feat(kanban): add specify — auxiliary LLM fleshes out triage tasks

hermes_cli/config.py

@@ -780,6 +780,19 @@ def _ensure_hermes_home_managed(home: Path):
             "timeout": 30,
             "extra_body": {},
         },
+        # Triage specifier — flesh out a rough one-liner in the Kanban
+        # Triage column into a concrete spec, then promote it to ``todo``.
+        # Invoked by ``hermes kanban specify`` (single id or --all). Set a
+        # cheap, capable model here (gemini-flash works well); the main
+        # model is overkill for short spec expansion.
+        "triage_specifier": {
+            "provider": "auto",
+            "model": "",
+            "base_url": "",
+            "api_key": "",
+            "timeout": 120,
+            "extra_body": {},
+        },
         # Curator — skill-usage review fork. Timeout is generous because the
         # review pass can take several minutes on reasoning models (umbrella
         # building over hundreds of candidate skills). "auto" = use main chat

hermes_cli/kanban.py

@@ -570,6 +570,42 @@ def build_parser(parent_subparsers: argparse._SubParsersAction) -> argparse.Argu
     )
     p_ctx.add_argument("task_id")
 
+    # --- specify --- (triage → todo via auxiliary LLM)
+    p_specify = sub.add_parser(
+        "specify",
+        help="Flesh out a triage-column task into a concrete spec "
+             "(title + body) and promote it to todo. Uses the auxiliary "
+             "LLM configured under auxiliary.triage_specifier.",
+    )
+    p_specify.add_argument(
+        "task_id",
+        nargs="?",
+        default=None,
+        help="Task id to specify (required unless --all is given)",
+    )
+    p_specify.add_argument(
+        "--all",
+        dest="all_triage",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Specify every task currently in the triage column",
+    )
+    p_specify.add_argument(
+        "--tenant",
+        default=None,
+        help="When used with --all, restrict the sweep to this tenant",
+    )
+    p_specify.add_argument(
+        "--author",
+        default=None,
+        help="Author name recorded on the audit comment "
+             "(default: $HERMES_PROFILE or 'specifier')",
+    )
+    p_specify.add_argument(
+        "--json",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Emit one JSON object per task on stdout",
+    )
+
     # --- gc ---
     p_gc = sub.add_parser(
         "gc", help="Garbage-collect archived-task workspaces, old events, and old logs",
@@ -684,6 +720,7 @@ def kanban_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
         "notify-list":        _cmd_notify_list,
         "notify-unsubscribe": _cmd_notify_unsubscribe,
         "context":  _cmd_context,
+        "specify":  _cmd_specify,
         "gc":       _cmd_gc,
     }
     handler = handlers.get(action)
@@ -1980,6 +2017,80 @@ def _cmd_context(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
     return 0
 
 
+def _cmd_specify(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
+    """Flesh out a triage task (or all of them) via auxiliary LLM,
+    then promote to todo. Thin wrapper over ``kanban_specify``."""
+    from hermes_cli import kanban_specify as spec
+
+    all_flag = bool(getattr(args, "all_triage", False))
+    tenant = getattr(args, "tenant", None)
+    author = getattr(args, "author", None) or _profile_author()
+    want_json = bool(getattr(args, "json", False))
+
+    if args.task_id and all_flag:
+        print(
+            "kanban: pass either a task id OR --all, not both",
+            file=sys.stderr,
+        )
+        return 2
+
+    if all_flag:
+        ids = spec.list_triage_ids(tenant=tenant)
+        if not ids:
+            msg = (
+                "No triage tasks"
+                + (f" for tenant {tenant!r}" if tenant else "")
+                + "."
+            )
+            if want_json:
+                print(json.dumps({"specified": 0, "total": 0}))
+            else:
+                print(msg)
+            return 0
+    elif args.task_id:
+        ids = [args.task_id]
+    else:
+        print(
+            "kanban: specify requires a task id or --all",
+            file=sys.stderr,
+        )
+        return 2
+
+    ok_count = 0
+    fail_count = 0
+    for tid in ids:
+        outcome = spec.specify_task(tid, author=author)
+        if outcome.ok:
+            ok_count += 1
+        else:
+            fail_count += 1
+        if want_json:
+            print(json.dumps({
+                "task_id": outcome.task_id,
+                "ok": outcome.ok,
+                "reason": outcome.reason,
+                "new_title": outcome.new_title,
+            }))
+        else:
+            if outcome.ok:
+                title_suffix = (
+                    f" — retitled: {outcome.new_title!r}"
+                    if outcome.new_title
+                    else ""
+                )
+                print(f"Specified {outcome.task_id} → todo{title_suffix}")
+            else:
+                print(
+                    f"kanban: specify {outcome.task_id}: {outcome.reason}",
+                    file=sys.stderr,
+                )
+    if not all_flag:
+        return 0 if ok_count == 1 else 1
+    # --all: succeed if at least one promotion landed; exit 1 only when
+    # every candidate failed (honest signal for scripts).
+    return 0 if (ok_count > 0 or not ids) else 1
+
+
 def _cmd_gc(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
     """Remove scratch workspaces of archived tasks, prune old events, and
     delete old worker logs."""

hermes_cli/kanban_db.py

@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@
     if slug == DEFAULT_BOARD:
         return True
     d = board_dir(slug)
     return d.is_dir() or (d / "kanban.db").exists()
 
 
 def kanban_db_path(board: Optional[str] = None) -> Path:
@@ -2503,6 +2503,91 @@
         return True
 
 
+def specify_triage_task(
+    conn: sqlite3.Connection,
+    task_id: str,
+    *,
+    title: Optional[str] = None,
+    body: Optional[str] = None,
+    author: Optional[str] = None,
+) -> bool:
+    """Flesh out a triage task and promote it to ``todo``.
+
+    Atomically updates ``title`` / ``body`` (when provided) and transitions
+    ``status: triage -> todo`` in a single write txn. Returns False when
+    the task is missing or not in the ``triage`` column — callers should
+    surface that as "nothing to specify" rather than an error.
+
+    ``todo`` (not ``ready``) is the correct landing column: ``recompute_ready``
+    promotes parent-free / parent-done todos to ``ready`` on the next
+    dispatcher tick, which keeps the normal parent-gating behaviour intact
+    for specified tasks that happen to have open parents.
+
+    ``author`` is recorded on an audit comment only when at least one of
+    ``title`` / ``body`` actually changed — avoids noisy comment spam for
+    status-only promotions.
+    """
+    if title is not None and not title.strip():
+        raise ValueError("title cannot be blank")
+    with write_txn(conn):
+        existing = conn.execute(
+            "SELECT title, body FROM tasks WHERE id = ? AND status = 'triage'",
+            (task_id,),
+        ).fetchone()
+        if existing is None:
+            return False
+        sets: list[str] = ["status = 'todo'"]
+        params: list[Any] = []
+        changed_fields: list[str] = []
+        if title is not None and title.strip() != (existing["title"] or ""):
+            sets.append("title = ?")
+            params.append(title.strip())
+            changed_fields.append("title")
+        if body is not None and (body or "") != (existing["body"] or ""):
+            sets.append("body = ?")
+            params.append(body)
+            changed_fields.append("body")
+        params.append(task_id)
+        cur = conn.execute(
+            f"UPDATE tasks SET {', '.join(sets)} "
+            f"WHERE id = ? AND status = 'triage'",
+            tuple(params),
+        )
+        if cur.rowcount != 1:
+            return False
+        if changed_fields and author and author.strip():
+            # Inline INSERT (rather than ``add_comment``) because we're
+            # already inside this function's write_txn — nested BEGIN
+            # IMMEDIATE would raise OperationalError. We also skip the
+            # 'commented' event that ``add_comment`` emits, since the
+            # 'specified' event below already records the change.
+            conn.execute(
+                "INSERT INTO task_comments (task_id, author, body, created_at) "
+                "VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)",
+                (
+                    task_id,
+                    author.strip(),
+                    "Specified — updated "
+                    + ", ".join(changed_fields)
+                    + " and promoted to todo.",
+                    int(time.time()),
+                ),
+            )
+        _append_event(
+            conn,
+            task_id,
+            "specified",
+            {"changed_fields": changed_fields} if changed_fields else None,
+        )
+    # Outside the write_txn above, so we don't nest BEGIN IMMEDIATE — the
+    # ready-promotion pass opens its own IMMEDIATE txn. This runs the same
+    # logic the dispatcher would on its next tick, so a specified task
+    # with no open parents flips straight to 'ready' here instead of
+    # idling in 'todo' until the next sweep.
+    recompute_ready(conn)
+    return True
+
+
 def archive_task(conn: sqlite3.Connection, task_id: str) -> bool:
     with write_txn(conn):
         cur = conn.execute(