CLI and slash commands

Every hermes mandate subcommand, the /mandate slash command, and the mandate_status tool, generated from the plugin source.

The plugin registers a hermes mandate CLI group, a /mandate slash command, and a read-only mandate_status tool. The lists below match mandate_core/cli.py, mandate_core/plugin.py, and mandate_core/tool.py at the current checkout. There is also a standalone entry, python -m mandate_core.cli, that uses the same store but reports hooks as unregistered.

If you call hermes mandate with no subcommand, it prints usage and exits 2. Unknown jobs print to stderr and exit 1: run watch or list first.

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hermes mandate

Command	What it does
watch <job>	Start observing a job, by cron job name or id. Creates a name:<job> placeholder if the job has not run yet. Sets watched and mode observe. Never blocks.
list	Known jobs, with mode (or the default mode), active version, run count, and id.
propose <job>	Compile observations into a pending mandate and print it. Warns if fewer than 3 runs were observed, but still proposes. No-ops with an “unchanged” note if the YAML hash already matches the current pending or active mandate. Errors if there are no observed calls.
approve <job> [--yes] [--observe]	Show a unified diff, ask y/N, store the approval and sha256, then switch to enforce. --observe keeps the job in observe mode. Refuses without a TTY unless --yes. Errors if nothing is pending.
undo <job>	Reactivate the previously approved version, or return to observe with no mandate if there was none.
drift <job>	List blocked or escalated calls: id, time, run, family, status, redacted call, reason. Newest first.
widen <job> <drift-id> [--pattern]	Propose a new pending version that allows that drift record. --pattern uses a broader rule and previews which past calls it would newly allow. Still needs approve. Errors if the drift id or a base mandate is missing. If the call is already allowed by the current base, it says so and exits 0.
status <job> [--no-color]	Print the Leash Line. --no-color forces the plain-text fallback.
export <job> [--json]	Print the active mandate as YAML, or as JSON with version, sha256, job, families, and max_writes_per_run. Errors if the job has no approved mandate.
enforce <job>	Switch a job to enforce. Errors if there is no approved mandate.
observe <job>	Switch a job back to observe. Nothing will be blocked.
doctor	Check that the database is readable and writable, that each active mandate’s sha256 matches its YAML, that pre_tool_call and post_tool_call are registered, and print the default mode. Unattended violations are always block. Exit 0 if every check passed, 1 otherwise.

<job> can be the cron job name or the job id.

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/mandate slash command

Registered as /mandate with args hint [status|drift|scope <job>|unscope] [job]. Output is always plain text (no color).

Invocation	What it does
/mandate or /mandate status	Leash Line for the scoped job, or an error listing known jobs if none is selected.
/mandate status <job>	Leash Line for that job.
/mandate drift or /mandate drift <job>	Drift inbox for the scoped job or the named job.
/mandate scope <job>	Bind the current chat session to that job’s mandate. If the job is unknown, this also starts watching it. Needs a session id (Hermes provides one in chat).
/mandate unscope	Clear the session binding. Later interactive calls in that chat are not enforced.

Interactive sessions are only covered after /mandate scope <job>. Cron runs do not need this. They are identified through ctx.current_cron_execution().

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mandate_status tool

A read-only tool the agent can call. Schema name: mandate_status. Optional argument: job (id or name). Defaults to the current job. It is in EXEMPT_TOOLS, so Mandate does not enforce or record the tool against the policy.

The handler returns JSON with:

• job, mode, enforcing (true only when mode is enforce and an approved mandate exists)
• version, sha256, mandate_yaml (or null)
• blocked_this_run: up to 10 drift records for the current run when a scope is bound, otherwise recent drift for the job, each with drift_id, call, rule, and reason
• advice telling the model to finish the allowed work and leave widening to a human

If no job is bound: {"mandate": null, "message": "No Mandate job is bound to this run. Nothing is enforced."}. Internal failures return a short JSON error, without a traceback.