| name | computer-control |
| description | How Hermes uses OS-level capabilities — notifications, folder watching, file opening, clipboard, screenshots |
| tags | ["hermes","skills","system","phase-2c"] |
SKILL — Computer Control
How Hermes interacts with the operating system. All calls go through scripts/system_tool.py.
Hermes NEVER issues destructive OS commands directly.
Desktop Notifications
When Hermes triggers a notification:
| Event | Notification | Urgency |
|---|
| Order entry failed after 3 retries | "Hermes — Action Required: Order #X failed" | High |
| Chargeback dispute window < 48 hours | "Hermes — Chargeback Deadline: PO #X expires in Xh" | High |
| Warehouse PO print failed | "Hermes — Print Failed: Order #X" | Normal |
| Manual approval needed (credit hold, unusual PO) | "Hermes — Needs Approval: [detail]" | Normal |
When Hermes does NOT send notifications:
- Normal successful order processing (that's what the audit log is for)
- Routine health check pings
- Low-priority informational events
Notifications require HERMES_DESKTOP_NOTIFICATIONS=1 (default). Set to 0 to suppress.
CLI:
python scripts/system_tool.py --notify "Title" "Body"
python scripts/system_tool.py --notify "Critical" "Order failed" --urgent
Folder Watcher
Used when IMAP is blocked or unreliable. Emmanuel drops PO files into a designated
folder; Hermes detects them and processes them through the normal pipeline.
Enable by setting:
HERMES_PO_DROP_FOLDER=C:\Users\Emmanuel\Desktop\PO-Inbox
How it works:
watchdog.Observer monitors the folder for on_created events- New
.pdf, .xlsx, or .csv files matching the pattern trigger a pipeline run
- Event is emitted as a JSON line on stdout:
{"event": "file_created", "path": "...", "timestamp": "..."}
- If
--action is set, the command runs with $FILE substituted
CLI (one-shot check):
python scripts/system_tool.py --watch "C:\Users\Emmanuel\Desktop\PO-Inbox" --pattern "*.pdf"
CLI (run forever until Ctrl-C):
python scripts/system_tool.py --watch "C:\Users\Emmanuel\Desktop\PO-Inbox" --pattern "*.pdf" --forever --action "python scripts/po_tool.py --ingest $FILE"
Opening Files
Hermes can open a file in its default application — used on escalation so Emmanuel
can inspect a failed PO without navigating the filesystem manually.
python scripts/system_tool.py --open "logs/invoices/42.pdf"
On Windows: uses os.startfile(). Opens PDF in the default viewer, Excel in Excel, etc.
Safety: paths with .. that escape the project or user home are rejected.
Clipboard
Read/write clipboard text — used by Hermes when preparing data for Emmanuel to paste
into another system (e.g., A2000 manual entry fallback).
python scripts/system_tool.py --clipboard-read
python scripts/system_tool.py --clipboard-write "PO-2026-04567"
Screenshots
Captures the full screen to a PNG. Used when escalating UI errors in A2000 Playwright mode — Hermes can screenshot the failure state for Emmanuel to review.
python scripts/system_tool.py --screenshot
python scripts/system_tool.py --screenshot --output logs/a2000_error.png
Default output: logs/screenshot_<UTC timestamp>.png
Hard Boundaries — What Hermes NEVER Does
Hermes is permitted to READ and OPEN files, send notifications, and watch folders.
It is categorically forbidden from:
- Running
del, rm, rmdir, format, shutdown, reboot, taskkill
- Uninstalling or modifying system applications
- Changing printer defaults without explicit confirmation from Emmanuel
- Running arbitrary shell commands via
--action unless the command starts with
python scripts/ (whitelisted) or HERMES_UNSAFE_ACTIONS=1 is explicitly set
- Writing outside the project directory or user home
Every system call is:
- Validated against path/action whitelists in
system_tool.py
- Audit-logged to
audit_log with timestamp and details
- Wrapped in try/except — failures are reported, not silently swallowed
Dependencies
| Feature | Library | Install |
|---|
| Notifications | plyer | pip install plyer |
| Notifications (fallback) | win10toast | pip install win10toast |
| Folder watcher | watchdog | pip install watchdog |
| Clipboard | pyperclip | pip install pyperclip |
| Screenshot | Pillow | pip install Pillow |
All are optional — each feature degrades independently if its library is missing.
Obsidian Links
- [[brain/CAPABILITIES]] | [[brain/HERMES]] | [[skills/printing/SKILL]]
