prose-contracts/hermes-config-template.prose.md

---
kind: template
name: hermes-config-template
description: >
  Standard Hermes configuration template for Syslog Solution LLC agents.
  Enforces shared infrastructure setup (Firecrawl, SearXNG, local models,
  RA-H OS MCP) while keeping agent-specific API keys and model choices.
  Updated 2026-07-08: GPU context reduced to 128K on NVIDIA (.8, .110),
  parallel 2 on all GPUs, LiteLLM timeouts tuned, context_length guidance added.
---

## Maintains

- template_version: "2.1.0"
- last_applied: timestamp
- agents_configured: ["tanko", "mumuni", "abiba", "tdunna", "baggy", "kagenz0"]
- agent_keys: map (see Agent Keys section)
- infra_endpoints_verified: array

## Agent Keys (LiteLLM — Current 2026-07-04)

Each agent has a unique LiteLLM API key (virtual key) generated against the LiteLLM
PostgreSQL DB via `POST /key/generate` on CT 116. Keys are stored in the DB, not in
config files. The env var `LITELLM_API_KEY` is set in `/etc/environment` on each agent
host AND in `~/.hermes/.env` for gateway env propagation.
Sub-agent profiles inherit auth from the main config — no separate keys needed.

| Agent | Key Alias | Host | SSH | Sub-Agents |
|-------|-----------|------|-----|-----------|
| Tanko | `tanko-*` | 192.168.68.122 | jerome@.122 | — |
| Mumuni | `mumuni-jul2026` | 192.168.68.123 | root@.123 | 6 profiles ✱ |
| Abiba | `abiba-*` | 192.168.68.24 | local | — |
| Tdunna | `tdunna-*` | ? | Zulip | — |
| Baggy | `baggy-*` | ? | Zulip | — |
| Kagenz0 | `kagenz0-*` | ? | Zulip | — |

✱ Mumuni sub-agents: syslog-code, syslog-devops, syslog-email, syslog-research,
  syslog-review, syslog-writer — all at `/root/.hermes/profiles/<name>/config.yaml`

## Infrastructure Stack

| Component | Endpoint | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Firecrawl | `http://192.168.68.7:3002/` | Web content extraction |
| SearXNG | `http://storepve:8888` | Privacy-respecting web search |
| LiteLLM | `http://192.168.68.116/v1` | Unified model gateway (via nginx) |
| LiteLLM (NetBird) | `https://litellm.sysloggh.net/v1` | Alternative (may have 502 issues) |
| RA-H OS MCP | `http://192.168.68.65:3100/mcp` | Knowledge graph bridge |
| Context7 MCP | `http://localhost:8079/mcp` | Documentation queries |

## API Key Rules

- `api_key_env: LITELLM_API_KEY` — Use env var for main model auth (preferred)
- `api_key: ''` — Sub-agents leave empty to inherit from main config's custom_provider
- `api_key: sk-...` — Hardcoded key only as fallback when env var not possible
- Set `LITELLM_API_KEY` in `/etc/environment` on each host
- Sub-agents NEVER get their own key — they share the host agent's key
- Restart Hermes after updating `/etc/environment`

### Sub-Agent Profiles (Mumuni pattern)

Mumuni has 6 sub-agent profiles in `/root/.hermes/profiles/<name>/config.yaml`:

```
profiles/
├── syslog-code/config.yaml      # Code generation
├── syslog-devops/config.yaml     # DevOps/infrastructure
├── syslog-email/config.yaml      # Email processing
├── syslog-research/config.yaml   # Research & analysis
├── syslog-review/config.yaml     # Code review
└── syslog-writer/config.yaml     # Content writing
```

Sub-agent profile rules:
1. **`api_key` must be empty** — `api_key: ''` or omitted entirely
2. **`base_url` must be empty** — inherits from main config's custom_provider
3. **`provider` is `auto` or `harness`** — routes through the shared LiteLLM gateway
4. **`model` is agent-specific** — each sub-agent can have its own default model
5. **Auxiliary tasks** (vision, compression, etc.) also leave `api_key` empty
6. **Never hardcode a key** in sub-agent profiles

This ensures all 6 sub-agents use the same LiteLLM key set in `/etc/environment`.
When the key is rotated, only the env var needs updating — all 7 configs (main + 6 subs)
work immediately after restart.

## Template — Required Sections

```yaml
# ─── Model Selection ───
model:
  default: <agent_model>          # e.g., ornith-1.0-35b, qwen3.6-27B-code
  provider: harness
  base_url: http://192.168.68.116/v1
  api_key_env: LITELLM_API_KEY    # Set in /etc/environment AND ~/.hermes/.env
  max_tokens: 4096                # ⚠️ CRITICAL: Prevents unbounded generation
  context_length: 262144          # For syslog-auto (ornith route supports 256K).
                                  # Set 131072 if using qwen3.6-27B-code or gemma-4-12b directly.

fallback_providers:
  provider: deepseek
  model: deepseek-chat
  api_key_env: DEEPSEEK_API_KEY

# ─── Web Stack (SHARED INFRA — DO NOT CHANGE) ───
web:
  backend: firecrawl
  search_backend: searxng
  extract_backend: firecrawl
  firecrawl:
    base_url: http://192.168.68.7:3002/

# ─── MCP Servers (SHARED INFRA) ───
mcp_servers:
  context7:
    connect_timeout: 60
    timeout: 300
    url: http://localhost:8079/mcp
  ra-h-os:
    url: http://192.168.68.65:3100/mcp
    timeout: 120
    connect_timeout: 60

# ─── Compression ───
compression:
  enabled: true
  model: gemma-4-12b              # ⚠️ Must match auxiliary.compression.model
  provider: harness
  max_context_window: 262144      # For syslog-auto (ornith supports 256K).
                                  # Set 131072 if using qwen or gemma directly.
  threshold: 0.65                 # Fires at ~170K for 262K window, ~85K for 128K
  target_ratio: 0.30
  protect_last_n: 40
  hygiene_hard_message_limit: 350
  protect_first_n: 3
  abort_on_summary_failure: false

# ─── Auxiliary Tasks (CONSISTENCY RULE) ───
# All auxiliary services MUST use identical model, base_url, and api_key_env:
#   model: gemma-4-12b
#   base_url: http://192.168.68.116/v1
#   api_key_env: LITELLM_API_KEY
# Do NOT use syslog-auto for auxiliary tasks — it routes to the primary GPU.
# gemma-4-12b is a lightweight 12B model on the RTX 5070, freeing the Strix Halo
# for agent reasoning.
auxiliary:
  vision:
    provider: harness
    model: gemma-4-12b
    base_url: http://192.168.68.116/v1
    api_key_env: LITELLM_API_KEY
    timeout: 60
    download_timeout: 30
  web_extract:
    provider: harness
    model: gemma-4-12b
    base_url: http://192.168.68.116/v1
    api_key_env: LITELLM_API_KEY
    timeout: 30
  compression:
    provider: harness
    model: gemma-4-12b
    base_url: http://192.168.68.116/v1
    api_key_env: LITELLM_API_KEY
    timeout: 60

# ─── Custom Provider ───
custom_providers:
  - name: harness
    model: <agent_model>
    base_url: http://192.168.68.116/v1
    api_key_env: LITELLM_API_KEY
    api_mode: chat_completions
```

## Key Update Procedure

When LiteLLM keys are regenerated (e.g., after infrastructure changes):

1. **If SSH available**: `ssh <host> "sudo sed -i 's/LITELLM_API_KEY=.*/LITELLM_API_KEY=sk-<NEW>/' /etc/environment"`
2. **If SSH unavailable**: Send Zulip DM via abiba-bot with update command
3. **After update**: Restart Hermes on the agent host
4. **Verify**: `curl -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-<KEY>" http://192.168.68.116/v1/models`

## Configuration Rules

### Rule 1: Shared Infra Is Locked
The following MUST be identical across ALL profiles:
- `web.backend`, `web.search_backend`, `web.extract_backend`
- `web.firecrawl.base_url`
- `mcp_servers.ra-h-os.url`
- `custom_providers[0].base_url`

### Rule 2: Model Choice Is Free
- `model.default` — per agent
- `fallback_providers.model` — per agent
- `custom_providers[0].model` — per agent

### Rule 3: API Keys via Environment
- Prefer `api_key_env: LITELLM_API_KEY` over hardcoded keys
- Hardcoded keys in config.yaml become stale after key rotation
- `/etc/environment` persists across config updates
- Restart Hermes after env var updates

### Rule 4: Sub-Agent Profiles Inherit Auth
- Sub-agent profiles (`/root/.hermes/profiles/*/config.yaml`) must have:
  - `api_key: ''` — inherit from main config's custom_provider
  - `base_url: ''` — inherit from main config
  - Auxiliary tasks: `api_key: ''`, `provider: harness`
- Never hardcode a key in sub-agent profiles
- When main config uses `api_key_env`, sub-agents automatically use it
- This means key rotation only touches ONE file (`/etc/environment`)

### Rule 5: Main Config Base URL
|- Use direct IP: `http://192.168.68.116/v1`
|- NOT the NetBird URL (`litellm.sysloggh.net`) — can cause 502 when NetBird is down
|- NOT the old path (`/litellm/v1`) — nginx now routes `/v1` directly

### Rule 6: max_tokens Is Required (Thermal Safety)
- **Every Hermes config MUST set `model.max_tokens: 4096`** — this is non-negotiable
- Prevents unbounded generation that caused the July 2 Strix Halo GPU thermal incident
- The value flows through: `config → agent.max_tokens → transport build_kwargs → API max_tokens`
- Even though the server now has `-n 8192` hard cap (set by Abiba), the client cap is the first line of defense
- Apply to BOTH main config AND all sub-agent profiles
- For agents needing longer outputs: raise to 8192, but never omit

### Rule 7: Auxiliary Model Consistency
- All auxiliary services (vision, web_extract, compression) MUST use the same model:
  - `model: gemma-4-12b`
  - `base_url: http://192.168.68.116/v1`
  - `api_key_env: LITELLM_API_KEY`
- **Do NOT use `syslog-auto`** for auxiliary tasks — it routes to the primary 35B reasoning GPU
- gemma-4-12b is a lightweight 12B model on the RTX 5070, keeping the Strix Halo free for reasoning
- The `compression:` block's `model` MUST match `auxiliary: compression: model` — they are two different configs for the same service

### Rule 8: Compression Threshold for 256K Models
- For 262K context window: `threshold: 0.65` (fires at ~170K tokens)
- Do NOT use `threshold: 0.25` — this fires at 65K, causing premature context loss
- Do NOT use `threshold: 0.80` — this delays until 209K, risking the gateway hygiene layer
- `max_context_window: 262144` MUST match the model's actual capacity
- See `devops-hermes-compression` skill for full reference

### Rule 9: Default Model Must Be `syslog-auto` (All Agents)
- **Hermes agents**: `model.default: syslog-auto`, `custom_providers[0].model: syslog-auto`
- **pi agents**: `defaultModel: syslog-auto` in `settings.json`, first model in `models.json`
- `syslog-auto` is the LiteLLM routing model — it load-balances between ornith-1.0-35b
  and qwen3.6-27B-code, with gemma-4-12b as fallback. Using it protects against:
  - Model name typos that cause 403 errors and silent worker failures
  - Single GPU downtime (routing falls back automatically)
  - Key/model authorization mismatches
- **Exception**: Sub-agent profiles (Mumuni's 6 profiles) may specify explicit models
  for specialized tasks, but MUST validate those models exist in the key's authorized list

### Rule 10: Validate Model IDs Before Deployment (pi Agents)
- After configuring a pi agent's `models.json`, verify every model ID:
  ```bash
  curl -s http://192.168.68.116:4000/v1/models \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer <AGENT_KEY>" | jq '.data[].id'
  ```
- All model IDs in `models.json` MUST appear in the LiteLLM response
- The agent's API key may have a SUBSET of the full model catalog — check per-key
- A non-existent model ID causes 403 errors that silently break the pi RPC worker
  (no `agent_end` emitted, worker stays "busy", Zulip messages pile up unprocessed)

## Execution

1. **Check current config** — Read the target agent's config.yaml
2. **Compare against template** — Identify missing or divergent sections
3. **Apply shared infra** — Lock web/MCP/compression sections to template values
4. **Apply agent key** — Set from agent_keys table above
5. **Set model choice** — Per agent's workload
6. **Verify** — curl all shared endpoints, test the model with the new key
7. **Report** — What was changed, preserved, custom