Skip to content

fix(discord): split /skill group per-category when payload exceeds 8KB#10261

Closed
zeapsu wants to merge 1 commit into
NousResearch:mainfrom
zeapsu:fix/discord-skill-command-payload-limit
Closed

fix(discord): split /skill group per-category when payload exceeds 8KB#10261
zeapsu wants to merge 1 commit into
NousResearch:mainfrom
zeapsu:fix/discord-skill-command-payload-limit

Conversation

@zeapsu

@zeapsu zeapsu commented Apr 15, 2026

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Problem

Closes #10259

With 80+ default skills in 19 categories, the /skill command group serializes to ~14,207 bytes — nearly double Discord's ~8,000 byte per-command payload limit. This causes tree.sync() to fail with error 50035, rejecting all slash commands including the 27 base commands.

Solution

Adaptive command splitting — estimate the /skill group payload size before syncing, and automatically switch to per-category top-level groups when it would exceed 8KB:

Scenario Behavior
Small skill set (payload ≤ 8KB) Single /skill group with category subcommands (original layout, backward compatible)
Large skill set (payload > 8KB) Per-category groups: /skill-mlops, /skill-creative, /skill-github, etc.

Sync resilience — if tree.sync() still fails (e.g. during transition), _retry_sync_without_skills() removes skill groups and re-syncs so base commands always register.

Changes

  1. _estimate_group_payload_size() — estimates serialized JSON size of a command group, mirroring what discord.py sends to the API
  2. _register_skill_group() — now delegates to one of two strategies based on payload size
  3. _register_skill_group_single() — original /skill group layout (unchanged logic)
  4. _register_skill_groups_split() — per-category top-level groups (/skill-<category>, /skill-other for uncategorized)
  5. _retry_sync_without_skills() — recovery path if full sync fails, removes skill groups and re-syncs base commands
  6. 8 new tests — payload estimation, splitting logic, backward compatibility

Screenshot of payload sizes

Estimated /skill command JSON size: 14,207 bytes
Discord limit: 8,000 bytes
Overflow: 6,207 bytes (77.6% over)

Per-category breakdown:
  mlops (22 skills): 3,549 bytes ✓
  creative (9 skills): 1,495 bytes ✓
  github (6 skills): 1,044 bytes ✓
  ... all individual categories fit under 8KB ✓

Testing

$ python -m pytest tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_commands.py -v
26 passed, 3 pre-existing failures (unrelated auto_thread tests)

All 8 new tests pass, plus the 3 existing skill registration tests remain green.

…oad exceeds 8KB

Discord's API rejects slash command payloads larger than ~8KB (error 50035).
With 80+ default skills organized into 19 categories, the /skill command
group serializes to ~14KB — nearly double the limit. This causes the
entire tree.sync() to fail, preventing ALL slash commands (including the
27 base commands) from registering.

Changes:
- Add _estimate_group_payload_size() to calculate JSON payload size
  before syncing, detecting oversized commands proactively
- Split _register_skill_group into two strategies:
  - _register_skill_group_single: original /skill group (used when
    payload fits under 8KB, preserving backward compatibility)
  - _register_skill_groups_split: per-category top-level groups
    /skill-mlops, /skill-creative, etc. (used when payload exceeds 8KB)
- Add _retry_sync_without_skills() recovery: if tree.sync() fails,
  removes skill groups and re-syncs so base commands still register
- Add 8 new tests for payload estimation and split-mode registration
teknium1 added a commit that referenced this pull request Apr 17, 2026
…trivially

Closes #11321, closes #10259.

## Problem

The nested /skill command group (category subcommand groups + skill
subcommands) serialized to ~14KB with the default 75-skill catalog,
exceeding Discord's ~8000-byte per-command registration payload. The
entire tree.sync() rejected with error 50035 — ALL slash commands
including the 27 base commands failed to register.

## Fix

Replace the nested Group layout with a single flat Command:

    /skill name:<autocomplete> args:<optional string>

Autocomplete options are fetched dynamically by Discord when the user
types — they do NOT count against the per-command registration budget.
So this single command registers at ~200 bytes regardless of how many
skills exist. Scales to thousands of skills with no size calculations,
no splitting, no hidden skills.

UX improvements:
- Discord live-filters by user's typed prefix against BOTH name and
  description, so '/skill pdf' finds 'ocr-and-documents' via its
  description. More discoverable than clicking through category menus.
- Unknown skill name → ephemeral error pointing user at autocomplete.
- Stable alphabetical ordering across restarts.

## Why not the other proposed approaches

Three prior PRs tried to fit within the 8KB limit by modifying the
nested layout:

- #10214 (njiangk): truncated all descriptions to 'Run <name>' and
  category descriptions to 'Skills'. Works but destroys slash picker UX.
- #11385 (LeonSGP43): 40-char description clamp + iterative
  trim-largest-category fallback. Works but HIDES skills the user can
  no longer invoke via slash — functional regression.
- #10261 (zeapsu): adaptive split into /skill-<cat> top-level groups.
  Preserves all skills but pollutes the slash namespace with 20
  top-level commands.

All three work around the symptom. The flat autocomplete design
dissolves the problem — there is no payload-size pressure to manage.

## Tests

tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_commands.py — 5 new test cases replace
the 3 old nested-structure tests:

- flat-not-nested structure assertion
- empty skills → no command registered
- callback dispatches the right cmd_key by name
- unknown name → ephemeral error, no dispatch
- large-catalog regression guard (500 skills) — command payload stays
  under 500 bytes regardless

E2E validated against real discord.py 2.7.1:
- Command registers as discord.app_commands.Command (not Group).
- Autocomplete filters by name AND description (verified across several
  queries including description-only matches like 'pdf' → OCR skill).
- 500-skill catalog returns max 25 results per autocomplete query
  (Discord's hard cap), filtered correctly.
- Choice labels formatted as 'name — description' clamped to 100 chars.
teknium1 added a commit that referenced this pull request Apr 17, 2026
…trivially (#11580)

Closes #11321, closes #10259.

## Problem

The nested /skill command group (category subcommand groups + skill
subcommands) serialized to ~14KB with the default 75-skill catalog,
exceeding Discord's ~8000-byte per-command registration payload. The
entire tree.sync() rejected with error 50035 — ALL slash commands
including the 27 base commands failed to register.

## Fix

Replace the nested Group layout with a single flat Command:

    /skill name:<autocomplete> args:<optional string>

Autocomplete options are fetched dynamically by Discord when the user
types — they do NOT count against the per-command registration budget.
So this single command registers at ~200 bytes regardless of how many
skills exist. Scales to thousands of skills with no size calculations,
no splitting, no hidden skills.

UX improvements:
- Discord live-filters by user's typed prefix against BOTH name and
  description, so '/skill pdf' finds 'ocr-and-documents' via its
  description. More discoverable than clicking through category menus.
- Unknown skill name → ephemeral error pointing user at autocomplete.
- Stable alphabetical ordering across restarts.

## Why not the other proposed approaches

Three prior PRs tried to fit within the 8KB limit by modifying the
nested layout:

- #10214 (njiangk): truncated all descriptions to 'Run <name>' and
  category descriptions to 'Skills'. Works but destroys slash picker UX.
- #11385 (LeonSGP43): 40-char description clamp + iterative
  trim-largest-category fallback. Works but HIDES skills the user can
  no longer invoke via slash — functional regression.
- #10261 (zeapsu): adaptive split into /skill-<cat> top-level groups.
  Preserves all skills but pollutes the slash namespace with 20
  top-level commands.

All three work around the symptom. The flat autocomplete design
dissolves the problem — there is no payload-size pressure to manage.

## Tests

tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_commands.py — 5 new test cases replace
the 3 old nested-structure tests:

- flat-not-nested structure assertion
- empty skills → no command registered
- callback dispatches the right cmd_key by name
- unknown name → ephemeral error, no dispatch
- large-catalog regression guard (500 skills) — command payload stays
  under 500 bytes regardless

E2E validated against real discord.py 2.7.1:
- Command registers as discord.app_commands.Command (not Group).
- Autocomplete filters by name AND description (verified across several
  queries including description-only matches like 'pdf' → OCR skill).
- 500-skill catalog returns max 25 results per autocomplete query
  (Discord's hard cap), filtered correctly.
- Choice labels formatted as 'name — description' clamped to 100 chars.
@teknium1

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Closing in favor of a different approach — #11580#11580

Excellent analysis. Your payload-size breakdown (14,207 bytes → 8K limit, per-category size map, all individual categories fit easily) was what made the right design obvious, and your _estimate_group_payload_size + _retry_sync_without_skills implementation was solid.

We went one step further: a flat /skill name:<autocomplete> args:<string> command. Autocomplete values are fetched dynamically by Discord and don't count toward the 8KB per-command budget — so we don't need a size estimator, a split strategy, OR a retry fallback. The single registration payload stays ~200 bytes regardless of catalog size. Bonus: no /skill-mlops, /skill-creative, … top-level namespace pollution.

Thanks for the thorough issue writeup and PR — your payload breakdown is cited in the merge commit body, and closing #10259 via #11580 delivers what you reported.

@teknium1 teknium1 closed this Apr 17, 2026
ulasbilgen pushed a commit to ulasbilgen/hermes-adhd-agent that referenced this pull request May 1, 2026
…trivially (NousResearch#11580)

Closes NousResearch#11321, closes NousResearch#10259.

## Problem

The nested /skill command group (category subcommand groups + skill
subcommands) serialized to ~14KB with the default 75-skill catalog,
exceeding Discord's ~8000-byte per-command registration payload. The
entire tree.sync() rejected with error 50035 — ALL slash commands
including the 27 base commands failed to register.

## Fix

Replace the nested Group layout with a single flat Command:

    /skill name:<autocomplete> args:<optional string>

Autocomplete options are fetched dynamically by Discord when the user
types — they do NOT count against the per-command registration budget.
So this single command registers at ~200 bytes regardless of how many
skills exist. Scales to thousands of skills with no size calculations,
no splitting, no hidden skills.

UX improvements:
- Discord live-filters by user's typed prefix against BOTH name and
  description, so '/skill pdf' finds 'ocr-and-documents' via its
  description. More discoverable than clicking through category menus.
- Unknown skill name → ephemeral error pointing user at autocomplete.
- Stable alphabetical ordering across restarts.

## Why not the other proposed approaches

Three prior PRs tried to fit within the 8KB limit by modifying the
nested layout:

- NousResearch#10214 (njiangk): truncated all descriptions to 'Run <name>' and
  category descriptions to 'Skills'. Works but destroys slash picker UX.
- NousResearch#11385 (LeonSGP43): 40-char description clamp + iterative
  trim-largest-category fallback. Works but HIDES skills the user can
  no longer invoke via slash — functional regression.
- NousResearch#10261 (zeapsu): adaptive split into /skill-<cat> top-level groups.
  Preserves all skills but pollutes the slash namespace with 20
  top-level commands.

All three work around the symptom. The flat autocomplete design
dissolves the problem — there is no payload-size pressure to manage.

## Tests

tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_commands.py — 5 new test cases replace
the 3 old nested-structure tests:

- flat-not-nested structure assertion
- empty skills → no command registered
- callback dispatches the right cmd_key by name
- unknown name → ephemeral error, no dispatch
- large-catalog regression guard (500 skills) — command payload stays
  under 500 bytes regardless

E2E validated against real discord.py 2.7.1:
- Command registers as discord.app_commands.Command (not Group).
- Autocomplete filters by name AND description (verified across several
  queries including description-only matches like 'pdf' → OCR skill).
- 500-skill catalog returns max 25 results per autocomplete query
  (Discord's hard cap), filtered correctly.
- Choice labels formatted as 'name — description' clamped to 100 chars.
aj-nt pushed a commit to aj-nt/hermes-agent that referenced this pull request May 1, 2026
…trivially (NousResearch#11580)

Closes NousResearch#11321, closes NousResearch#10259.

## Problem

The nested /skill command group (category subcommand groups + skill
subcommands) serialized to ~14KB with the default 75-skill catalog,
exceeding Discord's ~8000-byte per-command registration payload. The
entire tree.sync() rejected with error 50035 — ALL slash commands
including the 27 base commands failed to register.

## Fix

Replace the nested Group layout with a single flat Command:

    /skill name:<autocomplete> args:<optional string>

Autocomplete options are fetched dynamically by Discord when the user
types — they do NOT count against the per-command registration budget.
So this single command registers at ~200 bytes regardless of how many
skills exist. Scales to thousands of skills with no size calculations,
no splitting, no hidden skills.

UX improvements:
- Discord live-filters by user's typed prefix against BOTH name and
  description, so '/skill pdf' finds 'ocr-and-documents' via its
  description. More discoverable than clicking through category menus.
- Unknown skill name → ephemeral error pointing user at autocomplete.
- Stable alphabetical ordering across restarts.

## Why not the other proposed approaches

Three prior PRs tried to fit within the 8KB limit by modifying the
nested layout:

- NousResearch#10214 (njiangk): truncated all descriptions to 'Run <name>' and
  category descriptions to 'Skills'. Works but destroys slash picker UX.
- NousResearch#11385 (LeonSGP43): 40-char description clamp + iterative
  trim-largest-category fallback. Works but HIDES skills the user can
  no longer invoke via slash — functional regression.
- NousResearch#10261 (zeapsu): adaptive split into /skill-<cat> top-level groups.
  Preserves all skills but pollutes the slash namespace with 20
  top-level commands.

All three work around the symptom. The flat autocomplete design
dissolves the problem — there is no payload-size pressure to manage.

## Tests

tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_commands.py — 5 new test cases replace
the 3 old nested-structure tests:

- flat-not-nested structure assertion
- empty skills → no command registered
- callback dispatches the right cmd_key by name
- unknown name → ephemeral error, no dispatch
- large-catalog regression guard (500 skills) — command payload stays
  under 500 bytes regardless

E2E validated against real discord.py 2.7.1:
- Command registers as discord.app_commands.Command (not Group).
- Autocomplete filters by name AND description (verified across several
  queries including description-only matches like 'pdf' → OCR skill).
- 500-skill catalog returns max 25 results per autocomplete query
  (Discord's hard cap), filtered correctly.
- Choice labels formatted as 'name — description' clamped to 100 chars.
02356abc pushed a commit to 02356abc/hermes-agent that referenced this pull request May 14, 2026
…trivially (NousResearch#11580)

Closes NousResearch#11321, closes NousResearch#10259.

## Problem

The nested /skill command group (category subcommand groups + skill
subcommands) serialized to ~14KB with the default 75-skill catalog,
exceeding Discord's ~8000-byte per-command registration payload. The
entire tree.sync() rejected with error 50035 — ALL slash commands
including the 27 base commands failed to register.

## Fix

Replace the nested Group layout with a single flat Command:

    /skill name:<autocomplete> args:<optional string>

Autocomplete options are fetched dynamically by Discord when the user
types — they do NOT count against the per-command registration budget.
So this single command registers at ~200 bytes regardless of how many
skills exist. Scales to thousands of skills with no size calculations,
no splitting, no hidden skills.

UX improvements:
- Discord live-filters by user's typed prefix against BOTH name and
  description, so '/skill pdf' finds 'ocr-and-documents' via its
  description. More discoverable than clicking through category menus.
- Unknown skill name → ephemeral error pointing user at autocomplete.
- Stable alphabetical ordering across restarts.

## Why not the other proposed approaches

Three prior PRs tried to fit within the 8KB limit by modifying the
nested layout:

- NousResearch#10214 (njiangk): truncated all descriptions to 'Run <name>' and
  category descriptions to 'Skills'. Works but destroys slash picker UX.
- NousResearch#11385 (LeonSGP43): 40-char description clamp + iterative
  trim-largest-category fallback. Works but HIDES skills the user can
  no longer invoke via slash — functional regression.
- NousResearch#10261 (zeapsu): adaptive split into /skill-<cat> top-level groups.
  Preserves all skills but pollutes the slash namespace with 20
  top-level commands.

All three work around the symptom. The flat autocomplete design
dissolves the problem — there is no payload-size pressure to manage.

## Tests

tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_commands.py — 5 new test cases replace
the 3 old nested-structure tests:

- flat-not-nested structure assertion
- empty skills → no command registered
- callback dispatches the right cmd_key by name
- unknown name → ephemeral error, no dispatch
- large-catalog regression guard (500 skills) — command payload stays
  under 500 bytes regardless

E2E validated against real discord.py 2.7.1:
- Command registers as discord.app_commands.Command (not Group).
- Autocomplete filters by name AND description (verified across several
  queries including description-only matches like 'pdf' → OCR skill).
- 500-skill catalog returns max 25 results per autocomplete query
  (Discord's hard cap), filtered correctly.
- Choice labels formatted as 'name — description' clamped to 100 chars.
gweeteve pushed a commit to gweeteve/hermes-agent that referenced this pull request Jun 2, 2026
…trivially (NousResearch#11580)

Closes NousResearch#11321, closes NousResearch#10259.

## Problem

The nested /skill command group (category subcommand groups + skill
subcommands) serialized to ~14KB with the default 75-skill catalog,
exceeding Discord's ~8000-byte per-command registration payload. The
entire tree.sync() rejected with error 50035 — ALL slash commands
including the 27 base commands failed to register.

## Fix

Replace the nested Group layout with a single flat Command:

    /skill name:<autocomplete> args:<optional string>

Autocomplete options are fetched dynamically by Discord when the user
types — they do NOT count against the per-command registration budget.
So this single command registers at ~200 bytes regardless of how many
skills exist. Scales to thousands of skills with no size calculations,
no splitting, no hidden skills.

UX improvements:
- Discord live-filters by user's typed prefix against BOTH name and
  description, so '/skill pdf' finds 'ocr-and-documents' via its
  description. More discoverable than clicking through category menus.
- Unknown skill name → ephemeral error pointing user at autocomplete.
- Stable alphabetical ordering across restarts.

## Why not the other proposed approaches

Three prior PRs tried to fit within the 8KB limit by modifying the
nested layout:

- NousResearch#10214 (njiangk): truncated all descriptions to 'Run <name>' and
  category descriptions to 'Skills'. Works but destroys slash picker UX.
- NousResearch#11385 (LeonSGP43): 40-char description clamp + iterative
  trim-largest-category fallback. Works but HIDES skills the user can
  no longer invoke via slash — functional regression.
- NousResearch#10261 (zeapsu): adaptive split into /skill-<cat> top-level groups.
  Preserves all skills but pollutes the slash namespace with 20
  top-level commands.

All three work around the symptom. The flat autocomplete design
dissolves the problem — there is no payload-size pressure to manage.

## Tests

tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_commands.py — 5 new test cases replace
the 3 old nested-structure tests:

- flat-not-nested structure assertion
- empty skills → no command registered
- callback dispatches the right cmd_key by name
- unknown name → ephemeral error, no dispatch
- large-catalog regression guard (500 skills) — command payload stays
  under 500 bytes regardless

E2E validated against real discord.py 2.7.1:
- Command registers as discord.app_commands.Command (not Group).
- Autocomplete filters by name AND description (verified across several
  queries including description-only matches like 'pdf' → OCR skill).
- 500-skill catalog returns max 25 results per autocomplete query
  (Discord's hard cap), filtered correctly.
- Choice labels formatted as 'name — description' clamped to 100 chars.
Egavasyug pushed a commit to Egavasyug/hermes-agent that referenced this pull request Jun 10, 2026
…trivially (NousResearch#11580)

Closes NousResearch#11321, closes NousResearch#10259.

## Problem

The nested /skill command group (category subcommand groups + skill
subcommands) serialized to ~14KB with the default 75-skill catalog,
exceeding Discord's ~8000-byte per-command registration payload. The
entire tree.sync() rejected with error 50035 — ALL slash commands
including the 27 base commands failed to register.

## Fix

Replace the nested Group layout with a single flat Command:

    /skill name:<autocomplete> args:<optional string>

Autocomplete options are fetched dynamically by Discord when the user
types — they do NOT count against the per-command registration budget.
So this single command registers at ~200 bytes regardless of how many
skills exist. Scales to thousands of skills with no size calculations,
no splitting, no hidden skills.

UX improvements:
- Discord live-filters by user's typed prefix against BOTH name and
  description, so '/skill pdf' finds 'ocr-and-documents' via its
  description. More discoverable than clicking through category menus.
- Unknown skill name → ephemeral error pointing user at autocomplete.
- Stable alphabetical ordering across restarts.

## Why not the other proposed approaches

Three prior PRs tried to fit within the 8KB limit by modifying the
nested layout:

- NousResearch#10214 (njiangk): truncated all descriptions to 'Run <name>' and
  category descriptions to 'Skills'. Works but destroys slash picker UX.
- NousResearch#11385 (LeonSGP43): 40-char description clamp + iterative
  trim-largest-category fallback. Works but HIDES skills the user can
  no longer invoke via slash — functional regression.
- NousResearch#10261 (zeapsu): adaptive split into /skill-<cat> top-level groups.
  Preserves all skills but pollutes the slash namespace with 20
  top-level commands.

All three work around the symptom. The flat autocomplete design
dissolves the problem — there is no payload-size pressure to manage.

## Tests

tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_commands.py — 5 new test cases replace
the 3 old nested-structure tests:

- flat-not-nested structure assertion
- empty skills → no command registered
- callback dispatches the right cmd_key by name
- unknown name → ephemeral error, no dispatch
- large-catalog regression guard (500 skills) — command payload stays
  under 500 bytes regardless

E2E validated against real discord.py 2.7.1:
- Command registers as discord.app_commands.Command (not Group).
- Autocomplete filters by name AND description (verified across several
  queries including description-only matches like 'pdf' → OCR skill).
- 500-skill catalog returns max 25 results per autocomplete query
  (Discord's hard cap), filtered correctly.
- Choice labels formatted as 'name — description' clamped to 100 chars.
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

None yet

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

Discord slash command sync fails with error 50035 when /skill group exceeds 8KB payload limit

2 participants