* feat(plugins): pluggable image_gen backends + OpenAI provider
Adds a ImageGenProvider ABC so image generation backends register as
bundled plugins under `plugins/image_gen/<name>/`. The plugin scanner
gains three primitives to make this work generically:
- `kind:` manifest field (`standalone` | `backend` | `exclusive`).
Bundled `kind: backend` plugins auto-load — no `plugins.enabled`
incantation. User-installed backends stay opt-in.
- Path-derived keys: `plugins/image_gen/openai/` gets key
`image_gen/openai`, so a future `tts/openai` cannot collide.
- Depth-2 recursion into category namespaces (parent dirs without a
`plugin.yaml` of their own).
Includes `OpenAIImageGenProvider` as the first consumer (gpt-image-1.5
default, plus gpt-image-1, gpt-image-1-mini, DALL-E 3/2). Base64
responses save to `$HERMES_HOME/cache/images/`; URL responses pass
through.
FAL stays in-tree for this PR — a follow-up ports it into
`plugins/image_gen/fal/` so the in-tree `image_generation_tool.py`
slims down. The dispatch shim in `_handle_image_generate` only fires
when `image_gen.provider` is explicitly set to a non-FAL value, so
existing FAL setups are untouched.
- 41 unit tests (scanner recursion, kind parsing, gate logic,
registry, OpenAI payload shapes)
- E2E smoke verified: bundled plugin autoloads, registers, and
`_handle_image_generate` routes to OpenAI when configured
* fix(image_gen/openai): don't send response_format to gpt-image-*
The live API rejects it: 'Unknown parameter: response_format'
(verified 2026-04-21 with gpt-image-1.5). gpt-image-* models return
b64_json unconditionally, so the parameter was both unnecessary and
actively broken.
* feat(image_gen/openai): gpt-image-2 only, drop legacy catalog
gpt-image-2 is the latest/best OpenAI image model (released 2026-04-21)
and there's no reason to expose the older gpt-image-1.5 / gpt-image-1 /
dall-e-3 / dall-e-2 alongside it — slower, lower quality, or awkward
(dall-e-2 squares only). Trim the catalog down to a single model.
Live-verified end-to-end: landscape 1536x1024 render of a Moog-style
synth matches prompt exactly, 2.4MB PNG saved to cache.
* feat(image_gen/openai): expose gpt-image-2 as three quality tiers
Users pick speed/fidelity via the normal model picker instead of a
hidden quality knob. All three tier IDs resolve to the single underlying
gpt-image-2 API model with a different quality parameter:
gpt-image-2-low ~15s fast iteration
gpt-image-2-medium ~40s default
gpt-image-2-high ~2min highest fidelity
Live-measured on OpenAI's API today: 15.4s / 40.8s / 116.9s for the
same 1024x1024 prompt.
Config:
image_gen.openai.model: gpt-image-2-high
# or
image_gen.model: gpt-image-2-low
# or env var for scripts/tests
OPENAI_IMAGE_MODEL=gpt-image-2-medium
Live-verified end-to-end with the low tier: 18.8s landscape render of a
golden retriever in wildflowers, vision-confirmed exact match.
* feat(tools_config): plugin image_gen providers inject themselves into picker
'hermes tools' → Image Generation now shows plugin-registered backends
alongside Nous Subscription and FAL.ai without tools_config.py needing
to know about them. OpenAI appears as a third option today; future
backends appear automatically as they're added.
Mechanism:
- ImageGenProvider gains an optional get_setup_schema() hook
(name, badge, tag, env_vars). Default derived from display_name.
- tools_config._plugin_image_gen_providers() pulls the schemas from
every registered non-FAL plugin provider.
- _visible_providers() appends those rows when rendering the Image
Generation category.
- _configure_provider() handles the new image_gen_plugin_name marker:
writes image_gen.provider and routes to the plugin's list_models()
catalog for the model picker.
- _toolset_needs_configuration_prompt('image_gen') stops demanding a
FAL key when any plugin provider reports is_available().
FAL is skipped in the plugin path because it already has hardcoded
TOOL_CATEGORIES rows — when it gets ported to a plugin in a follow-up
PR the hardcoded rows go away and it surfaces through the same path
as OpenAI.
Verified live: picker shows Nous Subscription / FAL.ai / OpenAI.
Picking OpenAI prompts for OPENAI_API_KEY, then shows the
gpt-image-2-low/medium/high model picker sourced from the plugin.
397 tests pass across plugins/, tools_config, registry, and picker.
* fix(image_gen): close final gaps for plugin-backend parity with FAL
Two small places that still hardcoded FAL:
- hermes_cli/setup.py status line: an OpenAI-only setup showed
'Image Generation: missing FAL_KEY'. Now probes plugin providers
and reports '(OpenAI)' when one is_available() — or falls back to
'missing FAL_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY' if nothing is configured.
- image_generate tool schema description: said 'using FAL.ai, default
FLUX 2 Klein 9B'. Rewrote provider-neutral — 'backend and model are
user-configured' — and notes the 'image' field can be a URL or an
absolute path, which the gateway delivers either way via
extract_local_files().
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