scripts-bash

MCP gives Hermes tools. Skills give Hermes judgment. scripts-bash gives Hermes a standard for the bash that runs your stack.

Current skill version: v4.2.0

Why this exists

Hermes already orchestrates terminal, files, profiles, cron, and secrets. What it still needs for serious ops work is a rigid house style so every installer looks the same, fails cleanly, and reads like a product - not vibecode.

scripts-bash teaches Hermes (and you) to ship bash with:

Pillar	What you get
Locked skeleton	Header, colors, spinners, ROUTINE + case, sexit footer
Stable names	SCREAMING_SNAKE globals with a living registry
Authoring recipe	5-step path from intent to verified script
Craft bar	Quote discipline, [[ ]], dryrun, idempotent install, no secret dumps
Lean package	Skill law only - your host installers stay in your workspace

Complements Hermes. Does not replace it. Does not claim to be a general "learn bash" course.

Install (Hermes drop-in)

git clone https://github.com/Unix-Dev-Ops/scripts-bash.git
mkdir -p ~/.hermes/skills/software-development
cp -a scripts-bash/skills/software-development/scripts-bash \
  ~/.hermes/skills/software-development/

In a Hermes session:

/reload-skills
/skill scripts-bash

Optional profile mirror (e.g. a coding profile):

cp -a ~/.hermes/skills/software-development/scripts-bash \
  ~/.hermes/profiles/<profile>/skills/

Standing rule (recommended in SOUL / AGENTS):

For long-lived bash installer/manager scripts: load skill scripts-bash first.
Products go under profile workspace/installers/ or workspace/scripts/.

Quickstart

Load scripts-bash.
Copy templates/template-base.sh to workspace/installers/mytool/installer-mytool.sh
Purpose: manage mytool on port 9090.
Routines: install, update, start, stop, status, uninstall.
No sudo. Paths under ~/.hermes-programs/mytool/.

Then verify:

bash -n workspace/installers/mytool/installer-mytool.sh
# shellcheck if available
bash workspace/installers/mytool/installer-mytool.sh status

Full walkthrough: skills/software-development/scripts-bash/references/authoring.md

Package layout

skills/software-development/scripts-bash/
  SKILL.md
  templates/template-base.sh                    # ONLY executable skeleton
  references/screaming-snake-case-variables.md
  references/authoring.md
  README.md / PUBLISH.md

Not in this repo: private production installers, host design briefs, API keys, duplicate templates.

What "good" looks like

• Author / Date / Ver / Name / Define header (column-aligned)
• Braille spinners + clean Ctrl+C (SPINNER_PID + trap)
• Green labels, cyan body, bright-red errors - cinematic sleep 0.05 pacing
• cmd_exit=$? before stop_spinner
• show_usage exits 0 without the Completd footer; success paths end in sexit
• Prefer explicit failure checks on large installers (house style); do not blind-apply set -e

Contributing

PRs welcome. Maintainer review required.

• CONTRIBUTING.md - workflow, checklist, conventional commits
• MAINTAINERS.md - branch protection / merge style
• SECURITY.md - private vuln reports
• CODEOWNERS - @Unix-Dev-Ops

bash -n skills/software-development/scripts-bash/references/template-base.sh
bash -n skills/software-development/scripts-bash/templates/template-base.sh
bash -n skills/software-development/scripts-bash/examples/minimal-service-installer.sh

Related

Project	Role
Hermes Agent	The agent this skill serves
Hermes docs	Official documentation
Skills hub / local skills	Drop-in path under ~/.hermes/skills/

Author

Vituvo (@Unix-Dev-Ops)

Built for real Hermes operators who manage Docker, local inference, and agent infrastructure with bash that does not apologize.

License

MIT - Copyright (c) 2026 Vituvo