Install the turn-taking plugin

Humalike plugin for Hermes Agent: turn-taking, persona (/soul enhance), theory of mind, social learning. API docs: https://docs.humalike.com.

The normal flow is just clone → enable → start hermes: starting the gateway is what applies the required config and pops the login, so steps 2–3 below are mostly what that first start does for you, plus the manual fallbacks. No env setup is required — the API URL defaults to https://api.humalike.com and the API key comes from the device login. Only ask for a key if the user says they already have one. Do the steps in order.

1. Clone and enable

git clone https://github.com/Humalike/hermes-humalike-plugin ~/.hermes/plugins/humalike

# `hermes` must be the Hermes CLI from its install — activate the Hermes
# virtualenv first (or call the hermes CLI by its full path)
hermes plugins enable humalike

2. Start Hermes — this applies the config and pops the login

hermes plugins enable only records the plugin; nothing runs until the gateway starts. Start it (activate the Hermes virtualenv first, or use your gateway start command):

hermes

On this first start the plugin self-configures (step 3) and prints a device login URL — opening a browser tab when the machine has one. The user approves on any device (a phone works) and the key is saved to ~/.hermes/.env.

Two ways to skip that login:

• Already have a key — put it in ~/.hermes/.env (create if missing) before starting, and the login isn't shown:

  HUMALIKE_API_KEY=their-api-key
  

• Headless / can't keep the terminal open — run the same login by hand:

  python3 ~/.hermes/plugins/humalike/login.py
  

If the login is dismissed, /connect in chat (step 4) links an account later without a restart.

3. Required config

The plugin applies the settings below AUTOMATICALLY on its first boot (and prompts Telegram's manual steps) — treat this section as verify/override, or apply it by hand when the gateway can't be restarted twice.

First find where SOUL.md actually lives: check ~/.hermes/SOUL.md; if it's not there, search the Hermes install for an existing one (e.g. a docker/SOUL.md or a path mounted into the gateway). If none exists anywhere, use ~/.hermes/SOUL.md — the plugin creates it on first startup.

Then merge into ~/.hermes/config.yaml (create if missing) — all required (the plugin replaces the final reply text and needs to own it):

streaming: false
group_sessions_per_user: false
display:
  tool_progress: "off"        # hide tool-call chatter (Browsing/Clicking/…) so replies read as human
  busy_ack_enabled: false     # no deterministic "⚡ Interrupting current task…" acks
  memory_notifications: "off" # no "💾 Self-improvement review…" posts — MUST be the quoted
                              # string; bare YAML `off` parses as false and turns back into "on"
  platforms:
    telegram:
      streaming: false        # Telegram draft streaming shows the raw draft before naturalization
agent:
  disabled_toolsets: [clarify] # clarify's numbered menus bypass naturalization; without the
                               # tool the bot asks in plain text
slack:
  reply_in_thread: false # only if Slack is used — one shared conversation per channel

turn_taking:
  soul_path: "<the SOUL.md path found above>"
  soul_auto_enhance: true  # one automatic attempt per SOUL.md path

4. Restart and verify

Restart the Hermes gateway, then send the bot a message. A tt inbound: chat=… line in ~/.hermes/logs/gateway.log confirms turn-taking is intercepting messages. If none appears, the plugin didn't load — check it shows as enabled in hermes plugins list (or HUMALIKE_API_URL was explicitly set empty, which disables turn-taking; /soul still works).

No API key set in step 2? Have the user send the bot /connect (from a DM, not a group): it replies with a login link they approve in a browser on any device — the key is then saved to ~/.hermes/.env and goes live without another restart.

Platform notes

WhatsApp and Slack respond-to-everyone settings are auto-applied on the plugin's first boot for platforms already connected (only filling values the operator hasn't set). The skills below remain for Telegram (always manual), later-added platforms, and overrides:

• WhatsApp groups — respond to everyone: configure-whatsapp-group skill.
• Telegram groups — privacy mode + chat authorization: configure-telegram-group skill.
• Slack unmentioned channel messages (fail-open caveat): configure-slack-group skill.
• /soul enhance (and automatic persona enhancement) needs a real persona seed in SOUL.md — a bare template is skipped. Disable auto-enhance with soul_auto_enhance: false or HERMES_SOUL_AUTO_ENHANCE=false. An automatic failure is recorded and is not retried automatically; use /soul enhance to retry.