hermes API fallback MCP tool is provided; M2b only adds the reusable internal client/route-table substrate and M2c exposes the first typed API wrapper.
• No global nullable-schema rewrite or compatibility normalizer is implemented; the consuming client's schema-adapter defect remains a vendor/external-lane issue unless explicitly fixed in an editable client repository and accepted by review.
• No network refresh is performed during normal API docs tool or resource calls; M2a uses a bundled snapshot of the official API server docs.
• No non-loopback chat-completions smoke is enabled by policy alone; M2c targets mocked/local loopback endpoints unless the operator separately enables the non-local opt-in env var.
• No live eval run happens merely because tools are visible; M3 permits dry/structural suites without model calls and requires live_eval=true plus HERMES_TOOLKIT_MCP_ALLOW_LIVE_EVAL=1 for non-dry suites.
• No deploy repair is applied by the M4/M5 guard tools: they do not fetch, switch branches, merge, restart services, write config, or mutate live checkouts.
• No skill write is applied by the M6 skill workflow tools: reads are bounded, eval start only writes eval artifacts, and patch proposals write proposal artifacts only.
• The MCP server does not implicitly migrate launchers or credential sources, publish packages, push repositories, or post public issues; those remain explicit operator actions outside its typed tool calls.
• M8 mutation tools are visible in the experimental default surface, but each apply path still requires exact-scope hashes, a confirmation nonce, private backups/receipts, and configured command hashes for owner actions.
• No package publication, git push/merge/rewrite, third-party tracker write, or unconfigured service mutation is performed implicitly.
• No generic “all Hermes tools” proxy is provided.
• No hermes_api_request_fallback tool is exposed; route-table raw fallback remains denied until every route has explicit risk classification and denial tests.
• No unrestricted shell/file bridge is exposed.
• No secrets or raw environment values are printed.

Package layout

M1 contains bootstrap/safety primitives plus the first read-only MCP discovery tools:

• config.py — typed YAML/env-loaded configuration model.
• policy.py — canonical policy lattice and per-tool metadata decisions.
• redaction.py — central redaction primitives.
• paths.py — path containment and symlink escape checks.
• artifacts.py — private artifact writer and manifest schema.
• api_client.py — M2b fail-closed Hermes API route table, typed-wrapper authorization, httpx client, and redacted request/result/response receipts.
• chat_completions.py — M2c typed hermes_api_chat_completions request validation and mocked/local API wrapper.
• evals.py — M3 eval-suite listing, dry/live gate enforcement, synchronous/asynchronous eval jobs, and request/result/summary/stdout/stderr/report artifacts.
• diagnostics.py — M4/M5 read-only deploy guard, config comparison, gateway status/log tail diagnostics, proposal-only repair plans, and gated API smoke.
• skills.py — M6 skill list/read/eval-start wrappers, linked-file containment, and proposal-only skill patch artifacts.
• mutations.py — M8 gated mutation apply tools for exact-scope skill/config patches, configured gateway restarts, and configured deploy repair commands.
• discovery.py — read-only Hermes/toolkit/profile/config discovery helpers.
• api_docs.py and snapshots/hermes-api-server.md — bundled official API server docs index, resources, source provenance, and planned wrapper mapping.
• server.py — official SDK stdio MCP server with registration-time and call-time policy enforcement.
• docs/tool-contracts.md — MCP tool/resource contracts and safety metadata.

Quick start

uv run hermes-toolkit-mcp --help
uv run hermes-toolkit-mcp --config examples/read-only.yaml config-check --json
npx --yes mcporter list --stdio "uv run hermes-toolkit-mcp" --schema --json
npx --yes mcporter call --stdio "uv run hermes-toolkit-mcp" --output json hermes_detect_install
uv run pytest

Running uv run hermes-toolkit-mcp with no subcommand starts the stdio MCP server. Use --help or config-check for terminal-friendly output.

M1 read-only tools

• hermes_status_overview
• hermes_detect_install
• hermes_toolkit_info (reports degraded verdict/warnings when eval paths are denied or missing)
• hermes_profiles_list
• hermes_config_summary

All five tools register with read-only/idempotent MCP annotations, min_tier=read_only, no live-call/model-spend/agent-tool/external-side-effect flags, and no mutation/destructive flags. The same policy metadata is checked at registration time and call time.

M2a API docs resources and tools

M2a adds the documentation half of the Hermes API track without making live API, model, tool, or network calls during normal MCP operations:

• hermes_api_docs_list — lists bundled hermes-docs://api-server/* resources, section slugs, snapshot provenance, and planned API wrapper mapping.
• hermes_api_docs_read — reads one bundled section by slug or resource URI; defaults to the full snapshot.
• MCP resources under hermes-docs://api-server/*, including full, overview, endpoint sections such as post-v1-chat-completions, and operational sections such as authentication and configuration.

The snapshot is curated from the official source URL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/api-server, records snapshot timestamp/version metadata, and replaces example credential-looking values with placeholders. These docs surfaces register at min_tier=api_docs, remain read-only/idempotent, and are intentionally separate from future prompt-bearing API wrappers.

M2b API route table and client substrate

M2b adds the internal client substrate required before any raw-ish Hermes API fallback can exist. It does not expose a generic API proxy MCP tool. The reusable HermesApiClient wraps httpx behind a fail-closed route table that records method, path pattern, risk flags, minimum policy tier, typed wrapper name, per-route body limits, allowed caller-supplied headers, and fallback permission.

Calls are allowed only when the route is known, the configured policy tier is sufficient, allow_live_api_calls is enabled, and the caller names the matching typed wrapper. Unknown /v1/* routes, explicit unsafe/unwrapped endpoints such as /api/sessions/{id}/chat, raw fallback attempts, arbitrary headers, redirects, non-JSON responses, and oversized bodies fail closed with stable safe error codes.

When a configured API-key environment variable is present, the client adds bearer auth to the outbound request but receipts record only the env-var name and presence boolean. Request/result/response receipt artifacts include hashes, byte counts, bounded redacted previews, route metadata, status/content-type metadata, and never the raw bearer value.

M2c typed Hermes API wrappers

M2c exposes the first prompt-bearing typed API wrapper (hermes_api_chat_completions) plus read-only metadata wrappers for the Hermes API server surface. All API wrappers route through the fail-closed HermesApiClient and write redacted request/result/response receipts.

• hermes_api_chat_completions — OpenAI-compatible POST /v1/chat/completions with bounded messages, stream=false, and mocked/local-first non-loopback opt-in.
• hermes_api_responses_create / hermes_api_responses_get / hermes_api_responses_delete — typed OpenAI Responses API wrappers.
• hermes_api_runs_start / hermes_api_runs_get / hermes_api_runs_events / hermes_api_runs_stop / hermes_api_runs_approval — typed Runs API wrappers.
• hermes_api_jobs_list / hermes_api_jobs_create / hermes_api_jobs_get / hermes_api_jobs_update / hermes_api_jobs_delete / hermes_api_jobs_pause / hermes_api_jobs_resume / hermes_api_jobs_run — typed scheduler/cron job wrappers. hermes_api_jobs_list uses concrete limit=25/offset=0 defaults, omits prompt bodies from summaries (use hermes_api_jobs_get for the full definition), records upstream body bytes/hash in receipts, and returns pagination fields plus a 24 KiB item budget/32 KiB final-envelope budget.
• hermes_api_skills_list — GET /v1/skills returning structured skill metadata with optional category/limit/offset filters.
• hermes_api_toolsets_list — GET /v1/toolsets returning structured toolset metadata with optional category/limit/offset filters.
• hermes_api_models_list, hermes_api_capabilities_get, hermes_api_health, hermes_api_health_detailed — read-only server metadata.

State-changing wrappers register at min_tier=api_call and require the live, model-spend (where applicable), agent-tool, and external-side-effect gates. Read-only metadata wrappers register at min_tier=api_metadata and require live and external-side-effect gates. The experimental no-config default enables those gates; conservative deployments can lower policy.mode or individual gates.

hermes_api_skills_list and hermes_api_toolsets_list are typed GET wrappers. They accept optional category, limit, and offset parameters and are listed in the bundled API docs skills-and-toolsets-discovery section as implemented_typed_wrapper.

M2d protocol smoke, denials, and fallback guardrails

M2d completes the protocol/safety validation layer around the M2 API surfaces:

• mcporter list --stdio "uv run hermes-toolkit-mcp" --schema --json is the protocol smoke for tool/resource discovery; stdout remains reserved for MCP/JSON protocol output while diagnostics stay off stdout.
• The expected API-wrapper sequence reads the bundled docs resource first, for example hermes-docs://api-server/post-v1-chat-completions, then invokes the typed hermes_api_chat_completions wrapper against a mocked/local endpoint.
• hermes_api_chat_completions returns top-level run_id and artifact_dir values plus absolute request/result/response receipt artifact paths.
• A generic raw hermes_api_request_fallback MCP tool remains absent. Internally classified routes still set allow_fallback=false, and raw fallback authorization attempts are denied with RAW_FALLBACK_DENIED.
• hermes_agent_ask_fallback remains visibly last resort. run and start now require why_no_typed_tool_fits, docs_resource_consulted, typed_wrapper_checked, risk_acknowledgement, and expected_evidence; the bridge reads the named docs resource and writes docs-consulted.json before any backend/API wrapper call.

M3 eval harness integration

M3 wraps the configured Hermes eval harness behind the eval policy tier:

• hermes_eval_suites_list lists suite files from toolkit.suites_dir, including dry/structural markers and case counts, without executing the harness. Discovery and execution use the same post-symlink configured-path resolver; an external target not in policy.allowed_paths is reported as PATH_DENIED with a degraded verdict.
• hermes_eval_run executes one bounded suite synchronously and writes private request.json, result.json, summary.json, stdout.txt, stderr.txt, report.md, and manifest.json artifacts.
• hermes_eval_start starts the same run path as an in-process async job; hermes_job_status polls it and hermes_job_cancel requests best-effort cancellation.
• Dry/structural suites must declare a top-level or metadata mcp_dry_run, dry_run, structural, or mode: dry marker. Non-dry suites require live_eval=true, all live/model/tool/external policy gates, and HERMES_TOOLKIT_MCP_ALLOW_LIVE_EVAL=1.

M4/M5 deploy guard and gateway/API diagnostics

M4/M5 adds deploy-readiness and runtime-diagnostic surfaces without granting deploy authority:

• hermes_deploy_guard_check is read-only and probes an allowlisted live git worktree for branch, HEAD, cleanliness, and symlink/path-containment failures. It never fetches, switches branches, merges, restarts, or writes config.
• hermes_config_compare_surfaces compares selected top-level YAML config keys across two allowlisted config files. Secret-like keys are reported by presence only, and output is redacted.
• hermes_deploy_repair_plan is available only at propose_mutation; it writes private repair-plan.json and repair-plan.md artifacts and explicitly performs no git/service/config mutation.
• hermes_gateway_status reads configured pid/lock/log-path state and process presence when a pid file is configured; it never starts, stops, restarts, or signals a process. It parses plain-decimal and Hermes 0.18.2 JSON PID files; malformed, stale, unreadable, missing, or denied states surface degraded or blocked with a warning rather than a silent pass.
• hermes_log_tail tails only configured hermes.gateway.allowed_log_paths, with bounded reads and redaction; arbitrary log paths are denied. An empty allowlist is a valid fail-closed configuration.
• hermes_api_smoke is gated at api_call with all live/model/tool/external gates. It separates endpoint reachability, auth acceptance, model invocation, and assistant-answer evidence, writes smoke-summary.json, and requires HERMES_TOOLKIT_MCP_ALLOW_LIVE_API_SMOKE=1 for non-loopback API bases.

M6 skill workflow support

M6 adds proposal-first skill workflow tools; direct skill mutation is separated into M8 exact-scope apply tools:

• hermes_skills_list lists toolkit/home/profile skill directories, frontmatter summaries, and linked files under references/, templates/, scripts/, or assets/. Bare calls default to limit=25, compact summaries, and total_count/returned_count/next_offset pagination fields; projected items stay within a 24 KiB byte budget and the final envelope stays within a 32 KiB target. Use detail="full" for the rich shape, still subject to the same bounds.
• hermes_skill_read reads a bounded SKILL.md or linked file after resolving the skill and linked file under allowed roots and the skill directory.
• hermes_skill_eval_start validates a skill id before starting the existing dry/live-gated eval job path, writing eval artifacts but not skill files.
• hermes_skill_patch_proposal is available only at propose_mutation; it writes private proposal.json, proposal.patch, and manifest artifacts while recording proposal_only=true and no_skill_write/no_git_operation non-actions.

Actual skill writes are performed only by M8 apply tools, which require exact-scope hashes, a matching confirmation nonce, and path-containment checks.

M7 optional fallback bridge

M7 adds hermes_agent_ask_fallback as a last-resort, artifact-producing bridge. It is visible in the experimental default surface, but run and start requests must explain why no typed tool fits, name the bundled docs resource consulted, name the typed wrapper checked, acknowledge risk, and list expected evidence.

M8 gated mutation tools

M8 adds mutation-capable tools. They are visible in the experimental default surface, but execution remains fail-closed unless each exact-scope gate passes:

• hermes_skill_patch_apply applies an exact-scope skill-file patch only with expected_original_sha256 and a confirmation nonce from policy.mutation_confirmation_nonce_env.
• hermes_config_patch_apply applies an exact-scope config-file patch only with matching file SHA-256, parse validation for YAML/JSON/TOML, and a confirmation nonce.
• hermes_gateway_restart is owner-tier/destructive and runs only a preconfigured hermes.mutation_commands.gateway_restart argv list after command-hash and nonce gates pass.
• hermes_deploy_repair_apply is owner-tier/destructive and runs only a preconfigured hermes.mutation_commands.deploy_repair argv list against a verified repair-plan.json artifact after command-hash, plan-hash, and nonce gates pass.

Every apply path writes a private artifact receipt. File patch tools write private target-adjacent backups and a redacted patch; command tools capture redacted stdout/stderr and never use a shell string.

Fixture contract

Tests use static fake fixtures under tests/fixtures/ and temporary directories from tmp_path. They must not depend on a developer's live home directory, Hermes installation, toolkit checkout, external tracker state, or API server.

License

Hermes Toolkit MCP is licensed under the MIT License.