ironsilk 0.9.13

Domain/workspace context management — Hermes Navigator v1 (published under ironsilk codename)

ironsilk — Domain/Workspace Context Management

Naming note — ironsilk is the PyPI codename for this package during the active refactoring phase of the platform. The underlying runtime was developed as hermes-navigator (now deprecated → https://pypi.org/project/hermes-navigator/). The final product identity and package name are not yet settled. tide is the canonical CLI entry point. The Python import path (hermes_navigator) is unchanged until a deliberate import migration is planned. Once the product name is confirmed, ironsilk will transition to the canonical name.

State-root note — ~/.hermes is also transitional. A product-owned dotfolder such as ~/.ironsilk or ~/.miadi must still be chosen before this becomes a durable user-state contract. Workspace/project config now lives at .miadi/tide.yaml.

Naming Migration Debt

Identifier	Classification	Decision Surface
hnavig CLI	Delete/rename now	not published as a console alias
runtime/hermes-navigator	Migration debt	repository path/package layout
hermes_navigator	Migration debt	Python import/module path
HNAVIG_HOME / HERMES_HOME	Migration debt	state-root env vars
~/.hermes	Migration debt	current default state root; likely Miadi-owned replacement
.miadi/tide.yaml	Current contract	workspace/project config filename
hermes-navigator.service	Migration debt	user-service unit name

description

ironsilk currently ships the historical Hermes Navigator implementation behind the tide CLI. It gives William (and any local Hermes-class agent) instant orientation across active development domains and many terminal surfaces.

What It Does

• R1 — Domain Detection: Auto-detects which domain each terminal/tmux pane belongs to, using a priority chain of signals (env var → tmux name → git remote → path prefix → heuristic)
• R4 — Terminal Focus: Lists or switches tmux focus to a domain's terminal group
• R2 — Context Engine: Always-on background collector that builds a queryable snapshot of all terminal activity, scoped by domain
• R5 — Approval Queue: Proposed terminal actions flow through a review queue before execution
• R7 — Session Store: Named persistent sessions resumable from desktop or Telegram (/resume <name>)
• R8 — Skill Interface: Packaged as a Hermes skill, callable from any Hermes-class agent

Issue: jgwill/Miadi#265

---

Quick Start

# Install
cd runtime/hermes-navigator
pip install -e .

# Configure domains
mkdir -p ~/.hermes
cp examples/domains.yml ~/.hermes/domains.yml
# Edit ~/.hermes/domains.yml to match your domain roots

# Detect domain for current directory
tide detect

# Detect for a specific path
tide detect --cwd ~/src/Miadi

# List terminals for a domain
tide focus miadi

# Show context snapshot
tide context

# Start background daemon
tide daemon

# Install/start as a user service
tide service install --interval 15 --now

# Release/install smoke gate
tide doctor --release-target 0.9.7

# Operator cockpit: know/enter existing tmux work
tide operator terminals
tide operator peek 7 --lines 80
tide operator attach 7
tide operator registry save
tide operator registry last-known
tide operator registry drift
tide operator checkpoint
tide operator checkpoint --write
tide operator steer-proposal 7 --message "continue from the visible prompt"
tide session new ava-260512 --cwd /usr/local/src/ironsilk
tide session attach ava-260512

Fast Demo Path For This Branch

Want to try the workspace/context slice without touching your real ~/.hermes state?

cd runtime/hermes-navigator
pip install -e .
./examples/demo-miadi-workspace.sh /usr/local/src/mightyeagle

What this does:

• sets HNAVIG_HOME to an isolated temp directory
• writes a one-domain config pointed at the repo you pass in
• captures a persisted context snapshot when the demo scene is frozen
• runs detect, ecf observe, scene activate, scene list, scene snapshot, and scene resume
• leaves the generated SQLite/files behind so you can inspect them after the run

You can also point the runtime at any alternate state directory yourself:

export HNAVIG_HOME=/tmp/tide-demo
tide detect --cwd /usr/local/src/mightyeagle

---

Configuration

~/.hermes/domains.yml — Domain Registry

domains:
  - name: miadi
    aliases: [main, mia]
    roots:
      - ~/src/Miadi
      - ~/work/Miadi
    remotes:
      - "github.com/jgwill/Miadi"
    env_var: "MIADI_DOMAIN"
    tmux_pattern: "miadi-*"

  - name: aureon
    aliases: [aur]
    roots:
      - ~/src/aureon
    remotes:
      - "github.com/jgwill/aureon"
    tmux_pattern: "aureon-*"

See examples/domains.yml for a full example.

~/.hermes/config.yml — Navigator Config

mode: observer           # observer | controller
daemon_interval: 5.0     # seconds between context polls
session_db: ~/.hermes/sessions.db
context_log: ~/.hermes/context/log.ndjson
domains_config: ~/.hermes/domains.yml

See examples/config.yml for full options.

---

Commands

The examples below use the canonical tide CLI.

Detection

# Detect domain for current directory
tide detect

# Detect for specific cwd
tide detect --cwd ~/src/Miadi

# Detect for specific tmux pane
tide detect --pane %42

# Detect all panes in current tmux session
tide detect --all-panes

Focus (R4)

# List terminals for a domain (observer mode)
tide focus miadi

# List matching desktop terminal windows (Terminator/Konsole/etc.)
tide focus miadi --desktop
tide focus miadi --desktop --format json

# Activate a matching desktop window (controller mode + approval required)
tide mode controller
tide focus miadi --desktop --activate
tide focus miadi --desktop --activate --window-id 0x00eaf0d8

# Activate tmux focus to domain pane group (controller mode required)
tide mode controller
tide focus miadi

Operator Cockpit

These commands are the first "avoid context rot" surface. They are deliberately small: list the live tmux targets, inspect recent scrollback without attaching, and print the exact attach/switch commands before changing focus.

# List existing tmux sessions/panes and their attach commands
tide operator terminals
tide operator terminals --format json

# Inspect what is happening in a session or pane without attaching
tide operator peek 7 --lines 80
tide operator peek %7 --format json

# Print the commands for entering a target
tide operator attach 7

# Execute attach/switch from an interactive controller terminal
tide mode controller
tide operator attach 7 --run

# Persist terminal awareness as append-only JSONL
tide operator registry save
tide operator registry last-known
tide operator registry drift

# One read-only "know before entering" checkpoint
tide operator checkpoint
tide operator checkpoint --target 7 --peek-lines 20
tide operator checkpoint --format json
tide operator checkpoint --write
tide operator checkpoint --target 7 --peek-lines 20 --write

# Human-reviewable follow-up proposal; no send is performed
tide operator steer-proposal 7 --message "continue from the visible prompt"
tide operator steer-proposal 7 --message-file prompt.md --write
tide operator steer-proposal 7 --message "continue" --peek-lines 40
tide operator steer-proposal 7 --message "continue" --format json

The registry is a read-only awareness surface after capture: save appends a timestamped snapshot under the Navigator state directory, last-known reads the newest persisted snapshot, and drift compares current tmux state with that snapshot. It stores observed tmux fields separately from inferred Navigator fields such as domain and attach commands.

operator checkpoint combines current terminals, the last-known registry metadata, drift summary, stale/last-seen hints, and safe entry commands. It does not capture scrollback unless --target is provided.

Add --write to save a portable Markdown and JSON handoff under HNAVIG_HOME/operator/checkpoints/. This serializes the same checkpoint report; it does not attach, resume, or mutate terminals.

operator steer-proposal creates a reviewed-message artifact for a specific target. It prints manual tmux send-keys suggestions only; Navigator does not send input, attach, resume, or require controller mode.

Context (R2)

# Show full context snapshot
tide context

# Filter by domain
tide context --domain miadi

# JSON output
tide context --format json

# Context from last 30 minutes
tide context --since 30m

Sessions (R7)

# Tmux-style named session plan (dry-run by default)
tide session new ava-260512 --cwd /usr/local/src/ironsilk
tide session attach ava-260512

# Execute from a local human-controlled terminal
tide mode controller
tide session new ava-260512 --cwd /usr/local/src/ironsilk --run
tide session attach ava-260512 --run

# Create a named session
tide session create aureon-refactor-2025

# Resume a session
tide session resume aureon-refactor-2025

# List all sessions
tide session list

# Archive a session
tide session archive aureon-refactor-2025

session new and session attach are tmux-backed verbs for the v0.7.0 Hermes-Agent CLI base. They print exact tmux commands by default; execution requires ACTIVE_CONTROLLER mode and an interactive local terminal.

Doctor / Release Gate

tide doctor
tide doctor --release-target 0.9.7 --strict
tide doctor --release-target 0.9.7 --require-daemon --strict

doctor checks package version, state/config shape, tmux availability, daemon ping/context readiness, user service hints, and the operator/session CLI surfaces needed before workspace registry work.

Mode

# Check current mode
tide mode

# Switch to active controller (enables tmux actions)
tide mode controller

# Switch back to observer (safe default)
tide mode observer

Daemon

# Start daemon (blocks; use & or a process manager)
tide daemon

# Start with custom poll interval
tide daemon --interval 10

# Scene launch opens a terminal/editor for a stored workspace. On systems with
# Terminator installed, Navigator prefers Terminator for new terminal windows.
tide scene activate /path/to/project --launch

# Daemon writes to:
#   ~/.hermes/context/latest.json    (last snapshot)
#   ~/.hermes/context/log.ndjson     (rolling log)
#   ~/.hermes/daemon.pid             (PID file)

User Service

The ironsilk daemon should run as a user service, not a root/system service. It observes your user terminals, desktop windows, tmux panes, and user-owned state. The service writes a systemd user unit at ~/.config/systemd/user/hermes-navigator.service.

# Install and start immediately
tide service install --interval 15 --now

# If you want an explicit isolated runtime state:
tide service install --interval 15 --state-home ~/.local/state/hermes-navigator --now

# Control it later
tide service status
tide service restart
tide service stop
tide service uninstall

If ~/.hermes exists but is not accessible to your current user, Navigator falls back to ~/.local/state/hermes-navigator. If systemctl --user is unavailable, keep using tide daemon in a terminal or a local process manager until the desktop session imports user services.

Desktop App / Overlay

There is not yet a real floating Hermes window. The current working surfaces are:

• tide context — current daemon snapshot, including desktop windows
• tide focus <domain> --desktop — matching terminal windows
• tide session ... — named session continuity
• app/docs/miadi-agent/navigator — an interactive docs/mock UI that shows the intended overlay, approval queue, sessions, and Telegram continuity story

The desktop overlay is specified in rispecs/hermes-navigator/05-ui-surface.spec.md, but implementation remains the next product step.

---

Architecture Overview

domains.yml ──► DomainDetector ──► ContextEngine ──► Daemon
                                              │
                                     ┌────────┼─────────┐
                                     │        │         │
                                 SessionStore  ApprovalQ  Focus
                                     │
                                    CLI (tide)

Data flow (Phase 1):

1. DomainDetector reads domains.yml and detects domain identity for tmux panes
2. ContextEngine polls tmux and desktop windows every N seconds and builds ContextSnapshot
3. Daemon runs ContextEngine.start_continuous() and writes to ~/.hermes/
4. tide commands query the daemon or directly invoke detection/focus

---

Integration with Hermes Skill Ecosystem

The navigator is packaged as a Hermes skill at skills/navigator.skill.yml. Any Hermes-class agent can load this manifest and call:

• navigator.focus(domain) — list or activate domain terminal group
• navigator.context(domain?, format?) — get context snapshot
• navigator.propose(action) — queue a terminal action for approval
• navigator.session.resume(name) — rehydrate a named session
• navigator.session.list() — list all sessions

See rispecs/hermes-navigator/04-skill-contract.spec.md for full action definitions.

---

Development

# Install in development mode
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run directly
python -m hermes_navigator.cli --help

# Use the installed console entry point.
tide --help

Project Structure

runtime/hermes-navigator/
├── hermes_navigator/
│   ├── __init__.py         # package init
│   ├── models.py           # data models
│   ├── config.py           # config management
│   ├── domain_detector.py  # R1 — domain detection
│   ├── context_engine.py   # R2 — always-on context
│   ├── session_store.py    # R7 — named sessions (SQLite)
│   ├── focus.py            # R4 — terminal focus
│   ├── approval_queue.py   # R5 — action approval
│   ├── daemon.py           # background daemon
│   └── cli.py              # tide CLI
├── skills/
│   └── navigator.skill.yml  # Hermes skill manifest
├── examples/
│   ├── domains.yml        # example domain config
│   └── config.yml           # example navigator config
├── pyproject.toml
└── README.md

---

Specs

• Master: rispecs/hermes-navigator/00-hermes-navigator-master.spec.md
• Domain Detection: rispecs/hermes-navigator/01-domain-detection.spec.md
• Context Engine: rispecs/hermes-navigator/02-context-engine.spec.md
• Session Store: rispecs/hermes-navigator/03-session-store.spec.md
• Skill Contract: rispecs/hermes-navigator/04-skill-contract.spec.md
• UI Surface: rispecs/hermes-navigator/05-ui-surface.spec.md
• Daemon Lifecycle: rispecs/hermes-navigator/06-daemon-lifecycle.spec.md
• Mode And Safety: rispecs/hermes-navigator/07-mode-and-safety.spec.md
• Threat Model: rispecs/hermes-navigator/08-threat-model.spec.md
• Telegram Bridge: rispecs/hermes-navigator/09-telegram-bridge.spec.md
• Domain Relational Graph: rispecs/hermes-navigator/10-domain-relational-graph.spec.md
• Status: rispecs/hermes-navigator/STATUS.md