B1: formalize Hermes provider bridge contract

[samrusani]

Summary

• formalize the shipped Hermes Alice memory provider into the bridge-phase contract with normalized config, readiness reporting, deterministic lifecycle hooks, and session-end flush behavior
• add the automation-oriented MCP tool alice_prefetch_context on top of the existing continuity resumption/context assembly semantics
• update bridge docs, install flow, smoke evidence, and regression coverage without implying that B2+ candidate or review surfaces are already shipped

Scope Notes

• extends the shipped Hermes provider rather than replacing it
• preserves legacy compatibility keys: prefetch_limit, max_recent_changes, max_open_loops, include_non_promotable_facts, auto_capture, mirror_memory_writes
• does not add candidate extraction, review queue, commit policy, or new channel surfaces

Verification

• python3 scripts/check_control_doc_truth.py
• ./.venv/bin/python -m pytest tests/unit tests/integration -q
• ./.venv/bin/python scripts/run_hermes_memory_provider_smoke.py

Upgrade Overview

Protected Areas

• continuity APIs
• memory schema
• trust rules

Compatibility Impact

This is an additive bridge-phase contract hardening for the existing Hermes provider and MCP surface. Existing Hermes tools alice_recall, alice_resumption_brief, and alice_open_loops remain intact while alice_prefetch_context is added as the first automation-oriented prefetch surface.

Migration / Rollout

Deploy the updated API and Hermes provider files together so the documented bridge config keys, lifecycle hooks, smoke validation, and MCP tool registration stay aligned. Legacy config keys remain supported for compatibility.

Operator Action

Re-run the Hermes provider smoke flow, verify bridge readiness/status output, and confirm the provider advertises deterministic support for prefetch, queue_prefetch, sync_turn, and on_session_end. Validate alice_prefetch_context alongside the existing Hermes MCP tools.

Validation

Branch-local verification passed:

• python3 scripts/check_control_doc_truth.py -> PASS
• ./.venv/bin/python -m pytest tests/unit tests/integration -q -> 1174 passed in 186.28s (0:03:06)
• ./.venv/bin/python scripts/run_hermes_memory_provider_smoke.py -> PASS

Rollback

Revert the squash merge commit to restore the prior Hermes provider contract and MCP surface, then re-run the Hermes smoke and integration suite before redeploying.