| name | mending |
| description | Mending is surgical repair of a known-working artifact that has a specific, identifiable break. It is NOT:
- Triage/diagnosis: If the problem is "API is throwing 500s, figure out why" — that's investigation, not mending. Mending requires the break to already be identified.
- Formatting/cleanup: If the data is correct but looks messy (sort keys, normalize indentation) — that's formatting, not repair.
- State reset: If a flag is stuck or an alert needs clearing — that's an operational toggle, not a file repair.
- Refactoring/redesign: If the system is "fundamentally flawed" and needs redesign — that's rebuilding, not mending.
- Comprehensive cleanup: If there are "years of orphaned records" across tables — that's a data integrity project, not a surgical fix. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | Wizards of the Ghosts |
| license | CC0-1.0 |
| compatibility | Hermes Agent skills system |
| metadata | {"hermes":{"tags":["spell","shipping-now","metaphorical","repair-and-recovery","recovery","repair","triage","stabilization"]}} |
Mending
Repair a single broken artifact - a config, a file, a build, a migration - without redesigning it.
What This Skill Does
Mending is surgical repair of a known-working artifact that has a specific, identifiable break. It is NOT:
- Triage/diagnosis: If the problem is "API is throwing 500s, figure out why" — that's investigation, not mending. Mending requires the break to already be identified.
- Formatting/cleanup: If the data is correct but looks messy (sort keys, normalize indentation) — that's formatting, not repair.
- State reset: If a flag is stuck or an alert needs clearing — that's an operational toggle, not a file repair.
- Refactoring/redesign: If the system is "fundamentally flawed" and needs redesign — that's rebuilding, not mending.
- Comprehensive cleanup: If there are "years of orphaned records" across tables — that's a data integrity project, not a surgical fix.
In this grimoire, Mending is treated as a metaphorical spell with a shipping-now delivery profile.
Canonical reference input: Mending (spell).
When To Use
- Trigger this spell when the request contains:
- A specific file or artifact named (e.g., .gitignore, docker-compose.yml, Makefile, package.json, migration script, manifest)
- A localized break: syntax error, typo, missing character, wrong reference, indentation issue, unclosed bracket, trailing comma, misspelled key
- Evidence the artifact was working before ("broke yesterday", "was fine last week", "worked before the merge")
- Language like: "just fix", "repair", "fix the typo", "missing semicolon", "broken reference", "indentation error", "without changing"
Prerequisites
- No extra runtime dependencies beyond Hermes Agent and the normal toolset for this session.
Procedure
- Restate the target, the success condition, and any no-touch boundaries before taking action.
- Confirm the break is specific and localized — name the exact file, the exact error, and what "working" looked like before.
- Apply the minimal change that restores the original behavior — fix the typo, add the missing character, correct the reference, move the misplaced directive. Do not improve, modernize, or restructure.
- Show a before/after diff so the repair is auditable and reversible.
- If the break reveals a deeper structural problem (e.g., the same typo appears in 12 files, or the config format is fundamentally unsound), report it — do not paper over it with repeated patches.
- Package the result as the deliverables below, with confidence, assumptions, and unresolved risk called out explicitly.
Deliverables
- The repaired artifact in working condition.
