feat: runtime monkey-patch instead of file patching — zero fork required

The plugin now monkey-patches HonchoMemoryProvider._do_session_init at
plugin load time instead of requiring changes to any file in the Hermes
repo. This means:

- No modifications to plugins/memory/honcho/__init__.py or any other file
- No fork needed — pure plugin approach
- Survives Hermes upgrades without merge conflicts
- Removed docs/honcho-injector.md (replaced by docs/how-it-works.md)
- Updated README with new architecture description

Config file at /opt/data/identity-config.json remains the single source
of truth for mappings.

README.md

@@ -3,51 +3,60 @@
 Maps platform-specific user IDs (Discord snowflake, Telegram UID, terminal
 session) and kanban boards to stable Honcho peer names. Eliminates
 `user-default-t_*` peers from kanban workers and unifies a user's identity
-across platforms (Discord + Telegram → same Honcho peer).
+across platforms.
+
+**Zero modifications to the Hermes repo.** No fork required. The plugin
+uses runtime monkey-patching at plugin load time to wrap Honcho's session
+initialization — no files are changed on disk.
 
 ## Architecture
 
 ```
-                     ┌──────────────────────┐
+                    ┌──────────────────────────┐
                     │ identity-config.json      │
                     │ /opt/data/                │
-                     └──────┬───────────────┘
+                    └──────┬───────────────────┘
-                            │ read on init
+                           │ reads on every resolve
-         ┌──────────────────┼──────────────────┐
+        ┌──────────────────┼───────────────────────┐
         │                  │                       │
         ▼                  ▼                       ▼
-  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐
+ ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────────────┐
-  │ pre_gateway  │  │  on_session  │  │  Honcho      │
+ │ pre_gateway  │  │  /identity   │  │  Honcho monkey-patch  │
-  │ dispatch     │  │  start hook  │  │  injector    │
+ │ dispatch     │  │  slash cmd   │  │  (runtime, no files)  │
-  │ hook (log)   │  │  (log/track) │  │  (session.py)│
+ │ hook (log)   │  │  (manage)    │  └──────────┬───────────┘
-  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └──────┬───────┘
+ └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘             │
-                                             │
+                                        injects peer_name
-                                    resolves peer_name
+                                        into kwargs["user_id"]
-                                    before Honcho init
+                                        BEFORE Honcho session init
 ```
 
-Two components work together:
+## How it works
 
-1. **This plugin** (user-installed) — provides `/identity` slash command for
+1. **Plugin loads** → `register()` is called → monkey-patches
-   config management, `pre_gateway_dispatch` logging, and `on_session_start`
+   `HonchoMemoryProvider._do_session_init` with a wrapper.
-   tracking. Installed via `hermes plugins install`.
 
-2. **Honcho injector** (~6 lines in `plugins/memory/honcho/session.py`) — reads
+2. **Kanban worker starts** → Honcho tries to init → no `user_id` from
-   the config file and `HERMES_KANBAN_TASK` env var to inject the correct
+   gateway → the wrapper calls `get_peer_name()` → reads the task body
-   `runtime_user_peer_name` into Honcho's session initialization. See
+   from `HERMES_KANBAN_DB` → extracts `context_peer: <name>` → injects
-   [`docs/honcho-injector.md`](docs/honcho-injector.md).
+   it as `user_id` → Honcho creates the session with the correct peer.
+
+3. **Gateway session starts** (Discord/Telegram) → normal flow with
+   platform user ID → monkey-patch is bypassed (user_id already set).
+
+4. **Missing config or env** → returns None → Honcho behaves exactly as
+   before (creates `user-default-*` peers — safe fallback).
 
 ## Installation
 
 ```bash
-# 1. Install the plugin
+# 1. Install the plugin from Gitea
-hermes plugins install gitea:code.lazyworkhorse.net/Hermes/hermes-identity-plugin
+hermes plugins install ssh://git@code.lazyworkhorse.net:2222/Hermes/hermes-identity-plugin.git
 
-# 2. Apply the Honcho injector patch (see docs/honcho-injector.md)
+# 2. Create the config file (persistent volume)
-# 3. Create the config file
 cp config.sample.json /opt/data/identity-config.json
-# 4. Edit /opt/data/identity-config.json with your mappings
+
-# 5. Restart gateways
+# 3. Edit /opt/data/identity-config.json with your mappings
+# 4. Restart gateways to pick up the plugin
 ```
 
 ## Config file: `/opt/data/identity-config.json`
@@ -56,7 +65,9 @@ cp config.sample.json /opt/data/identity-config.json
 {
   "mappings": [
     {"platform": "discord", "id": "479136126737711105", "peer": "thierry"},
-    {"platform": "telegram", "id": "123456789", "peer": "thierry"}
+    {"platform": "telegram", "id": "123456789", "peer": "thierry"},
+    {"platform": "matrix", "id": "@thierry:example.org", "peer": "thierry"},
+    {"platform": "terminal", "id": "default", "peer": "thierry"}
   ],
   "boards": {
     "default": "thierry",
@@ -69,7 +80,7 @@ cp config.sample.json /opt/data/identity-config.json
 
 ## Task body convention
 
-Every kanban task MUST include a `context_peer` in its body:
+Every kanban task SHOULD include a `context_peer` in its body:
 
 ```markdown
 Do research on Postgres migration costs.
@@ -79,23 +90,25 @@ context_peer: thierry
 ```
 ```
 
-Profiles (Claire, Ashley, Finn, Matt) MUST include this when calling
+Profiles (Claire, Ashley, Finn, Matt) set this when calling `kanban_create`.
-`kanban_create`. The `enforce_context_peer` config flag controls whether
+
-missing `context_peer` causes an error.
+**If `context_peer` is missing**, the plugin falls back to the board
+config (e.g., `boards.default` → `thierry`). If no board config either,
+it uses `fallback_peer`. If that's also unset → `user-default-*` (safe).
 
 ## Commands
 
 - `/identity status` — show current config and resolved peer
 - `/identity list` — list all mappings
 - `/identity add discord <id> <peer>` — add a new mapping
-- `/identity rm <index>` — remove mapping
+- `/identity rm <index>` — remove mapping by index
-- `/identity board <slug> <peer>` — set board peer
+- `/identity board <slug> <peer>` — set board's default peer
 - `/identity help` — full help
 
-## Enforcing the convention
+## Safety
 
-Add this to the kanban-worker skill or the profile's system prompt:
+- The monkey-patch is applied ONLY at plugin load time, before any session.
-
+- If the plugin is uninstalled or fails to load, Honcho is untouched.
-> When creating a kanban task with `kanban_create`, you MUST include
+- If the config file is missing, all resolution returns None → Honcho
-> `context_peer: <peer_name>` in the task body as a metadata block.
+  creates `user-default-*` as today.
-> Use the user's Honcho peer name — not your own profile name.
+- No data loss risk. No changes to any file in the Hermes repo.

__init__.py

@@ -2,11 +2,10 @@
 hermes-identity-plugin (identity)
 
 Resolves platform-specific user IDs and kanban workers to stable Honcho
-peer names. The plugin provides hooks + slash command. The actual peer name
+peer names. NO modifications to the Hermes repo required — the plugin
-injection into Honcho requires a ~6-line change in the bundled Honcho plugin
+monkey-patches Honcho's session initialization at plugin load time.
-(plugins/memory/honcho/session.py) — see docs/honcho-injector.md.
 
-Config: /opt/data/identity-config.json (persistent across container rebuilds)
+Config: /opt/data/identity-config.json (persistent volume)
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -16,8 +15,9 @@ import logging
 import os
 import re
 import sqlite3
+from functools import wraps
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Any
+from typing import Any, Callable
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -51,11 +51,11 @@ def save_config(cfg: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
     logger.info("identity: config saved to %s", CONFIG_PATH)
 
 
-# ── Resolution ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# ── Peer resolution ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 
 def resolve_peer(platform: str, platform_id: str) -> str | None:
-    """Resolve a platform+ID to a canonical peer name."""
+    """Resolve a platform+ID to a canonical peer name from config."""
     cfg = load_config()
     for m in cfg.get("mappings", []):
         if m.get("platform") == platform and str(m.get("id", "")) == str(platform_id):
@@ -75,8 +75,9 @@ def get_peer_name() -> str | None:
     """Resolve peer name for the current process context.
 
     Priority:
-    1. HERMES_HONCHO_PEER_NAME env var (set by kanban dispatcher or manually)
+    1. HERMES_HONCHO_PEER_NAME env var (explicit override or manual)
     2. Kanban worker: task body context_peer → board config → fallback
+    3. None  (Honcho behaves as before)
     """
     explicit = os.environ.get("HERMES_HONCHO_PEER_NAME")
     if explicit:
@@ -88,7 +89,8 @@ def get_peer_name() -> str | None:
     if task_id and db_path:
         return _resolve_kanban_peer(task_id, board, db_path)
 
-    return None
+    cfg = load_config()
+    return cfg.get("fallback_peer")
 
 
 def _resolve_kanban_peer(task_id: str, board: str | None, db_path: str) -> str | None:
@@ -104,7 +106,7 @@ def _resolve_kanban_peer(task_id: str, board: str | None, db_path: str) -> str |
                 "SELECT body FROM tasks WHERE id = ?", (task_id,)
             ).fetchone()
             if not row:
-                return None
+                return resolve_board_peer(board)
             body = row["body"] or ""
             peer = _extract_context_peer(body)
             if peer:
@@ -131,14 +133,8 @@ def _extract_context_peer(body: str) -> str | None:
     return None
 
 
-# ── Enforce context_peer on kanban task creation ────────────────────────────
-# Profiles (Claire, Ashley, etc.) MUST include ``context_peer: <name>`` in
-# every kanban task body. The kanban-worker skill references this convention.
-# The Honcho injector (see docs/honcho-injector.md) reads it at worker start.
-
-
 def enforce_context_peer(body: str | None) -> str | None:
-    """Return error message if body lacks context_peer, None if OK."""
+    """Return error string if body lacks context_peer, None if OK."""
     cfg = load_config()
     if not cfg.get("enforce_context_peer", True):
         return None
@@ -147,14 +143,81 @@ def enforce_context_peer(body: str | None) -> str | None:
             "Missing required `context_peer: <name>` in task body. "
             "Add a metadata block:\n"
             "```metadata\ncontext_peer: thierry\n```\n"
-            "Replace `thierry` with the intended user's peer name."
         )
     peer = _extract_context_peer(body)
     if not peer:
-        return "context_peer: found in body but could not be parsed. Use format: context_peer: <name>"
+        return "context_peer: found in body but could not be parsed."
     return None
 
 
+# ── Runtime monkey-patch of Honcho session init ─────────────────────────────
+# This is the KEY mechanism: no files modified, no fork needed.
+# The plugin wraps HonchoMemoryProvider._do_session_init at plugin load time
+# to inject our resolved peer name before Honcho creates the session.
+
+_original_init: Callable | None = None
+
+
+def _patched_do_session_init(self, cfg, session_id: str, **kwargs):
+    """Wrapper around Honcho's _do_session_init.
+
+    If no user_id was provided by the gateway (kanban worker / CLI context),
+    resolve one from the identity config and inject it.
+    """
+    if not kwargs.get("user_id"):
+        resolved = get_peer_name()
+        if resolved:
+            logger.info(
+                "identity: injecting peer '%s' into Honcho session (task=%s, board=%s)",
+                resolved,
+                os.environ.get("HERMES_KANBAN_TASK", "-"),
+                os.environ.get("HERMES_KANBAN_BOARD", "-"),
+            )
+            kwargs["user_id"] = resolved
+    return _original_init(self, cfg, session_id, **kwargs)  # type: ignore[misc]
+
+
+def _apply_honcho_patch():
+    """Apply monkey-patch to Honcho's session initialization.
+
+    Must be called after Honcho is loaded but before any session starts.
+    Safe to call multiple times - only patches on first call.
+    """
+    global _original_init
+
+    if _original_init is not None:
+        return  # already patched
+
+    try:
+        import plugins.memory.honcho  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
+        # Use string-based patching to avoid import-time issues
+        honcho_mod = __import__(
+            "plugins.memory.honcho",
+            fromlist=["HonchoMemoryProvider"],
+        )
+        provider_cls = getattr(honcho_mod, "HonchoMemoryProvider", None)
+        if provider_cls is None:
+            logger.warning("identity: HonchoMemoryProvider not found, cannot patch")
+            return
+
+        orig = getattr(provider_cls, "_do_session_init", None)
+        if orig is None:
+            logger.warning("identity: HonchoMemoryProvider._do_session_init not found")
+            return
+
+        # Store original and replace with wrapper
+        _original_init = orig
+
+        @wraps(orig)
+        def wrapper(self, cfg, session_id: str, **kwargs):
+            return _patched_do_session_init(self, cfg, session_id, **kwargs)
+
+        setattr(provider_cls, "_do_session_init", wrapper)
+        logger.info("identity: patched HonchoMemoryProvider._do_session_init ✓")
+    except Exception as exc:
+        logger.warning("identity: failed to patch Honcho init: %s", exc)
+
+
 # ── Hooks ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 
@@ -168,7 +231,7 @@ def _pre_gateway_dispatch(event: Any, gateway: Any, session_store: Any, **kw) ->
         logger.debug("identity: gateway platform=%s user_id=%s → peer=%s", platform, user_id, resolved)
     else:
         logger.info("identity: unmapped gateway user platform=%s user_id=%s", platform, user_id)
-    return None  # allow normal dispatch
+    return None
 
 
 def _on_session_start(**kw: Any) -> None:
@@ -179,7 +242,7 @@ def _on_session_start(**kw: Any) -> None:
         if peer:
             logger.info("identity: kanban worker task=%s peer=%s", task_id, peer)
         else:
-            logger.info("identity: kanban worker task=%s no peer → user-default", task_id)
+            logger.info("identity: kanban worker task=%s → user-default (no mapping)", task_id)
     elif peer:
         logger.debug("identity: session peer=%s", peer)
 
@@ -199,15 +262,13 @@ def _cmd_identity(raw_args: str) -> str:
     elif cmd == "list":
         return _list_mappings()
     elif cmd in ("add", "set") and len(args) >= 4:
-        # /identity add discord 479136126737711105 thierry
         platform, pid, peer_name = args[1], args[2], args[3]
         return _add_mapping(platform, pid, peer_name)
     elif cmd == "rm" and len(args) >= 2:
         idx = int(args[1]) if args[1].isdigit() else -1
         return _remove_mapping(idx)
     elif cmd == "board" and len(args) >= 3:
-        slug, peer_name = args[1], args[2]
+        return _set_board(args[1], args[2])
-        return _set_board(slug, peer_name)
     elif cmd == "help":
         return _help_text()
     return _help_text()
@@ -221,13 +282,13 @@ def _show_status() -> str:
         f"Mappings: {len(cfg.get('mappings', []))}",
         f"Boards: {len(cfg.get('boards', {}))}",
         f"Enforce context_peer: {cfg.get('enforce_context_peer', True)}",
-        f"Fallback peer: {cfg.get('fallback_peer', 'user')}",
+        f"Fallback: {cfg.get('fallback_peer', 'user')}",
+        f"Honcho patch: {'✓' if _original_init else '✗ not applied'}",
         "",
         "Current context:",
     ]
     peer = get_peer_name()
-    if peer:
+    lines.append(f"  Resolved peer: **{peer or '(none — will use user-default)'}**")
-        lines.append(f"  Resolved peer: **{peer}**")
     task = os.environ.get("HERMES_KANBAN_TASK")
     if task:
         lines.append(f"  Kanban task: `{task}`")
@@ -258,7 +319,7 @@ def _add_mapping(platform: str, pid: str, peer_name: str) -> str:
     cfg = load_config()
     cfg.setdefault("mappings", []).append({"platform": platform, "id": pid, "peer": peer_name})
     save_config(cfg)
-    return f"Added mapping: `{platform}` `{pid}` → **{peer_name}**"
+    return f"Added: `{platform}` `{pid}` → **{peer_name}**"
 
 
 def _remove_mapping(idx: int) -> str:
@@ -294,13 +355,21 @@ Commands:
 
 
 def register(ctx: Any) -> None:
-    """Register identity plugin hooks and slash command."""
+    """Register identity plugin hooks and apply Honcho session patch."""
+    # Apply the runtime monkey-patch to Honcho's session init
+    # NO files modified, NO fork needed — pure Python at import time
+    _apply_honcho_patch()
+
+    # Register hooks
     ctx.register_hook("pre_gateway_dispatch", _pre_gateway_dispatch)
     ctx.register_hook("on_session_start", _on_session_start)
+
+    # Register slash command
     ctx.register_command(
         name="identity",
         handler=_cmd_identity,
         description="Manage identity peer mappings",
         args_hint="status|list|add|rm|board|help",
     )
-    logger.info("identity-plugin: registered hooks (pre_gateway_dispatch, on_session_start) and /identity command")
+
+    logger.info("identity-plugin: registered ✓ (honcho patch=%s)", "applied" if _original_init else "not-applied")

docs/honcho-injector.md

@@ -1,116 +0,0 @@
-# Honcho Injector Patch
-
-The identity plugin cannot directly inject `runtime_user_peer_name` into
-Honcho from a user-installed hook (the hook system only allows message
-rewrite/skip, not user_id modification). Instead, we add ~6 lines in the
-bundled Honcho plugin's session initialization.
-
-## File
-
-`plugins/memory/honcho/__init__.py` — line ~362
-
-## The change
-
-### Before
-
-```python
-runtime_user_peer_name=kwargs.get("user_id") or None,
-```
-
-### After
-
-```python
-runtime_user_peer_name=kwargs.get("user_id") or _resolve_identity_peer(),
-```
-
-### Add this function in the same file (or import from the identity plugin)
-
-```python
-def _resolve_identity_peer() -> str | None:
-    """Resolve peer name from env vars and identity config.
-
-    Priority: HERMES_HONCHO_PEER_NAME → kanban task body context_peer
-    → kanban board config → None (falls through to Honcho default).
-    """
-    import json, os, sqlite3, re
-    from pathlib import Path
-
-    # 1. Explicit env override
-    explicit = os.environ.get("HERMES_HONCHO_PEER_NAME")
-    if explicit:
-        return explicit
-
-    # 2. Kanban worker: read task body for context_peer
-    task_id = os.environ.get("HERMES_KANBAN_TASK")
-    db_path = os.environ.get("HERMES_KANBAN_DB")
-    if task_id and db_path:
-        db = Path(db_path)
-        if db.exists():
-            try:
-                conn = sqlite3.connect(str(db))
-                conn.row_factory = sqlite3.Row
-                try:
-                    row = conn.execute(
-                        "SELECT body FROM tasks WHERE id = ?", (task_id,)
-                    ).fetchone()
-                    if row and row["body"]:
-                        m = re.search(r"context_peer:\s*(\S+)", row["body"])
-                        if m:
-                            return m.group(1)
-                finally:
-                    conn.close()
-            except Exception:
-                pass
-
-    # 3. Identity config file
-    cfg_path = Path("/opt/data/identity-config.json")
-    if cfg_path.exists():
-        try:
-            cfg = json.loads(cfg_path.read_text())
-            # Check kanban board config
-            board = os.environ.get("HERMES_KANBAN_BOARD")
-            if board and board in cfg.get("boards", {}):
-                return cfg["boards"][board]
-            # Use fallback
-            return cfg.get("fallback_peer")
-        except Exception:
-            pass
-
-    return None
-```
-
-## How it works
-
-1. When a **gateway session** starts, `kwargs["user_id"]` carries the platform
-   ID (Discord snowflake, Telegram UID). The identity config file maps these
-   to canonical peer names. The injector is bypassed — normal flow.
-
-2. When a **kanban worker** starts, `kwargs["user_id"]` is None (no gateway).
-   The injector kicks in:
-
-   a. Checks `HERMES_HONCHO_PEER_NAME` env var (set by a future dispatcher
-      enhancement or manually).
-
-   b. Reads the kanban task body from the SQLite database, extracts
-      `context_peer: <name>` from the body.
-
-   c. Falls back to the board-level config from identity-config.json.
-
-   d. If nothing resolves → returns None → Honcho creates `user-default-*`
-      as today (safe fallback).
-
-## Why not modify the kanban dispatcher?
-
-The kanban dispatcher (`hermes_cli/kanban_db.py:_default_spawn`) is core
-Hermes code. We avoid touching it. Instead, the Honcho injector reads the
-task directly from the kanban DB using env vars that are already set
-(`HERMES_KANBAN_TASK`, `HERMES_KANBAN_DB`, `HERMES_KANBAN_BOARD`).
-
-This adds ~10 microseconds to worker startup — negligible.
-
-## Compatibility
-
-- If the identity plugin is removed, the injector function returns None and
-  Honcho behaves exactly as before.
-- If the config file is missing, same safe fallback.
-- No data loss risk.

docs/how-it-works.md

@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+# Architecture: Why monkey-patch instead of patching files?
+
+The identity plugin uses **runtime monkey-patching** — no files in the
+Hermes repo are modified. This is the key design decision that eliminates
+the need for a fork.
+
+## The problem
+
+Kanban workers start with NO gateway user identity. The spawn function
+runs `hermes -p <profile> chat -q "work kanban task <id>"`. When Honcho
+initializes, `kwargs["user_id"]` is None, so it creates `user-default-*`
+peers.
+
+There is no Hermes plugin hook that fires at agent initialization before
+Honcho creates the session. The hooks available are:
+- `pre_gateway_dispatch` — only fires for gateway sessions (Discord, etc.)
+- `on_session_start` — fires AFTER Honcho has already initialized
+- `pre_tool_call` / `post_tool_call` — fire during tool execution, too late
+
+## The solution: runtime monkey-patch
+
+Python allows replacing any method on any class at runtime. The identity
+plugin does exactly this in its `register()` function:
+
+1. At plugin load time, it imports `HonchoMemoryProvider`
+2. Stores a reference to the original `_do_session_init` method
+3. Replaces it with a wrapper that checks the identity config first
+4. If the wrapper finds a peer name, it injects it via `kwargs["user_id"]`
+5. Otherwise, it calls the original method unchanged
+
+```python
+# In the plugin's register() function:
+provider_cls = plugins.memory.honcho.HonchoMemoryProvider
+_original_init = provider_cls._do_session_init
+
+@wraps(_original_init)
+def wrapper(self, cfg, session_id, **kwargs):
+    if not kwargs.get("user_id"):
+        resolved = get_peer_name()  # reads config + env vars
+        if resolved:
+            kwargs["user_id"] = resolved
+    return _original_init(self, cfg, session_id, **kwargs)
+
+provider_cls._do_session_init = wrapper
+```
+
+## Advantages over file patching
+
+| Aspect | File patching | Monkey-patching |
+|--------|--------------|-----------------|
+| Repo modifications | Yes (edits plugin file) | Zero |
+| Fork needed | Yes (git diff to maintain) | No |
+| Upgrades | Merge conflict on every pull | Unchanged |
+| Uninstall | Need to revert file changes | Plugin removed → clean |
+| Reliability | Works across restarts | Applied at every load |
+| Complexity | Simple file edit | Wrapping pattern |
+
+## When does the patch apply?
+
+- At plugin discovery time (Hermes startup)
+- Before any Honcho session is created
+- Before any agent is initialized
+- Before any kanban worker is spawned
+
+The Hermes plugin loader calls `register()` during gateway/agent startup,
+which means the patch is in place before any session can begin.
+
+## Safety guarantees
+
+1. **Non-destructive**: The original method is preserved via closure —
+   removing the plugin restores original behavior with zero cleanup.
+
+2. **Idempotent**: `_apply_honcho_patch()` guards against double-patching
+   via the `_original_init` sentinel.
+
+3. **Graceful degradation**: If the config file is missing, parsing fails,
+   or the kanban DB is unavailable, the wrapper returns None → Honcho
+   falls back to its default behavior (creating `user-default-*` peers).
+
+4. **No data loss**: The injected `kwargs["user_id"]` only affects what
+   peer name Honcho assigns to the session's messages. It doesn't touch
+   any existing data.