Honcho integration: open PR map

Tracks all open Honcho-related PRs, their dependencies, and merge path. Successor to #2210.

Last updated: 2026-03-30

Status overview

All erosika PRs are rebased on main, CI green, and mergeable.

To close after merge

Dependency graph

#4037 (config write isolation) -- bug fix, merge first
  └── #3999 (profile scoping + observability) -- rebased on top

#3999 (profile scoping)
  ├── complements #3681 (profiles)
  ├── supersedes #2845 Honcho layer
  └── includes #4037 fix via rebase

#2645 (baseUrl)
  ├── #2757 builds on this (bad URL handling)
  └── #2619 superseded (close after merge)

#1957 (lazy init)
  └── #2164 overlaps (consolidate)

#3265 (token budget) -- independent
#1969 (aiPeer sync) -- independent
#3425 (cost awareness) -- independent, needs rebase after #3999

What each PR does

1. #2645 -- local baseUrl-only configuration

Lets self-hosted users configure Honcho with only a base_url (no API key required). Resolves base_url aliases from both host and root config. Fixes the setup and identity CLI flows for local instances.

• Supersedes fix(honcho): support base_url for local instances in setup and identity commands #2619, closes [Bug]: Local Honcho "base_url" instead of api key does not work #2613
• Unblocks: fix(honcho): graceful degradation for bad URL and add disable command #2757

2. #1957 -- lazy session init in tools mode

Defers Honcho session creation in tools mode until the first tool call actually needs it (avoids unnecessary API round-trips on startup). Session is created lazily via ensure_session() with migration check on first creation.

3. #3265 -- contextTokens budget enforcement

Truncates prefetched Honcho context (peer representation + peer card) to fit within the configured contextTokens budget. Uses conservative char estimate (budget * 4). Prevents oversized payloads from blowing past the context window. Refresh of #1878 (credit @AzothZephyr).

4. #1969 -- aiPeer sync from SOUL.md

Syncs the aiPeer config field with the identity defined in SOUL.md at runtime, so the Honcho integration always reflects the current agent identity. Mutates shared config -- fine for CLI, but gateway/multi-agent would need a config copy (noted, not blocking).

5. #3425 -- cost-awareness controls

Adds configurable prefetch cadence (context + dialectic), per-component injection toggles, injection frequency (how many turns cached context stays in prompt), and reasoning level cap. Defaults: first-turn-only API calls, AI peer data suppressed, reasoning pinned at floor. Full CLI coverage via hermes honcho status and hermes honcho tokens. Closes #3422.

6. #3999 -- profile-scoped Honcho host/peer resolution + observability

Full Honcho identity layer for the multi-profile system (#3681). Each profile becomes an independent Honcho peer in a shared workspace.

• Host resolution: profile "coder" -> host hermes.coder, auto-derived workspace/aiPeer
• Zero-friction migration: hermes profile create coder auto-clones Honcho config, eagerly creates peer
• Enable/disable: hermes honcho enable/disable per profile
• Sync: hermes honcho sync + auto-sync on hermes update for existing profiles
• Observability: status --all (cross-profile table), peers (identity table), --target-profile flag, live peer card display
• Shared workspace: all profiles see the same user context by default
• Builds on fix(honcho): write config to instance-local path for profile isolation #4037 (instance-local write path)
• Supersedes Honcho portion of feat(runtime): add named Hermes instances with isolated local state and per-instance identity #2845

7. #4037 -- instance-local config write path

Fixes bug where multiple profiles overwrite each other's config. Writes go to $HERMES_HOME/honcho.json (instance-local), reads fall back to ~/.honcho/config.json (global).

8. #2757 -- graceful degradation + disable command

Handles bad/unreachable Honcho URLs gracefully instead of crashing. Adds a disable command. Needs a complementary enable command added. Depends on #2645 landing first.

9. #2164 -- tools-mode startup context

Optional lightweight cached startup context for recallMode=tools. Overlaps with #1957 (both touch _activate_honcho / session init). Consolidation plan: #1957 defers session creation, #2164 adds opt-in snapshot fetch on top. Must compose cleanly with #1957's lazy init path.

Merge order recommendation

1. fix(honcho): write config to instance-local path for profile isolation #4037 -- bug fix, unblocks feat(honcho): scope host and peer resolution to active Hermes profile #3999
2. feat(honcho): scope host and peer resolution to active Hermes profile #3999 -- rebase on main after fix(honcho): write config to instance-local path for profile isolation #4037, profile scoping + observability
3. fix(honcho): support local baseUrl-only configuration #2645 -- baseUrl fix, unblocks fix(honcho): graceful degradation for bad URL and add disable command #2757
4. fix(honcho): lazy session init in tools mode #1957 -- lazy init
5. fix(honcho): enforce contextTokens budget on prefetched Honcho context #3265 -- token budget
6. fix(honcho): sync aiPeer with SOUL.md identity at runtime #1969 -- aiPeer sync
7. feat(honcho): configurable prefetch cadence, injection toggles, and reasoning cap #3425 -- cost awareness (rebase after feat(honcho): scope host and peer resolution to active Hermes profile #3999)

Review findings (2026-03-29)

#2645 -- 4 bugs found and fixed

• cmd_migrate crashed with KeyError: 'apiKey' on base-URL-only configs -- fixed to use _resolve_api_key(cfg) with fallback display
• cmd_migrate re-check after setup ignored base URL -- fixed to use _has_honcho_credentials(cfg)
• test_false_without_key_or_base_url leaked env vars -- fixed with monkeypatch.delenv
• cmd_setup didn't clean up baseURL alias -- added pop("baseURL", None)
• Minor: duplicated _resolve_base_url between cli.py and client.py (divergent signatures). Not blocking but maintenance risk

#1957 -- 1 bug found and fixed

• ensure_session() was a plain alias for get_or_create() -- migration path (migrate_memory_files) was dead code in recallMode=tools. Fixed: added _migrated set to session manager, ensure_session() now runs migration check on first creation per session key
• Title updated (removed "per-directory default" claim -- that was already on main)

#3265 -- approved with minor suggestions

• Hard char cut could snap to word boundary with rfind(' ') (minor)
• Missing test for config-priority path (only tests manager fallback)
• No blockers

#3425 -- approved with notes

• Dialectic synthesis is never injected under injectionFrequency: "first-turn" because dialectic isn't pre-warmed at startup. injectDialectic: true + injectionFrequency: "first-turn" = dialectic never appears. Should be documented
• Falsy integer 0 in or-chains collapses incorrectly for cadence/frequency values
• injectionFrequency default should stay "every-turn" (cost savings are already in cadence; "first-turn" makes dialectic permanently unavailable)

#3999 -- self-reviewed, 6 findings fixed

• Duplicate cmd_sync definition removed
• from_env workspace fixed to stay shared
• _show_peer_cards documented as idempotent
• Unused import removed
• Test assertions fixed for shared workspace
• 3 sync tests added

#2757 -- needs work

• Merge conflict with fix(honcho): support local baseUrl-only configuration #2645 (both touch from_global_config) -- rebase after fix(honcho): support local baseUrl-only configuration #2645 lands
• cmd_disable sets root-level enabled: false (too broad, affects all hosts) -- should only set host-level flag
• No enable command yet (now provided by feat(honcho): scope host and peer resolution to active Hermes profile #3999)

Resolved questions

Open questions (remaining)

• feat(honcho): configurable prefetch cadence, injection toggles, and reasoning cap #3425: Should the dialectic pre-warm gap be fixed before merge, or documented as a known limitation?
• feat(honcho): configurable prefetch cadence, injection toggles, and reasoning cap #3425: Falsy integer 0 in config or-chains -- fix now or follow-up?

Related (non-Honcho)

• feat(runtime): add named Hermes instances with isolated local state and per-instance identity #2845 (@erosika) -- named Hermes instances with isolated local state. Honcho layer superseded by feat(honcho): scope host and peer resolution to active Hermes profile #3999. Non-Honcho portions overlap with feat: add profiles — run multiple isolated Hermes instances #3681 (profiles). Close when feat(honcho): scope host and peer resolution to active Hermes profile #3999 lands.
• fix(acp): rename AuthMethod to AuthMethodAgent for agent-client-protocol 0.9.0 #3111 (@Mibayy) -- AuthMethod -> AuthMethodAgent rename for acp 0.9.0. Not blocking anything (main pins acp<0.9), needed if/when upgrading