fix(packaging): ship bundled skills in wheel by unifying data-files in setup.py (#66733)

[JonthanaHanh]

Summary

[tool.setuptools.data-files] in pyproject.toml overrides setup.py's data_files when both are present. Since the pyproject section only declared locales and optional-mcps, the skills/ and optional-skills/ directories were silently dropped from the wheel.

This means pip install hermes-agent ships zero bundled skills — hermes_constants._get_packaged_data_dir("skills") returns None, and tools/skills_sync.py has nothing to sync to ~/.hermes/skills/.

Fix

Move locales and optional-mcps into setup.py's data_files (via the existing _data_file_tree() helper), then remove the [tool.setuptools.data-files] section entirely. setup.py is now the single source of truth for all four bare data directories:

• skills/
• optional-skills/
• locales/
• optional-mcps/

This preserves the same installation semantics — _data_file_tree() produces identical (directory, [files]) tuples for all four trees — while eliminating the override that caused the regression.

Verification

$ python3 -m pytest tests/test_packaging_metadata.py -x
11 passed

Updated test_locale_catalogs_ship_in_both_wheel_and_sdist to check setup.py instead of the removed pyproject.toml section.

Fixes #66733

[alt-glitch]

This was generated by AI during triage.

Duplicate of #66768: the live patch makes the same setuptools data-files consolidation for skills, locales, and optional MCP manifests. Please consolidate with the earlier focused PR.

[teknium1]

Thanks for tracing the original setuptools shadowing issue. Current main has moved away from the wheel-distribution path this PR repairs.

Problems

• setup.py:27-74 is now only a wheel/sdist build guard; it has no _data_file_tree() or data_files payload for this patch to extend. Commit d84e11af4d removed the former packaging path and packaging metadata tests.
• website/docs/getting-started/platform-support.md:40-47 now marks PyPI installs unsupported and states that PRs fixing unsupported distribution methods will not be accepted.

Suggested changes

• This is not mechanically salvageable onto current main; retain it for maintainer disposition rather than attempting the prior wheel-payload consolidation.

Automated hermes-sweeper review.

[GottZ]

This was generated by AI during triage.

Summary

Nine PRs address or reference this issue complex. #23738/#28421 established wheel payload discovery, #23884/#28368 seed an already-present payload for Kanban, and #52113/#66768/#66846/#67058/#68310 remove the setuptools configuration conflict; however, the latest current-main review records that the relevant wheel data-files path has since been removed and PyPI installs are unsupported.

Related pull requests

• fix(packaging): ship bundled skills in wheel #23738 [closed] fixes — (+105/-5) — n/a: Adds generated wheel payloads for both skill trees, installed-data discovery, sync wiring, and packaging tests. It remains relevant as the original implementation superseded by merged fix(packaging): ship bundled skills in wheel (#23738) #28421.
• fix(kanban): auto-install bundled skills (e.g. kanban-worker) on kanban init #23884 [closed] partial — (+30/-1) — n/a: Seeds existing bundled skills during kanban init, addressing the downstream profile-seeding failure but not a payload omitted from the wheel. It remains relevant because its focused change was superseded by merged fix(kanban): auto-install bundled skills (e.g. kanban-worker) on kanban init (#23884) #28368.
• fix(kanban): auto-install bundled skills (e.g. kanban-worker) on kanban init (#23884) #28368 [merged] partial — (+17/-0) — n/a: This merged reference implementation salvages fix(kanban): auto-install bundled skills (e.g. kanban-worker) on kanban init #23884 and seeds bundled skills into the active profile during kanban init; it still depends on those skills being present in the installation.
• fix(packaging): ship bundled skills in wheel (#23738) #28421 [merged] best fix — (+73/-6) — n/a (recorded best fix for Full kanban suite not installed with Hermes 0.130 #23725): This merged reference implementation salvages fix(packaging): ship bundled skills in wheel #23738, adding wheel skill payloads, installed-data discovery, and sync integration; it later became vulnerable to the separate pyproject data-files shadowing reported in [Bug]: Built-in skills missing from wheel #66733.
• fix(packaging): ship bundled skills in the wheel via setup.py data_files #52113 best fix — (+233/-39) — n/a (recorded best fix for [Bug]: Built-in skills missing from wheel #66733): Removes the shadowing pyproject table, generates all four bare-data trees with portable nested paths and cruft filtering, and adds payload-level regression guards. Its visible keep_open review found no correctness defect in that historical diff, although the newer current-main review on fix(packaging): ship bundled skills in wheel by unifying data-files in setup.py (#66733) #68310 records that this distribution path has since been removed.
• fix(build): ship built-in skills in wheel by consolidating data_files in setup.py #66768 [closed] duplicate — (+14/-34) — n/a: Removes the shadowing table and consolidates all four trees in setup.py, but its keep_open review identifies unfiltered cache/metadata payloads and a source-text test as blockers. It was later superseded by fix(packaging): ship bundled skills in the wheel via setup.py data_files #52113's hardened implementation and closed after developing base conflicts.
• fix(packaging): ship skills/optional-skills/locales/optional-mcps in wheel #66846 [closed] duplicate — (+57/-30) — n/a: Applies the same four-tree consolidation and a shadowing-table guard, but retains the unfiltered generator and declaration-oriented coverage. It remains relevant as an author-closed duplicate of the focused packaging repair.
• fix(packaging): ship built-in skills in wheel via setup.py data_files #67058 [closed] fixes — (+928/-84) — n/a: Its packaging hunk performs the same consolidation, but the branch also carries extensive unrelated file-safety, environment, TUI, and file-tool changes; its keep_open review additionally records an obsolete packaging assertion, unfiltered payloads, and a duplicate test definition. It was closed in favor of focused packaging work.
• fix(packaging): ship bundled skills in wheel by unifying data-files in setup.py (#66733) #68310 fixes — (+9/-28) — n/a: The historical diff minimally removes the shadowing table and adds locales and optional MCPs to the existing skill generator, duplicating the consolidation in fix(build): ship built-in skills in wheel by consolidating data_files in setup.py #66768 and the broader fix(packaging): ship bundled skills in the wheel via setup.py data_files #52113. Its latest keep_open review records salvageability as none because commit d84e11af4d removed that data-files path and website/docs/getting-started/platform-support.md:40-47 rejects PyPI-distribution fixes.

Duplicates

#23738/#28421 are the original and merged packaging-precursor pair; #23884/#28368 are the corresponding Kanban-seeding pair. #66768, #66846, #67058, and #68310 share the core four-tree consolidation implemented more completely by #52113.

Suggested consolidation

Keep #52113 open with a salvage path conditional on maintainers restoring a supported wheel-distribution target, then adapt its filtered generator and payload-level guards to the replacement mechanism; this preserves its recorded best-fix status and agrees with its keep_open review without treating the stale historical path as actionable. Despite the duplicate relationship, keep #68310 open with that same conditional salvage path for maintainer disposition because its newer keep_open review explicitly records no mechanical salvage on current main; #66768, #66846, and #67058 are already closed competing implementations, while #28368 and #28421 remain merged historical references.

Complex graph

flowchart TD
    classDef open fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#1d4ed8,color:#1e3a8a
    classDef merged fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#15803d,color:#14532d
    classDef closed fill:#e5e7eb,stroke:#6b7280,color:#1f2937
    classDef unverified fill:#f3f4f6,stroke:#9ca3af,color:#374151
    classDef best stroke-width:3px,stroke:#b45309
    classDef target stroke-width:3px,stroke:#4338ca
    I23725(["issue #23725 (closed)"])
    I66733(["issue #66733 (open)"])
    subgraph Dup52113 ["PRs duplicating each other"]
        P52113["PR #52113 (open)"]
        P66768["PR #66768 (closed)"]
        P66846["PR #66846 (closed)"]
        P67058["PR #67058 (closed)"]
        P68310["PR #68310 (open)"]
    end
    P68310 -->|fixes| I23725
    P68310 -->|fixes| I66733
    class I23725 closed
    class I66733 open
    class P52113 open
    class P66768 closed
    class P66846 closed
    class P67058 closed
    class P68310 open
    class P52113 best
    class P68310 target
    click I23725 "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/23725"
    click I66733 "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/66733"
    click P52113 "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/52113"
    click P66768 "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/66768"
    click P66846 "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/66846"
    click P67058 "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/67058"
    click P68310 "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/68310"

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Graph: solid arrow = fixes / best fix, dashed arrow = partial or unverified (see edge label); boxed group = PRs duplicating each other; amber border = best fix; indigo border = target; gray node = closed (state tag in the node label).

Cross-PR triage: Reviewed 9 pull requests and 2 issues in this complex. Each diff was read against this issue; Assessment working set: 66 kB of PR diffs, 13 kB of issue/PR text, 8 kB of discussion (19 comments), 26 verify verdicts. verdicts reflect diff content, not PR titles. Part of an automated triage batch.