Smart Automation Orchestrator

Visual, dependency-aware orchestration timeline on top of Hermes cron.

What it is

A unified Hermes plugin (Python tools/hooks + desktop/plugin.js + dashboard/plugin_api.py) that lets the agent create multi-step automations that respect dependency chains and optional calendar constraints. The user sees the chain on a Desktop timeline pane.

Manual chain-runner design (honest): There is no cron-completion hook in Hermes. Chains advance only when orchestrator_trigger_chain is called after verified success. post_tool_call is observer-only.

Tools

• orchestrator_create — create a chain + steps (cycle detection)
• orchestrator_status — list jobs / status
• orchestrator_graph — nodes + edges for rendering
• orchestrator_trigger_chain — advance a job after verified success (validates deps + calendar)

Hooks

• post_tool_call — observer logging of cron tool calls (fail-open)
• on_session_start — ensure DB exists

Desktop

• Timeline pane (read-only)
• Status-bar chip
• Backend: GET /api/plugins/smart-automation/status and /graph — read-only. All mutations go through agent tools so Hermes approvals fire.

Storage

SQLite in ctx.state.data_dir (plugin-data/smart-automation/smart_automation.db), WAL mode, schema v1.

Disclosure —

• Reads a user-selected local .ics file if configured (never network calendars)
• Stores chain metadata locally in plugin data dir
• Creates metadata for underlying cron jobs via the agent (cron jobs themselves are managed by Hermes cron; this plugin only stores dependency metadata); no core Hermes files are modified
• No external network calls required. Slack/Calendar in demo are stubbed/mock and labelled as such.
• Nearest catalog neighbour: cron-bulletin (cron report inbox). Differentiation: this plugin ships a visual dependency graph + manual chain advancement, not a report inbox.

Validation

python3 tests/test_smart_automation.py
hermes plugins validate --json .

Demo (90s)

1. Prompt: "Create a weekday morning automation that only runs when my calendar shows a free block after 8am. First summarize overnight AI news, then post a short digest to Slack (mocked). Make the second job depend on the first succeeding. Show me the timeline."
2. Agent creates chain; Desktop timeline appears.
3. Manually trigger first job via orchestrator_trigger_chain; it completes.
4. Second job unlocks (status ready).
5. Status chip reflects state.

License

MIT