Hermes v0.20.5 decision guide

Hermes Operating Map

Working nowNeeds proofLater
What works

What is stale

What happens next

Runtime verdict:

Decision first

The 3 decisions in front of you

Each card names the problem, where it was found, what it causes, what would change and the exact boundary of BB’s decision. Decision 3 comes later and contains three separate pilots, not one bulk approval.

Worked example

What changes for BB

Ask for the outcome. Hermes chooses a route, preserves durable work, checks the real result and returns a phone-readable file.

This example teaches the system before the inventory.

Vertical route

Ask, Route, Work, Check, Deliver, Learn

Kanban is the control system for work that must survive sessions. Delegation is for bounded subtasks. Direct work stays valid.

Which automation should I use?

Choose the shape of the work, not the newest feature.

Capability explorer

What to keep, start using, test or leave alone

Skill bodies load on demand, but 168 enabled routes still create menu pressure. Use evidence to audit enablement. Do not delete by count and do not turn on automatic curator.

Concrete change

Before, after, and what must be true

This separates what is available from what has been proved in BB’s workflow.

Instruction audit

What could mislead Hermes now

SOUL, USER and MEMORY are always injected. A profile SOUL loads only when that profile runs. Infra and Multi-Agent pages are reference or project documents, not automatic prompt context.

Controlled implementation

Who does what, what appears, and where to stop

Checkboxes are local planning state only. Ticking one does not prove a live change, approval or deployment occurred.

Mainline snapshot

Take reliability fixes in the next normal guarded update

At the 24 August 2026 observation, mainline head 96df9525 was 99 commits ahead of installed 8804e783. That is a dated snapshot, not a permanent current count.

Session database

Duplicate-write protection for resumed sessions.

Screenshot history

Caps that reduce old image weight in long visual sessions.

Updater fleet checks

Stronger reconciliation across the default gateway and sibling profiles.

Recommendation: Take these through the next normal guarded update. Do not update now and do not cherry-pick them.
Plain English reference

Glossary

Receipts appendix: source classes and paths

Paths are kept here, collapsed. No secrets or secret values are included.