* feat(cron): add no_agent mode for script-only cron jobs (watchdog pattern)
Adds a no_agent=True option to the cronjob system. When enabled, the
scheduler runs the attached script on schedule and delivers its stdout
directly to the job's target — no LLM, no agent loop, no token spend.
This is the classic bash-watchdog pattern (memory alert every 5 min,
disk alert every 15 min, CI ping) reimplemented as a first-class Hermes
primitive instead of a systemd timer + curl + bot token triplet living
outside the system.
## What
hermes cron create "every 5m" \
--no-agent \
--script memory-watchdog.sh \
--deliver telegram \
--name memory-watchdog
Agent tool:
cronjob(action='create',
schedule='every 5m',
script='memory-watchdog.sh',
no_agent=True,
deliver='telegram')
Semantics:
- Script stdout (trimmed) → delivered verbatim as the message
- Empty stdout → silent tick (no delivery; watchdog pattern)
- wakeAgent=false gate → silent tick (same gate LLM jobs use)
- Non-zero exit/timeout → delivered as an error alert
(broken watchdogs shouldn't fail silently)
- No LLM ever invoked; no tokens spent; no provider fallback applied
## Implementation
cron/jobs.py
* create_job gains no_agent: bool = False
* prompt becomes Optional (no_agent jobs don't need one)
* Validation: no_agent=True requires a script at create time
* Field roundtrips via load_jobs / save_jobs / update_job
cron/scheduler.py
* run_job: new short-circuit branch at the top that runs the script,
wraps its output into the (success, doc, final_response, error)
tuple downstream delivery already expects, and returns before any
AIAgent import or construction
* _run_job_script: picks interpreter by extension — .sh/.bash run
under /bin/bash, anything else under sys.executable (Python).
Shell support unlocks the bash-watchdog pattern without wrapping
scripts in Python. Extension is explicit; we deliberately do NOT
trust the file's own shebang. Path-containment guard (scripts dir)
unchanged.
tools/cronjob_tools.py
* Schema: new no_agent boolean property with clear trigger guidance
* cronjob() accepts no_agent and validates mode-specific shape:
- no_agent=True requires script; prompt/skills optional
- no_agent=False keeps the existing 'prompt or skill required' rule
* update path rejects flipping no_agent=True on a job without a script
* _format_job surfaces no_agent in list output
* Handler lambda forwards no_agent from tool args
hermes_cli/main.py, hermes_cli/cron.py
* 'hermes cron create --no-agent' and edit's --no-agent / --agent
pair for toggling at CLI parity with the agent tool
* Existing --script help text updated to describe both modes
* List / create / edit output now shows 'Mode: no-agent (...)' when set
## Tests
tests/cron/test_cron_no_agent.py — 18 tests covering:
* create_job: no_agent shape, validation, field persistence
* update_job: flag roundtrip across reload
* cronjob tool: schema validation, update toggling, mode-specific
requirements, prompt-relaxation rule
* run_job short-circuit:
- success path delivers stdout verbatim
- empty stdout → SILENT_MARKER (no delivery downstream)
- wakeAgent=false gate → silent
- script failure → error alert
- run_job does NOT import AIAgent (verified via mock)
* _run_job_script:
- .sh executes via bash (no shebang required)
- .bash executes via bash
- .py still runs via sys.executable (regression)
- path-traversal still blocked (security regression)
All 18 new tests pass. 341/342 pre-existing cron tests still pass; the
one failure (test_script_empty_output_noted) was already broken on main
and is unrelated to this change.
## Docs
website/docs/guides/cron-script-only.md — new dedicated guide covering
the watchdog pattern, interpreter rules, delivery mapping, worked
examples (memory / disk alerts), and the comparison table vs hermes send,
regular LLM cron jobs, and OS-level cron.
website/docs/user-guide/features/cron.md — new 'No-agent mode' section
in the cron feature reference, cross-linked to the guide.
website/docs/guides/automate-with-cron.md — new tip box pointing users
to no-agent mode when they don't need LLM reasoning.
## Compatibility
- Existing jobs: unchanged. no_agent defaults to False, existing code
paths untouched until the flag is set.
- Schema additive only; older jobs.json without the field load fine
via .get() with False default.
- New CLI flags are opt-in and don't alter existing flag behavior.
* fix(cron): lazy-import AIAgent + SessionDB so no_agent ticks pay zero
The unconditional `from run_agent import AIAgent` + SessionDB() init at
the top of run_job() meant every no_agent tick still paid the full agent
module load cost (~300ms + transitive imports + DB open) even though it
never touched any of that machinery.
Move both to live under the default (LLM) path, after the no_agent
short-circuit has returned. Now a no_agent tick's sys.modules stays
clean — verified end-to-end:
assert 'run_agent' not in sys.modules # before
run_job(no_agent_job)
assert 'run_agent' not in sys.modules # after
The existing mock-based unit test (test_run_job_no_agent_never_invokes_aiagent)
kept passing because patch() replaces the class AFTER import; the leak
was only visible via real subprocess-style verification. End-to-end
demo confirmed: agent calls cronjob(no_agent=True) → script runs →
stdout delivered → no LLM machinery loaded.
* docs(cron): tighten no_agent tool schema — defaults, silent semantics, pick rule
Previous description buried the important bits in one long sentence.
Agents could plausibly miss three things an LLM-facing schema should
make unmissable:
1. What the default is — now first sentence + JSON Schema `default: false`
2. What 'silent run' actually means for the user — now spelled out:
'nothing is sent to the user and they won't see anything happened'
3. When to pick True vs False — now a concrete decision rule with
examples on both sides (watchdogs/metrics/pollers → True;
summarize/draft/pick/rephrase → False)
Also adds explicit 'prompt and skills are ignored when True' since the
agent could otherwise still pass them out of habit.
No behavior change — schema text only.
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