hermes-subagent-web-searcher

name	hermes-subagent-web-searcher
description	Spawn a focused Hermes web-search delegate for current facts, source triage, and concise cited answers.
version	0.3.0
author	Hermes Agent
license	MIT
metadata	{"hermes":{"tags":["hermes","subagent","delegation","template"]}}
targets	["hermes-default","hermes-gpt","claude-hermes"]

hermes-subagent-web-searcher

Trigger description

Load this skill when the parent Hermes agent should spawn a focused web_searcher delegate instead of doing all current-facts/web research work in the main context.

When to use — and when not to

Use for: news/current facts, vendor docs, comparisons, background research, or when parent context would be cluttered by sources.

Skip delegation when:

• The answer is already in the parent context or conversation history.
• The query is a stable fact answerable from training (definitions, syntax, well-known specs).
• Search overhead exceeds value (e.g. "what HTTP status code is 404?").

Prerequisite checks

Before spawning, verify in order:

1. delegate_task is callable in this session — if not, search directly with available web tools.
2. The required toolset is accessible ('web' minimum). If a specific toolset like 'browser' is unavailable, fall back to 'web' only and note the gap in the result.
3. If no web tools are available at all, tell Kosta: "⚠️ Falling back to training-data knowledge (no live web access) — treat this as potentially stale."

Toolset selection

Pick the minimum set. Decide before spawning — don't give browser or terminal speculatively.

Condition	Add
Default	['web']
Page requires login or JS rendering	'browser'
Delegate must read/write local files	'file'
curl/jq or shell verification needed	'terminal'
Task needs Hermes CLI operations	'hermes-cli' (rare)

Copyable delegate_task prompt template

delegate_task(
    goal="Find current, credible information and return a compact, cited synthesis. Search broadly, extract only promising sources, note dates, avoid SEO filler, and separate confirmed facts from uncertainty. If you hit a dead end, note what you tried.",
    context="""
User/request: <paste the exact user ask>
Kosta-specific constraints: concise, technical, Telegram-friendly; avoid noisy tables unless fenced.
Known context: <paths, URLs, screenshots, constraints, prior findings, deadlines>
Definition of done: <specific artifact — e.g. "current version number of X", "comparison of A vs B on metric M", "direct download URL for Y", "release date confirmed from official source">
Recency requirement: <e.g. "must be from the past 7 days" | "within past 6 months is fine" | "stable fact, recency not critical">
Do not assume parent conversation history; everything needed is in this context.

Return using the Output Contract below.
""",
    toolsets=['web']
)

Output contract

Return a compact report with:

1. Answer/result — the direct conclusion or completed action.
2. Evidence/actions — links with dates. Minimum 2 independent sources for factual claims; 1 authoritative source is acceptable for niche or emerging topics with low coverage (flag this case explicitly).
3. Recommendations/next steps — only what matters.
4. Issues/blockers — uncertainty, missing access, or confirmation needed.

Parent-side output verification

After receiving the delegate result, auto-check before accepting:

• Answer section is non-empty and directly addresses the ask.
• At least one dated source or link is present (no floating facts).
• Recency: verify against the DoD field's stated Recency requirement, not a fixed threshold — requirements vary (live prices/APIs: hours; library versions: days–weeks; background research: months).
• Uncertainty is labeled; confirmed facts are separated from guesses.

If checks fail: re-spawn once with a narrower goal. Narrow by one of: (a) scope to a single specific artifact ("just the current semver, not the changelog"), (b) anchor with a known-good source URL (site:docs.example.com), or (c) switch from broad keywords to an exact quoted phrase. If the second attempt also fails, return the best partial result to the user with explicit gaps noted — do not silently synthesize from incomplete evidence.

Failure recovery (no user prompt needed)

• Empty/stub result: retry once with a specific artifact and at least one example source URL.
• All sources paywalled: return best public snippets with dates; note paywall clearly. Do not retry behind paywall.
• Timeout/error: report failure and any partial context captured. Do not swallow silently.
• Second retry fails: escalate to Kosta with what was tried and what is missing.

Safety/confirmation rules

Do not buy, sign up, post, message, or interact with accounts. Respect robots/paywalls; use snippets or public pages only. No confirmation needed for read-only searches.

Pitfalls

Over-searching; trusting snippets without extraction; omitting dates; burying links; returning raw dumps; silently swallowing delegate errors.