Initial skills documentation — 25 categories, all SKILL.md + references + scripts

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+# Native MCP Client
+
+Hermes Agent has a built-in MCP client that connects to MCP servers at startup, discovers their tools, and makes them available as first-class tools the agent can call directly. No bridge CLI needed -- tools from MCP servers appear alongside built-in tools like `terminal`, `read_file`, etc.
+
+## When to Use
+
+Use this whenever you want to:
+- Connect to MCP servers and use their tools from within Hermes Agent
+- Add external capabilities (filesystem access, GitHub, databases, APIs) via MCP
+- Run local stdio-based MCP servers (npx, uvx, or any command)
+- Connect to remote HTTP/StreamableHTTP MCP servers
+- Have MCP tools auto-discovered and available in every conversation
+
+For ad-hoc, one-off MCP tool calls from the terminal without configuring anything, see the `mcporter` skill instead.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- **mcp Python package** -- optional dependency; install with `pip install mcp`. If not installed, MCP support is silently disabled.
+- **Node.js** -- required for `npx`-based MCP servers (most community servers)
+- **uv** -- required for `uvx`-based MCP servers (Python-based servers)
+
+Install the MCP SDK:
+
+```bash
+pip install mcp
+# or, if using uv:
+uv pip install mcp
+```
+
+## Quick Start
+
+Add MCP servers to `~/.hermes/config.yaml` under the `mcp_servers` key:
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  time:
+    command: "uvx"
+    args: ["mcp-server-time"]
+```
+
+Restart Hermes Agent. On startup it will:
+1. Connect to the server
+2. Discover available tools
+3. Register them with the prefix `mcp_time_*`
+4. Inject them into all platform toolsets
+
+You can then use the tools naturally -- just ask the agent to get the current time.
+
+## Configuration Reference
+
+Each entry under `mcp_servers` is a server name mapped to its config. There are two transport types: **stdio** (command-based) and **HTTP** (url-based).
+
+### Stdio Transport (command + args)
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  server_name:
+    command: "npx"             # (required) executable to run
+    args: ["-y", "pkg-name"]   # (optional) command arguments, default: []
+    env:                       # (optional) environment variables for the subprocess
+      SOME_API_KEY: "value"
+    timeout: 120               # (optional) per-tool-call timeout in seconds, default: 120
+    connect_timeout: 60        # (optional) initial connection timeout in seconds, default: 60
+```
+
+### HTTP Transport (url)
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  server_name:
+    url: "https://my-server.example.com/mcp"   # (required) server URL
+    headers:                                     # (optional) HTTP headers
+      Authorization: "Bearer sk-..."
+    timeout: 180               # (optional) per-tool-call timeout in seconds, default: 120
+    connect_timeout: 60        # (optional) initial connection timeout in seconds, default: 60
+```
+
+### All Config Options
+
+| Option            | Type   | Default | Description                                       |
+|-------------------|--------|---------|---------------------------------------------------|
+| `command`         | string | --      | Executable to run (stdio transport, required)     |
+| `args`            | list   | `[]`    | Arguments passed to the command                   |
+| `env`             | dict   | `{}`    | Extra environment variables for the subprocess    |
+| `url`             | string | --      | Server URL (HTTP transport, required)             |
+| `headers`         | dict   | `{}`    | HTTP headers sent with every request              |
+| `timeout`         | int    | `120`   | Per-tool-call timeout in seconds                  |
+| `connect_timeout` | int    | `60`    | Timeout for initial connection and discovery      |
+
+Note: A server config must have either `command` (stdio) or `url` (HTTP), not both.
+
+## How It Works
+
+### Startup Discovery
+
+When Hermes Agent starts, `discover_mcp_tools()` is called during tool initialization:
+
+1. Reads `mcp_servers` from `~/.hermes/config.yaml`
+2. For each server, spawns a connection in a dedicated background event loop
+3. Initializes the MCP session and calls `list_tools()` to discover available tools
+4. Registers each tool in the Hermes tool registry
+
+### Tool Naming Convention
+
+MCP tools are registered with the naming pattern:
+
+```
+mcp_{server_name}_{tool_name}
+```
+
+Hyphens and dots in names are replaced with underscores for LLM API compatibility.
+
+Examples:
+- Server `filesystem`, tool `read_file` → `mcp_filesystem_read_file`
+- Server `github`, tool `list-issues` → `mcp_github_list_issues`
+- Server `my-api`, tool `fetch.data` → `mcp_my_api_fetch_data`
+
+### Auto-Injection
+
+After discovery, MCP tools are automatically injected into all `hermes-*` platform toolsets (CLI, Discord, Telegram, etc.). This means MCP tools are available in every conversation without any additional configuration.
+
+### Connection Lifecycle
+
+- Each server runs as a long-lived asyncio Task in a background daemon thread
+- Connections persist for the lifetime of the agent process
+- If a connection drops, automatic reconnection with exponential backoff kicks in (up to 5 retries, max 60s backoff)
+- On agent shutdown, all connections are gracefully closed
+
+### Idempotency
+
+`discover_mcp_tools()` is idempotent -- calling it multiple times only connects to servers that aren't already connected. Failed servers are retried on subsequent calls.
+
+## Transport Types
+
+### Stdio Transport
+
+The most common transport. Hermes launches the MCP server as a subprocess and communicates over stdin/stdout.
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  filesystem:
+    command: "npx"
+    args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/home/user/projects"]
+```
+
+The subprocess inherits a **filtered** environment (see Security section below) plus any variables you specify in `env`.
+
+### HTTP / StreamableHTTP Transport
+
+For remote or shared MCP servers. Requires the `mcp` package to include HTTP client support (`mcp.client.streamable_http`).
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  remote_api:
+    url: "https://mcp.example.com/mcp"
+    headers:
+      Authorization: "Bearer sk-..."
+```
+
+If HTTP support is not available in your installed `mcp` version, the server will fail with an ImportError and other servers will continue normally.
+
+## Security
+
+### Environment Variable Filtering
+
+For stdio servers, Hermes does NOT pass your full shell environment to MCP subprocesses. Only safe baseline variables are inherited:
+
+- `PATH`, `HOME`, `USER`, `LANG`, `LC_ALL`, `TERM`, `SHELL`, `TMPDIR`
+- Any `XDG_*` variables
+
+All other environment variables (API keys, tokens, secrets) are excluded unless you explicitly add them via the `env` config key. This prevents accidental credential leakage to untrusted MCP servers.
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  github:
+    command: "npx"
+    args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"]
+    env:
+      # Only this token is passed to the subprocess
+      GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN: "ghp_..."
+```
+
+### Credential Stripping in Error Messages
+
+If an MCP tool call fails, any credential-like patterns in the error message are automatically redacted before being shown to the LLM. This covers:
+
+- GitHub PATs (`ghp_...`)
+- OpenAI-style keys (`sk-...`)
+- Bearer tokens
+- Generic `token=`, `key=`, `API_KEY=`, `password=`, `secret=` patterns
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### "MCP SDK not available -- skipping MCP tool discovery"
+
+The `mcp` Python package is not installed. Install it:
+
+```bash
+pip install mcp
+```
+
+### "No MCP servers configured"
+
+No `mcp_servers` key in `~/.hermes/config.yaml`, or it's empty. Add at least one server.
+
+### "Failed to connect to MCP server 'X'"
+
+Common causes:
+- **Command not found**: The `command` binary isn't on PATH. Ensure `npx`, `uvx`, or the relevant command is installed.
+- **Package not found**: For npx servers, the npm package may not exist or may need `-y` in args to auto-install.
+- **Timeout**: The server took too long to start. Increase `connect_timeout`.
+- **Port conflict**: For HTTP servers, the URL may be unreachable.
+
+### "MCP server 'X' requires HTTP transport but mcp.client.streamable_http is not available"
+
+Your `mcp` package version doesn't include HTTP client support. Upgrade:
+
+```bash
+pip install --upgrade mcp
+```
+
+### Tools not appearing
+
+- Check that the server is listed under `mcp_servers` (not `mcp` or `servers`)
+- Ensure the YAML indentation is correct
+- Look at Hermes Agent startup logs for connection messages
+- Tool names are prefixed with `mcp_{server}_{tool}` -- look for that pattern
+
+### Connection keeps dropping
+
+The client retries up to 5 times with exponential backoff (1s, 2s, 4s, 8s, 16s, capped at 60s). If the server is fundamentally unreachable, it gives up after 5 attempts. Check the server process and network connectivity.
+
+## Examples
+
+### Time Server (uvx)
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  time:
+    command: "uvx"
+    args: ["mcp-server-time"]
+```
+
+Registers tools like `mcp_time_get_current_time`.
+
+### Filesystem Server (npx)
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  filesystem:
+    command: "npx"
+    args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/home/user/documents"]
+    timeout: 30
+```
+
+Registers tools like `mcp_filesystem_read_file`, `mcp_filesystem_write_file`, `mcp_filesystem_list_directory`.
+
+### GitHub Server with Authentication
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  github:
+    command: "npx"
+    args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"]
+    env:
+      GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN: "ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
+    timeout: 60
+```
+
+Registers tools like `mcp_github_list_issues`, `mcp_github_create_pull_request`, etc.
+
+### Remote HTTP Server
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  company_api:
+    url: "https://mcp.mycompany.com/v1/mcp"
+    headers:
+      Authorization: "Bearer sk-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
+      X-Team-Id: "engineering"
+    timeout: 180
+    connect_timeout: 30
+```
+
+### Multiple Servers
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  time:
+    command: "uvx"
+    args: ["mcp-server-time"]
+
+  filesystem:
+    command: "npx"
+    args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/tmp"]
+
+  github:
+    command: "npx"
+    args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"]
+    env:
+      GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN: "ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
+
+  company_api:
+    url: "https://mcp.internal.company.com/mcp"
+    headers:
+      Authorization: "Bearer sk-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
+    timeout: 300
+```
+
+All tools from all servers are registered and available simultaneously. Each server's tools are prefixed with its name to avoid collisions.
+
+## Sampling (Server-Initiated LLM Requests)
+
+Hermes supports MCP's `sampling/createMessage` capability — MCP servers can request LLM completions through the agent during tool execution. This enables agent-in-the-loop workflows (data analysis, content generation, decision-making).
+
+Sampling is **enabled by default**. Configure per server:
+
+```yaml
+mcp_servers:
+  my_server:
+    command: "npx"
+    args: ["-y", "my-mcp-server"]
+    sampling:
+      enabled: true           # default: true
+      model: "gemini-3-flash" # model override (optional)
+      max_tokens_cap: 4096    # max tokens per request
+      timeout: 30             # LLM call timeout (seconds)
+      max_rpm: 10             # max requests per minute
+      allowed_models: []      # model whitelist (empty = all)
+      max_tool_rounds: 5      # tool loop limit (0 = disable)
+      log_level: "info"       # audit verbosity
+```
+
+Servers can also include `tools` in sampling requests for multi-turn tool-augmented workflows. The `max_tool_rounds` config prevents infinite tool loops. Per-server audit metrics (requests, errors, tokens, tool use count) are tracked via `get_mcp_status()`.
+
+Disable sampling for untrusted servers with `sampling: { enabled: false }`.
+
+## Notes
+
+- MCP tools are called synchronously from the agent's perspective but run asynchronously on a dedicated background event loop
+- Tool results are returned as JSON with either `{"result": "..."}` or `{"error": "..."}`
+- The native MCP client is independent of `mcporter` -- you can use both simultaneously
+- Server connections are persistent and shared across all conversations in the same agent process
+- Adding or removing servers requires restarting the agent (no hot-reload currently)
@@ -0,0 +1,210 @@
+# Webhook Subscriptions
+
+Create dynamic webhook subscriptions so external services (GitHub, GitLab, Stripe, CI/CD, IoT sensors, monitoring tools) can trigger Hermes agent runs by POSTing events to a URL.
+
+## Setup (Required First)
+
+The webhook platform must be enabled before subscriptions can be created. Check with:
+```bash
+hermes webhook list
+```
+
+If it says "Webhook platform is not enabled", set it up:
+
+### Option 1: Setup wizard
+```bash
+hermes gateway setup
+```
+Follow the prompts to enable webhooks, set the port, and set a global HMAC secret.
+
+### Option 2: Manual config
+Add to `~/.hermes/config.yaml`:
+```yaml
+platforms:
+  webhook:
+    enabled: true
+    extra:
+      host: "0.0.0.0"
+      port: 8644
+      secret: "generate-a-strong-secret-here"
+```
+
+### Option 3: Environment variables
+Add to `${HERMES_HOME:-~/.hermes}/.env`:
+```bash
+WEBHOOK_ENABLED=true
+WEBHOOK_PORT=8644
+WEBHOOK_SECRET=generate-a-strong-secret-here
+```
+
+After configuration, start (or restart) the gateway:
+```bash
+hermes gateway run
+# Or if using systemd:
+systemctl --user restart hermes-gateway
+```
+
+Verify it's running:
+```bash
+curl http://localhost:8644/health
+```
+
+## Commands
+
+All management is via the `hermes webhook` CLI command:
+
+### Create a subscription
+```bash
+hermes webhook subscribe <name> \
+  --prompt "Prompt template with {payload.fields}" \
+  --events "event1,event2" \
+  --description "What this does" \
+  --skills "skill1,skill2" \
+  --deliver telegram \
+  --deliver-chat-id "12345" \
+  --secret "optional-custom-secret"
+```
+
+Returns the webhook URL and HMAC secret. The user configures their service to POST to that URL.
+
+### Filter or transform payloads before the agent runs
+
+Two mechanisms narrow broad event streams (e.g. Todoist/GitHub fire on every update) so only relevant payloads wake the agent:
+
+- **Declarative `filters`** (config.yaml routes only): list of conditions on payload fields, event type, or headers — operators `equals`, `not_equals`, `contains`, `exists`, `missing`, `in`, `in_file`, `regex`, with `all`/`any`/`not` grouping. Non-matching events are ignored with HTTP 200.
+- **Route scripts** (`--script` on subscribe, or `script:` on a config route): a script under `~/.hermes/scripts/` receives the payload as JSON on stdin. JSON stdout replaces the payload before prompt templating; empty stdout, `[SILENT]`, or a nonzero exit ignores the webhook. `.sh`/`.bash` run with bash, everything else with Python. Scripts cannot live outside `~/.hermes/scripts/` (path traversal is blocked).
+
+```bash
+hermes webhook subscribe todoist-hermes \
+  --prompt "Task changed: {payload.content}" \
+  --script "todoist-hermes-label.py" \
+  --deliver telegram --deliver-chat-id "12345"
+```
+
+Full filter syntax: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/messaging/webhooks#payload-filters
+
+### List subscriptions
+```bash
+hermes webhook list
+```
+
+### Remove a subscription
+```bash
+hermes webhook remove <name>
+```
+
+### Test a subscription
+```bash
+hermes webhook test <name>
+hermes webhook test <name> --payload '{"key": "value"}'
+```
+
+## Prompt Templates
+
+Prompts support `{dot.notation}` for accessing nested payload fields:
+
+- `{issue.title}` — GitHub issue title
+- `{pull_request.user.login}` — PR author
+- `{data.object.amount}` — Stripe payment amount
+- `{sensor.temperature}` — IoT sensor reading
+
+If no prompt is specified, the full JSON payload is dumped into the agent prompt.
+
+## Common Patterns
+
+### GitHub: new issues
+```bash
+hermes webhook subscribe github-issues \
+  --events "issues" \
+  --prompt "New GitHub issue #{issue.number}: {issue.title}\n\nAction: {action}\nAuthor: {issue.user.login}\nBody:\n{issue.body}\n\nPlease triage this issue." \
+  --deliver telegram \
+  --deliver-chat-id "-100123456789"
+```
+
+Then in GitHub repo Settings → Webhooks → Add webhook:
+- Payload URL: the returned webhook_url
+- Content type: application/json
+- Secret: the returned secret
+- Events: "Issues"
+
+### GitHub: PR reviews
+```bash
+hermes webhook subscribe github-prs \
+  --events "pull_request" \
+  --prompt "PR #{pull_request.number} {action}: {pull_request.title}\nBy: {pull_request.user.login}\nBranch: {pull_request.head.ref}\n\n{pull_request.body}" \
+  --skills "github-code-review" \
+  --deliver github_comment
+```
+
+### Stripe: payment events
+```bash
+hermes webhook subscribe stripe-payments \
+  --events "payment_intent.succeeded,payment_intent.payment_failed" \
+  --prompt "Payment {data.object.status}: {data.object.amount} cents from {data.object.receipt_email}" \
+  --deliver telegram \
+  --deliver-chat-id "-100123456789"
+```
+
+### CI/CD: build notifications
+```bash
+hermes webhook subscribe ci-builds \
+  --events "pipeline" \
+  --prompt "Build {object_attributes.status} on {project.name} branch {object_attributes.ref}\nCommit: {commit.message}" \
+  --deliver discord \
+  --deliver-chat-id "1234567890"
+```
+
+### Generic monitoring alert
+```bash
+hermes webhook subscribe alerts \
+  --prompt "Alert: {alert.name}\nSeverity: {alert.severity}\nMessage: {alert.message}\n\nPlease investigate and suggest remediation." \
+  --deliver origin
+```
+
+### Direct delivery (no agent, zero LLM cost)
+
+For use cases where you just want to push a notification through to a user's chat — no reasoning, no agent loop — add `--deliver-only`. The rendered `--prompt` template becomes the literal message body and is dispatched directly to the target adapter.
+
+Use this for:
+- External service push notifications (Supabase/Firebase webhooks → Telegram)
+- Monitoring alerts that should forward verbatim
+- Inter-agent pings where one agent is telling another agent's user something
+- Any webhook where an LLM round trip would be wasted effort
+
+```bash
+hermes webhook subscribe antenna-matches \
+  --deliver telegram \
+  --deliver-chat-id "123456789" \
+  --deliver-only \
+  --prompt "🎉 New match: {match.user_name} matched with you!" \
+  --description "Antenna match notifications"
+```
+
+The POST returns `200 OK` on successful delivery, `502` on target failure — so upstream services can retry intelligently. HMAC auth, rate limits, and idempotency still apply.
+
+Requires `--deliver` to be a real target (telegram, discord, slack, github_comment, etc.) — `--deliver log` is rejected because log-only direct delivery is pointless.
+
+## Security
+
+- Each subscription gets an auto-generated HMAC-SHA256 secret (or provide your own with `--secret`)
+- The webhook adapter validates signatures on every incoming POST
+- Static routes from config.yaml cannot be overwritten by dynamic subscriptions
+- Subscriptions persist to `~/.hermes/webhook_subscriptions.json`
+
+## How It Works
+
+1. `hermes webhook subscribe` writes to `~/.hermes/webhook_subscriptions.json`
+2. The webhook adapter hot-reloads this file on each incoming request (mtime-gated, negligible overhead)
+3. When a POST arrives matching a route, the adapter formats the prompt and triggers an agent run
+4. The agent's response is delivered to the configured target (Telegram, Discord, GitHub comment, etc.)
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+If webhooks aren't working:
+
+1. **Is the gateway running?** Check with `systemctl --user status hermes-gateway` or `ps aux | grep gateway`
+2. **Is the webhook server listening?** `curl http://localhost:8644/health` should return `{"status": "ok"}`
+3. **Check gateway logs:** `grep webhook ~/.hermes/logs/gateway.log | tail -20`
+4. **Signature mismatch?** Verify the secret in your service matches the one from `hermes webhook list`. GitHub sends `X-Hub-Signature-256`, GitLab sends `X-Gitlab-Token`.
+5. **Firewall/NAT?** The webhook URL must be reachable from the service. For local development, use a tunnel (ngrok, cloudflared).
+6. **Wrong event type?** Check `--events` filter matches what the service sends. Use `hermes webhook test <name>` to verify the route works.