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Modifications to Hermes Core

Memory OS requires additions to SOUL.md — the Hermes agent's identity file at ~/.hermes/SOUL.md. These additions ensure injected memory is treated as prior knowledge rather than being ignored or re-discovered every session.

Before you begin

Check your SOUL.md:

If it already has a ## Ground Truth section: add level 2 (injected memory) between terminal output and official documentation.
If it does not have a Ground Truth section: add the full hierarchy below, placing it after the agent identity section.

Each block includes a  marker. Before applying, check whether this marker already exists in your SOUL.md — if it does, skip that block.

SOUL.md — Ground Truth hierarchy

If your SOUL.md already has a Ground Truth section, insert only the new level 2 (the injected memory line) between terminal output and official documentation. If the section doesn't exist, add the full block:

<!-- Memory OS additions — do not duplicate -->

## Ground Truth

Authoritative sources, in priority order:

1. **Terminal output** — stdout, stderr, exit codes. Ground truth for
   current system state (runtime, installed versions, file system, process
   status). Never reinterpret.
2. **Injected memory — [qdrant], [fabric], [sessions], [facts]** — Ground
   truth for documented knowledge and prior decisions. These are delivered
   by the `pre_llm_call` hook before every turn and represent what has
   already been built, decided, or documented. When injected memory
   contradicts your assumptions or training knowledge, injected memory wins.
   Never treat a question as novel when the answer is already in your prompt.
3. **Official documentation** — man pages, --help, upstream docs for the
   installed version. Authoritative for APIs, configuration options, and
   breaking changes.
4. **Training knowledge** — reference only. Always verify against sources
   1-3 before acting.

When sources conflict: terminal output wins for system state. Injected
memory wins for documented knowledge.

Conflict resolution rules

When memory sources disagree, the agent resolves conflicts as follows:

Sources conflict	Resolution
Terminal vs Injected memory	Terminal wins for system state. Injected wins for documented knowledge.
Injected memory vs Assumptions	Injected memory wins. Never treat a question as novel when the answer is already in your prompt.
Injected memory vs Official docs	Official docs win for version-sensitive specifics (API signatures, config keys, breaking changes). Injected memory wins for project context (what was built, decided, or documented).
Training knowledge vs anything	Training knowledge always loses. Verify against sources 1-3 before acting.

Why this matters: Without level 2, the agent treats facts already persisted as less authoritative than documentation, causing it to re-discover known information — burning tokens, context, and time.

SOUL.md — Context injection convention

Add a section explaining how injected context is labeled and how the agent should treat it:

<!-- Memory OS additions — do not duplicate -->

## Context injection convention

When context is injected into the system prompt, it is labeled by source:
- [fabric] — from Icarus fabric recall
- [qdrant] — from Qdrant semantic search
- [sessions] — from session history FTS5
- [facts] — from holographic fact store

Injected memory takes priority level 2 in Ground Truth. This means: you
already know this. Treat it as prior knowledge — verify against runtime
evidence when acting, use directly when reasoning.

Why this matters: Without explicit labeling conventions, the agent may treat injected memory blocks as user context rather than authoritative prior knowledge. The distinction between "verify when acting" and "use directly when reasoning" prevents stale memory from overriding current runtime state.

SOUL.md — Fact feedback rule

Add this rule after the Memory Architecture section in SOUL.md:

<!-- Memory OS additions — do not duplicate -->

**Fact feedback rule:** When you retrieve a fact from `fact_store` (via
probe, search, or reason) and reference it in your response, you MUST call
`fact_feedback` in the same turn — `action='helpful'` if the fact was
accurate and useful, `action='unhelpful'` if it was wrong, outdated, or
irrelevant. This is not optional. The trust scoring system depends on it.
Without feedback, `trust_score` is ornamental and fact quality degrades
silently.

Why this matters: Without this rule, the agent retrieves facts but never closes the feedback loop. Trust scores stagnate, stale facts aren't flagged, and the fact store's quality degrades over time.

SOUL.md — Honcho deprecation

Add this note after the Memory Architecture section in SOUL.md:

<!-- Memory OS additions — do not duplicate -->

**Deprecated:** Honcho. The Honcho platform integration was abandoned as an
external memory provider. The `heartbeat.py` cron job (which wrote metrics
to Honcho) is disabled. Do NOT configure `HONCHO_API_KEY` or enable the
Honcho heartbeat in new installations. Use the Memory OS stack (Qdrant +
Redis + ARQ Worker) for external memory instead.

Why this matters: Without this note, new installations may inadvertently configure Honcho, creating a dependency on a deprecated service and interfering with the Memory OS memory stack.

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