hermes-gateway-operations

Hermes Gateway Operations

Use this skill when the user asks to start, stop, restart, inspect, or troubleshoot the Hermes Gateway or messaging-platform delivery from inside a gateway chat such as LINE, Telegram, or Discord.

Core rule

Gateway control commands may behave differently depending on where they are run:

• From an outside shell: hermes gateway stop, hermes gateway restart, and hermes gateway status are normal service-control commands.
• From inside the running gateway process: stopping the gateway can be blocked by a safety guard to prevent restart loops and self-termination from a message handler.

If a gateway stop/restart command is requested from a messaging chat, try the direct command only when appropriate, but report the actual output honestly. If Hermes refuses because the command is being run inside the gateway process, tell the user to run the same command from a PC terminal outside the gateway.

Safe workflow

1. Identify that the request concerns Hermes Gateway service control.
2. Prefer official CLI commands:
   • hermes gateway status
   • hermes gateway stop
   • hermes gateway restart
   • hermes gateway start
3. If executing from inside a gateway channel and the command refuses self-stop, do not bypass the guard with process killing unless the user explicitly asks for an external/OS-level shutdown path.
4. Reply with the exact practical next step, usually:
   • hermes gateway stop from Git Bash / terminal outside the gateway
   • hermes gateway restart from Git Bash / terminal outside the gateway
5. Keep the explanation short on LINE because LINE renders Markdown literally and has tight bubble limits.

Pitfalls

• Do not claim the gateway was stopped unless the tool output confirms it.
• Do not treat Bitwarden/secret warnings printed before a command as the cause unless the final error says so. For example, a missing BWS_ACCESS_TOKEN warning can appear before a self-stop refusal; the refusal is the operative blocker for gateway shutdown.
• Do not modify protected bundled skills such as hermes-agent; record local operational additions here instead.

References

• references/inside-gateway-stop-guard.md — observed self-stop refusal transcript and recommended response pattern.