fix(agent): preserve global SOUL identity across isolated runs

[nuriygold]

Summary

• default load_soul_identity to on so isolated agent forks still keep the global operator identity
• explicitly keep SOUL loaded for CLI/TUI/delegate/curator/Feishu/API server pathways while documenting the batch-eval sterile exception
• update regression tests and docs for --ignore-rules / HERMES_IGNORE_RULES

Test Plan

• uv run --extra dev --extra messaging pytest -q tests/run_agent/test_run_agent.py::TestBuildSystemPrompt::test_auto_loads_soul_identity_even_when_context_files_are_skipped tests/run_agent/test_run_agent.py::TestBuildSystemPrompt::test_can_disable_soul_identity_for_documented_sterile_runs tests/tools/test_delegate.py::TestDelegateTask::test_child_forces_soul_identity_when_context_files_are_skipped tests/gateway/test_api_server.py::TestAdapterInit::test_create_agent_forwards_config_reasoning_effort tests/tui_gateway/test_make_agent_provider.py::test_make_agent_honors_tui_launch_env_flags tests/hermes_cli/test_ignore_user_config_flags.py::TestIgnoreRulesEnvGate -n 0

[alt-glitch]

Related to #26596 and #6731 (gateway ignores SOUL.md). Competing fix with #26789 which also addresses SOUL.md loading in gateway sessions. Cron-specific variant already merged in #17509.

[nuriygold]

Reviewer note:

• Root cause: several agent construction paths were running with stripped context / ignore-rules (skip_context_files=True, sometimes with skip_memory=True) but did not force load_soul_identity=True, so the global SOUL.md operator profile was silently bypassed.
• Fix: default load_soul_identity on across those isolated pathways and thread it through the affected constructors (CLI ignore-rules path, delegate child agents, curator, Feishu comment worker, API server, and TUI startup agent).
• Exception: documented sterile runs can still opt out explicitly via load_soul_identity=False for eval/batch-style cases where a persona layer would be undesirable.
• Coverage: targeted tests now cover auto-loading under stripped-context conditions, the explicit sterile opt-out, delegate propagation, API adapter forwarding, TUI launch env handling, and the --ignore-rules / HERMES_IGNORE_RULES path.
• Why this matters: without this, operator-profile behavior diverges across surfaces — a normal CLI session gets the global persona, but isolated gateway/delegate/ignore-rules paths can lose it. This patch restores consistent global operator identity across runtime entry points while preserving the sterile-run escape hatch.

[teknium1]

Thanks for chasing this. The underlying bug class is real on current main: agent/system_prompt.py:92 only loads SOUL when load_soul_identity is true or skip_context_files is false, and call sites such as tools/delegate_tool.py:1187, gateway/platforms/feishu_comment.py:1082, and hermes_cli/cli_agent_setup_mixin.py:384 still set skip_context_files=True without forcing SOUL.

Problems

• Current main added --safe-mode as a fully sterile troubleshooting mode (hermes_cli/main.py:2238-2248). This PR’s global default flip would make that path keep SOUL unless safe-mode explicitly passes load_soul_identity=False.
• The CLI hunk is stale: current main constructs the CLI agent in hermes_cli/cli_agent_setup_mixin.py:343-385, while this PR patches the old cli.py site. GitHub reports mergeStateStatus=DIRTY.
• The default flip affects every direct AIAgent(skip_context_files=True) caller, not only the intended runtime surfaces; sterile paths such as batch_runner.py:344 need explicit opt-out, and the current tree should be audited for siblings.

Suggested changes

• Keep --ignore-rules and --safe-mode separate: preserve SOUL for the former if desired, but force load_soul_identity=False for safe-mode.
• Apply the CLI wiring in hermes_cli/cli_agent_setup_mixin.py and explicitly annotate each current skip-context caller as identity-preserving or sterile.

Automated hermes-sweeper review.

[teknium1]

This global default flip also affects sterile troubleshooting/eval paths. On current main, --safe-mode is documented as disabling all customizations while setting HERMES_IGNORE_RULES, so salvage needs either an explicit load_soul_identity=False safe-mode path or narrower opt-in at the intended runtime constructors.

[tachyon-r]

Independent reproduction on current main confirms the delegate-specific bug: _build_child_agent() constructs children with skip_context_files=True and does not pass load_soul_identity=True; prompt assembly then falls back to DEFAULT_AGENT_IDENTITY rather than ~/.hermes/SOUL.md. This can make delegated work operate under a weaker identity/authority/completion contract than its parent.

The child-specific hunk plus regression test directly fixes that defect. Scope suggestion: consider splitting that narrow bug fix from the broader default change to init_agent(load_soul_identity) and the changed --ignore-rules semantics. Those broader changes affect intentionally sterile/evaluation callers and may slow review of the independently valid delegate fix. A focused invariant would be: delegated children skip cwd/project context and memory, but retain the parent installation's global SOUL identity.

[tachyon-r]

I opened #79052 as a narrow, current-main replacement for the delegate-specific part of this PR. It preserves skip_context_files=True and skip_memory=True, adds only load_soul_identity=True to delegated-child construction, and includes a focused regression test. The commit retains @nuriygold as co-author. This avoids changing safe mode, --ignore-rules, batch/eval callers, or the global constructor default.