• The Zoo of Souls — Hermes Agent Ecosystem on QubesOS
  • Architecture Overview
  • Soul Registry
    • Tier 1 — Core (always running)
    • Tier 2 — Operations (run on schedule)
    • Tier 3 — Specialized (run on demand or weekly)
  • Identity Scheme
  • Communication Protocol
    • Intra-Agent (same qube)
    • Inter-Agent (cross-qube / cross-machine)
    • Signal Protocol
  • Skill Architecture
  • Loop Model
  • Oversight Model
  • State Persistence
  • Implementation Phases
    • Phase 1: Core (this session)
    • Phase 2: Operations (next session)
    • Phase 3: Specialized (future)
  • Design Space

§The Zoo of Souls — Hermes Agent Ecosystem on QubesOS

§Architecture Overview

Multiple Hermes Agent instances (souls) run on the same Qubes AppVM, each with a defined role, identity, and set of skills. They communicate through shared files on the SSD, Nostr events, and kapnetd IPC. A central orchestrator (HermQube Prime) spawns, monitors, and coordinates all souls.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     QubesOS AppVM (herm-clone-11)           │
│                                                             │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │              HERMQUBE PRIME (Orchestrator)            │   │
│  │  ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │   │
│  │  │ Heartbeat│ │ Scheduler│ │ Oversight│ │ Kapnet  │ │   │
│  │  │ Monitor  │ │          │ │ Auditor  │ │   d     │ │   │
│  │  └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └─────────┘ │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                           │                                 │
│              ┌────────────┼────────────┐                    │
│              ▼            ▼            ▼                    │
│  ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐        │
│  │  SENTRY      │ │  SCRIBE      │ │  COURIER     │        │
│  │  (Watchman)  │ │  (Chronicler)│ │  (Messenger) │        │
│  └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘        │
│              │            │            │                    │
│  ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐        │
│  │  ARCHIVIST   │ │  HERALD      │ │  QUERANT     │        │
│  │  (Librarian) │ │  (Ambassador)│ │  (Researcher)│        │
│  └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘        │
│              │            │            │                    │
│  ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐        │
│  │  FORGER      │ │  WARDEN      │ │  SAGE        │        │
│  │  (Builder)   │ │  (Security)  │ │  (Advisor)   │        │
│  └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘        │
│                           │                                 │
│              ┌────────────┼────────────┐                    │
│              ▼            ▼            ▼                    │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │                   SHARED INFRASTRUCTURE               │   │
│  │  /media/user/shared-ro/  │  /media/user/shared-rw/   │   │
│  │  /media/user/private/    │  /home/user/.kapnet/      │   │
│  │  Nostr Relays            │  kapnetd IPC              │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
         │                    │                    │
         ▼                    ▼                    ▼
   ┌──────────┐        ┌──────────┐        ┌──────────┐
   │  Nostr   │        │  Kapnet  │        │ Operator │
   │  Relays  │        │  Braid   │        │  (GELI)  │
   └──────────┘        └──────────┘        └──────────┘

§Soul Registry

§Tier 1 — Core (always running)

§Tier 2 — Operations (run on schedule)

§Tier 3 — Specialized (run on demand or weekly)

§Identity Scheme

Each Tier 2+ soul has its own Nostr keypair for signed communications. Tier 1 souls share the HermQube operational key.

.kapnet/
├── keys                              # HermQube operational (Tier 1)
└── identities/
    ├── ambassador/                   # Herald (Tier 2)
    │   ├── sk.hex
    │   ├── pk.hex
    │   ├── npub
    │   └── nsec
    ├── archivist/                    # Archivist (Tier 2)
    ├── querant/                      # Querant (Tier 2)
    ├── forger/                       # Forger (Tier 3)
    ├── warden/                       # Warden (Tier 3)
    ├── sage/                         # Sage (Tier 3)
    └── cartographer/                 # Cartographer (Tier 3)

§Communication Protocol

§Intra-Agent (same qube)

1. Shared files on shared-rw — Primary communication channel

   • /media/user/shared-rw/inbox/<soul>/ — Incoming messages
   • /media/user/shared-rw/outbox/<soul>/ — Outgoing messages
   • /media/user/shared-rw/signals/ — Broadcast signals (JSON)
   • /media/user/shared-rw/state/<soul>.json — Per-soul state

2. Kapnet IPC (Unix socket) — For TXXM-capable souls

   • kapnetd socket at ~/.kapnet/kapnet.sock
   • Souls submit TXXMs, query braid state, trigger knot builds

3. Nostr private (kind-4 DMs) — For cross-qube communication

   • Souls with their own npub can DM other agents
   • Encrypted with NIP-04

§Inter-Agent (cross-qube / cross-machine)

1. Nostr public (kind-1, kind-30078) — Public announcements
2. Nostr private (kind-4 DM) — Encrypted coordination
3. Kapnet TXXM gossip — Private relay or direct IPC

§Signal Protocol

Broadcast signals are JSON files in /media/user/shared-rw/signals/:

{
  "signal": "<signal_type>",
  "from": "<soul_name>",
  "to": "<soul_name>|broadcast",
  "timestamp": 1234567890,
  "data": { ... }
}

Signal types:

• heartbeat — Soul is alive
• task_complete — A scheduled task finished
• alert — Something needs attention
• request — Asking another soul to do something
• response — Reply to a request
• publish — Content ready for Nostr
• store_update — File store changed
• config_change — Kapnet config updated

§Skill Architecture

Each soul has a primary skill that defines its behavior. Skills are stored at:

~/.hermes/skills/souls/<soul-name>/SKILL.md

Cross-cutting skills (shared across souls):

• ~/.hermes/skills/souls/_shared/nostr-publish.md — Publishing tool
• ~/.hermes/skills/souls/_shared/kapnet-ipc.md — IPC protocol
• ~/.hermes/skills/souls/_shared/signal-bus.md — Communication bus
• ~/.hermes/skills/souls/_shared/identity-mgmt.md — Key management

§Loop Model

All souls run deterministic loops. Each loop is a cron-triggered Hermes session:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    LOOP ORCHESTRATOR                     │
│                                                         │
│  Every 6h:  Sentinel heartbeat → all souls ping          │
│  Every 4h:  Archivist store sync → catalog update       │
│  Every 2h:  Sage analysis → wiki update                  │
│  Daily:     Herald content scan → Nostr publish          │
│  Daily:     Querant research → wiki ingest               │
│  Daily:     Scribe log rotation → wiki maintenance       │
│  Weekly:    Warden audit → security report               │
│  Weekly:    Cartographer → architecture diagrams         │
│  On demand: Forger build → binary on SSD                 │
│  Event:     Courier dispatch → inter-agent routing       │
│  Event:     HermQube Prime oversight → coordination      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

§Oversight Model

Operator (GELI)
    │
    ▼
HermQube Prime (orchestrator)
    │
    ├── Health dashboard (shared-rw/state/dashboard.json)
    ├── Alert conditions (2x heartbeat fail, divergence, etc.)
    │
    ▼
All Souls → signal bus → shared-rw/signals/
    │
    ▼
Weekly summary (Nostr kind-1 + wiki log)

§State Persistence

Each soul maintains state in:

1. /media/user/shared-rw/state/<soul>.json — Machine-readable state
2. Wiki log.md — Human-readable activity log
3. Nostr events — Public activity trail (for Herald)

§Implementation Phases

§Phase 1: Core (this session)

• Create shared infrastructure (directories, signal bus, identity scheme)
• Define all soul skills
• Set up HermQube Prime orchestrator
• Deploy Sentinel and Scribe

§Phase 2: Operations (next session)

• Deploy Herald (already has npub + profile live)
• Deploy Archivist (store catalogs)
• Deploy Courier (messaging)
• Set up loop cron jobs

§Phase 3: Specialized (future)

• Deploy Querant, Sage, Warden, Forger, Cartographer
• Cross-qube communication via Nostr DM
• Kapnet-native inter-agent TXXM protocol

§Design Space

See [[zoo-design-space]] for the full combinatorial exploration of design options across all axes: execution models, communication transports, treasury, revenue, security, cross-quube, operator interface, failure modes, and the Kapnet-native vs pragmatic decision framework.

The design space document is the decision record. The architecture above is the current implementation. When they diverge, the design space wins until the architecture is updated.