memory-sop-feedback-loop

name	memory-sop-feedback-loop
version	1.1.0
created	"2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z"
updated	"2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z"
author	Hermes
description	How and when to call fact_feedback on L3 facts. Without feedback the trust_score stays at the 0.5 default and `reason` / `contradict` queries have no signal. Skill exists to enforce the loop.

Memory SOP — L3 Feedback Loop

The problem (found in audit 2026-06-03)

L3 fact_store has 56 active facts at trust_score=0.5, 0 of which have ever been retrieved. The trust score default is 0.5; it only moves when fact_feedback(action='helpful'|'unhelpful', fact_id=N) is called. Without feedback, fact_store(action='reason') returns uniform-prior results and action='contradict' has no signal.

This is silent corruption: the store looks healthy (N facts, K categories) but every fact has the same prior, so signal-driven queries are useless. The fix is procedural, not technical.

When to call fact_feedback

For EVERY fact retrieved from L3 during a session:

• Was the fact correct AND useful for the task? → helpful
• Was the fact wrong, stale, or not applicable? → unhelpful
• Was the fact returned but the agent didn't use it? → unhelpful (a non-use is still a signal — the retrieval was wasted)

How to call

The actual MCP tool is fact_feedback (action='helpful' or 'unhelpful', fact_id=N). The Hermes platform wires this up; this skill is about the procedure, not the API.

For batch rating (e.g. after a research session), iterate retrieved facts and call once per fact. Don't aggregate — the trust score must update per fact to give the scoreboard meaning.

Integration points

There are three places the loop should be wired:

1. Session end (AGENTS.md §Session Shutdown) — for each fact that was used during the session, call fact_feedback before the daily note write. This is the most important wiring; without it, every session makes the problem worse.

2. In-script usage — if a fact_store probe is the basis for a decision, rate the probe results before the decision is logged. This makes the trust score reflect actual usage patterns.

3. Cron — a daily job can run a "trust decay" pass: any fact not retrieved in 30 days gets unhelpful (deprecates with grace). This keeps the L3 store from being write-only long-term.

   Candidate cron spec (not yet scheduled): 0 23 * * * daily at 11 PM, with a Python script that selects facts where retrieval_count = 0 AND created_at < now - 30 days and calls fact_feedback('unhelpful', fact_id=N).

How to verify it's working

~/.hermes/bin/memory-prune.sh

The audit reports avg trust per category. If all categories are still at 0.5, the feedback loop is not being called and the store is degraded. Expected steady state: 0.3–0.7 average with at least 30% of facts having retrieval_count > 0.

Anti-patterns

• ❌ Never hard-delete a fact in response to "unhelpful" feedback. The audit trail matters — deleted_at is for duplicates and superseded facts, not for subjective dislike.
• ❌ Never call helpful defensively because the fact was retrieved. Retrieval without usefulness is still a waste — rate unhelpful.
• ❌ Never skip feedback "to save time." The 3-second cost of a rating is dwarfed by the cost of operating on a degraded store.
• ❌ Never fabricate fact_feedback calls. If you didn't actually retrieve the fact, don't rate it. Per the no-fabricated-deployments skill, only call the tool when you have a real retrieval to evaluate.

When this skill can't help

If the fact_feedback MCP tool isn't exposed in your session's toolset, you can't run the loop from inside the agent. The mitigations are:

1. Document the gap explicitly (don't fabricate ratings).
2. Wire the tool into the platform's session-end ritual so the next session can run it.
3. Schedule a Python wrapper that calls the fact_feedback equivalent directly via the fact_store SQLite schema.

Until the wiring is in place, the L3 store will remain degraded by design — the audit will report "0 of N facts retrieved" and that is an accurate signal, not a bug to fix in the moment.

Files

• (no script — this is a procedure skill, paired with the fact_feedback MCP tool and the AGENTS.md session-end ritual)
• ~/.hermes/skills/note-taking/memory-sop/ — the parent SOP

Changelog

• v1.1.0 (2026-06-03): added "When this skill can't help" section for sessions without fact_feedback in the toolset; added candidate cron spec for trust decay; added changelog.
• v1.0.0 (2026-06-03): initial release.